12/01/10
- Third year of UK’s annual survey aims to be first to look at F2F attrition overseas
- ‘Marvellous opportunity’ to established ‘unparalleled’ international attrition benchmark
- F2F is a ‘global fundraising movement’
The Public Fundraising Regulatory Association – the self-regulatory organisation for face-to-face direct debit fundraising in the United Kingdom – is expanding its annual survey into donor attrition levels to include charities around the world.
The F2F Donor Attrition and Retention Survey (DARS) has run in UK in 2008 and 2009, analysing the cancellation – or ‘attrition’ – rates of more than a quarter of a million F2F-recruited donors going back to 2004. The surveys have shown that, in the UK, around 50 per cent of donors will cancel their donations within 12 months and have provided pointers for charities on how best to steward their donors to improve retention.
After two successful years surveying UK charities, the PFRA has decided to make this a global exercise.
Mick Aldridge, ceo of the PFRA says: “I attended the International Fundraising Congress in Holland last October and from talking to delegates it was clear that there was a real appetite to share knowledge and best practice about F2F fundraising, including our attrition survey.
“What was clear to me is that F2F is a global fundraising movement and charities in every country where F2F is practiced can learn something from every other country where it is also carried out. Extending DARS into a fully international survey is a first step in that direction.”
DARS was co-devised and is researched by Rupert Tappin, managing director of London-based fundraising organisation Future Fundraising, and Morag Fleming, head of fundraising at Scottish social care charity Quarriers.
Tappin and Fleming have been in touch with international F2F expert Daryl Upsall (of Madrid-based Daryl Upsall Consulting International) about securing the input of his international charity clients, while PFRA secretariat has already received interest from charities in the USA, Canada, Ireland and New Zealand.
Rupert Tappin says: “DARS is already the most robust and complete picture of donor attrition and retention across any fundraising method in the UK. In fact, we don’t think there’s anything like this anywhere else in the world so this is a wonderful opportunity to create an unparalleled global benchmark.
“We have benchmarks stretching back five years in the UK and it will be fascinating to discover whether attrition patterns for F2F donors are universal or vary from country to country and between cultures.”
Any non-UK charity requiring more information about DARS should contact Rupert Tappin at rupertt@futurefundraising.co.uk. Data collection according to DARS criteria will take place during March and will need to be planned by charities’ database teams in advance.
The DARS results for the UK will be announced at a special seminar following the PFRA’s annual general meeting in London in June, with the exact date and venue yet to be announced. PFRA is still considering suitable scenarios to announce the results of the international component.
ENDS
For further information or to arrange an interview with Mick Aldridge or Rupert Tappin, contact:
Ian MacQuillin, head of communications: ian@pfra.org.uk +44 20 7401 8452.
Notes for editors
The PFRA
The Public Fundraising Regulatory Association (PFRA) is the nationally recognised self-regulator for all forms of face-to-face (F2F) fundraising activity – direct debit solicitation or data-capture – conducted in public spaces by charities and good causes anywhere in the UK. Supported by the Office of the Third Sector and the Charity Commission, PFRA seeks to guarantee the sustainability of F2F with the donating public by working in partnership with local authorities.
Rupert Tappin
Rupert Tappin is managing director of Future Fundraising Ltd and chief executive of Fundraising Recruitment Ltd, and has managed over 100 face-to-face and door-to-door acquisition campaigns over the past 10 years. He has previously established two separate fundraising agency operations: face-to-face for NTT ActionAid, later Face2Face Fundraising Ltd; and door-to-door for Front Door Fundraising. Rupert has been an active member of the PFRA since 2002, and an executive board member since 2006.
Mick Aldridge
Mick Aldridge has been a professional charity fundraiser since 1992, initially in telemarketing and since 2000 in the field of face-to-face fundraising. In both disciplines his focus has always been on regulatory and legal compliance. Prior to that he worked in events management, local government policy development, retail logistics, and directly for a number of different charities. He has been involved in the PFRA since its inception in July 2000 and was a continuous member of its board until he became its second chief executive in April 2006. He is a member of the Institute of Fundraising, fellow of the Institute of Direct Marketing, and sits on the Fundraising Standards Board. In June 2009 he was voