What makes you engage with charity fundraising and what puts you off?

[5013R]

Hi all - I’m hoping / looking for some honest views on fundraising. I lead a medium-sized domestic abuse charity which supports women and children. It has been around for a long time and I am not the founder. It depends on fundraising, grants and a couple of contracts to survive, and the fundraising landscape is understandably bleak right now. I don’t think any charities are having a particularly good time, but in this sector where we have to safeguard the identities of who we support and be very careful not to put anyone at increased risk, our marketing strategy means fundraising suffers even further. I can’t show donors the lovely faces of our service users to show impact and tell their story.

Whether from a personal, community or corporate fundraising perspective, can you tell me - what makes you engage? What makes you avoid and walk away? What fundraising activities have you been involved in that you absolutely loved and would recommend?

The charity world is a very proud one where it is not the done thing to ask these questions in a public forum, so I’m hoping Mumsnet can help - any thoughts massively appreciated!

Personally, I want to understand where the money is going. I will always look at a charities accounts as, unfortunately, there are a lot of people out there who use charities to enrich themselves

so I like it when a charity says, for example, £5 will pay for 5 mosquito nets or whatever. You don’t need to show your service users but show the services you offer.

I don’t know where you are based but corporate sponsorship is another way and offering to go in and do talks on relevant awareness day/week

Actually if I see something like £5 will pay for 5 mosquito nets, I know this is not what you money will all go to, assume they have to spend some money on admin, and the nets are just an example. So it actually puts me off. I'd prefer to know more detail about where the money goes.

You think MN is not a public forum?

But that’s taken as read - it just indicates how much the services etc cost and what sort of services are offered. It could be £X to man the helpline for one hour for example. I don’t expect the money I donate to be ring fenced for that specific thing.

I also like to see the pie chart where it says how donations are spent across the board

As above it's what the money is used for. I've worked for a few different charities ( hospice, leading cancer charity and leading charity for older people ). I've seen first hand where the money goes and the only one I continue donating to is the hospice. I honestly think if some people know how the money was actually spent rather than the what the charity wants you to think, far less would donate. A lot of charities are corrupt. In my last role the charity put out emotive adverts of poverty stricken old people unable to afford to eat wheras most of the work was helping very affluent pensioners to claim non means tested benefits and giving out food parcels to alcoholics who had spent all their pensions on drink.

I want to know:

• Where the money is spent
• Evidence of positive impact.

I have worked for charities for over 20 years in marketing and comms and also in fundraising and unfortunately it has made me very cynical about the whole thing.

I have seen too much money wasted on CEOs and consultants salaries or vanity projects.

I have also seen frankly dodgy fundraising practices.

Many charities also treat their volunteers and frontline staff appallingly while presenting themselves as 'caring' organisations.

Which is why I would only support local charities where I can actually see the impact with my own eyes. In my case that means local animal shelters (that I had the opportunity to visit and adopt pets from) and the RNLI (I live in a seaside town and see the good work they do all the time).

I would always advise people to do their research before donating regularly to any charity.

I won’t donate to anyone that has charity muggers stationed outside train stations/on high streets etc. I think that’s an awful practise. I like to donate toward a specific goal e.g. raising x amount for refurb of a hospice ward. I also like wish lists etc where I can order something that’s needed. There is a great charity local to me that has a ‘your time’ donation page where they list things they need doing - everything from a deep clean of the venue to creating graphics for a campaign, organising resources etc. It means you can actually help in a way your skills have impact and you know exactly what you’re signing up for

I have similar reasons as already given, but I also have a few I donate to and I cannot donate to everyone. Personally I donate to Doctors Without Borders because I really like and respect their ethos and think they do great work. I also donate to a cat charities where I got my cats from. I buy food and donate food directly so I know it goes to the cats.

For women’s charities it has to be for women and girls only, no transwomen. I also wouldn’t donate to charities who don’t use sex based language as a priority. Happy to see other language but it needs to be secondary eg the Coppafeel ad that talks about checking your chesr.

Orher things I prioritise are how money is spent and what % are on things like admin costs per £1. I also like to see proof of making a difference.

I only donate to charities i can give cash too, I am not prepared to sign up to give x amount each month or any charity that needs bank details to donate. I also only donate to local charities , last one was fundraising to educate about knife crime after their son had been murdered 😳 😢. Charity days are good pay entrance fee for family fun day , flower arranging etc

I don’t think about it unless the opportunity is presented to me. Mostly that has been through charity shops, where I’ve always shopped & donated. My mum was always the same.

So I suppose it’s transactional for me. I’ll spend at a fair for the school or church. I’ll buy a teddy bear, food, books for a cause. I have no chosen charities, it’s at just random.

I’d never stop for a so-called chugger (I work in a capital city centre) or sign up to anything at my front door or online. I don’t want to give my details to anyone. Not sure why!

You can use stories but anonymise them? Use quotes from people you have helped?

I avoid paid fundraisers like the plague, particularly the sort stationed outside shops wanting you to sign a direct debit, or chuggers who accost you in the street. The first question I always ask is "Are you a volunteer?" to which of course they are obliged to answer truthfully, and of course, most of them are paid fundraisers and not volunteers.

The ones I tend to donate cash to are small local charities run by volunteers, which have small information stands and raffles/tombolas at things like village fetes and the like.

Try contacting clubs and societies who may make a small annual donation from club funds to a local charitable cause. A club I belong to has donated £50 annually in recent years to a variety of local causes - the Scouts, a cancer charity (after the sad loss of a club member that year), a wildlife project etc. Local choirs often nominate a charity and support them whenever they perform. You might find that local pubs might do a charity quiz night to raise funds for you. Maybe the fire brigade, our station does a charity car wash every year.

Find out if womens' sports teams could fundraise on your behalf, there are far more women playing at a high level in rugby and football now, for instance. They might allow you to advertise in their match programmes for free, that sort of thing. That would both hopefully increase donations, and also increase awareness of your activites to people who might need them.

Could you contact the manufacturers of feminine hygiene products and ask for corporate support?

Comic Relief, BBC Children in Need?

As a PP said, my first thought for any charity which says it supports women is ‘Just women? Or anyone who identifies as one?’

I never stop for chuggers but also I don’t usually carry cash so I can see that makes it tricky. I mainly donate to the local animal shelter because I volunteer for them & know where the money goes.

Could you also talk to local supermarkets who might be looking for local charities to support?

With a women and children charity I would donate but I lack time and money. If you had collection drives at schools or nurseries, where we could donate second-hand clothes, toys or household essentials then that would be great. Publish events ahead of time and with reminders on social media and get the school to use their apps with reminders. Also, publish up-to-date lists of what you require. Make it a more local thing. Also, offer collection services if you require large donations like furniture.

Also, if you want household donations, start a collection campaign with universities. Every year students move out and have to bin half their stuff as they can't afford storage prices or don't want to take it home. The same with tinned cans and food as well. Put information everywhere, team up with student unions and have collection points not just at the uni but near the homes of students. Or offer collection days for certain streets etc.

A number of supermarkets including Waitrose and Tesco have 'token drop' charity collection displays near their exits, where shoppers can drop tokens in a slot to support a charity local to the store.

I can't stand shopping at Morrisons/Tesco/Asda and to leave the shop I need to go past charities. The rare time I've offered some cash- they want me to sign up to a monthly thing which I don't do.

I'm more likely to donate 'things' rather than money. So if a food bank was short of pasta/rice/sauce then I'd donate those rather than money. Or a local woman's refuge were asking for new/near new babies clothes or say toiletries. I don't know why but I'd prefer to help in those ways. Maybe because I assume/hope the items are actually getting used and helping someone. I have seen posts on my local nextdoor.com asking for things like the above example and I'm more motivated to donate to something local like that.

Partnering with businesses. Like women led ones or the type of thing that would be a stakeholder potentially. Targeting those type businesses for money would be good. Like medium/big companies that already make a big profit.

I think trying to get fundraising from a lot of members of the public right now is hard. I know most people are really broke and so if you're approached but can't pay you feel kind of guilty. And it puts you off just because it made you feel bad.

I don't like pressure. I like the opportunity to think about it and check out the charity, not be ambushed on the street or my own doorstep. I have specific aims in mind with my charitable giving (basically relieving poverty in different ways) but if a friend or family member is raising money e.g. running a marathon I will contribute to that too. I also donate to a few different causes at Christmas specifically. Do you have any local organisations e.g. churches who you could partner with to collect things like toiletries, Christmas presents, Christmas food etc? Or is it mainly the financial donations that you need to increase?

For straight up money people packing bags in a supermarket with buckets is personally what I will always give to. If someone asks me to sign up on the street I’m out, if they call to the door I’m doubly out!!

As someone said events or partnering with businesses is a good idea

Same. Only the local hospice or the likes of RNLI now. Burned out on watching grifters making lucrative careers for themselves via Charities.

My main concern is transparency, where does the money go and what are the outcomes for the people you are supposed to be helping. A lot more publicity, perhaps in the form of press interviews about the charity's activities and outcomes, rather than emotional begging-type ads.

And as others have said, biological women only, no trans or trans adjacent language.

I've stopped giving to most of the national charities due to some of the insane salaries for doing nothing. I think BL poppy appeal is the last one but I do get a poppy in return. Hopefully they will use less plastic or I'll have to stop with them too.

I won't give bank details, only cash.

Perfer giving via a wish list on amazon or a supermarket list, which Cats Protecton and smaller rescues do, ie they request specific foods or toys.

For yourself - look at where the money goes. If it's blankets/bedding then ask for those, you can tailor your requirements to single or green or hereislinktodunelmduvetset. Lots of charities already have cheap white goods that have been pac tested so I wouldn't give to that for a refuge, same as sofas or wardrobes. Or is the raised money for actual bricks and mortar such as rental deposit?

Edit - long term I would look at the charities aims and "inclusion " for staff. Any stupid nonsense which impact women or girls is an automatic turn off.

What is the purpose of the charity - immediate help, advocacy?

As an individual, impact really matters to me. I prefer initiatives which support pathways vs dependency (though recognise this isn’t an immediate priority nor always feasible) eg supporting skills training and partnering with local businesses for jobs, rather than fun days out.

As a trustee, the charity I support has had good success in initiatives which 1) give people something in return, ie people like the ‘shop’ element; 2) collab with other charities/community orgs which play to collective strengths - eg skills swap; 3) crowdfund match - seems to be increasingly
important to evidence community buy-in.

From a women’s aid perspective, my work has done a (professional/interview appropriate) clothes drive and skills / CV workshops.
In other contexts (respite care for families with poorly kids), significant investment has been available to accommodations, including communal kitchens. It seems being selected as a charity of the year and participating in those aggregator platforms helps raise profile and 1-2 corporate supporters can go a long way.

Given the blatant rise in misogyny and the piss-poor sentences for abuse (that poor girl in St Helens this week), I can only wish you all the very very best and thank you for your persistence.

Why do you think people shouldn’t be paid? How bizare.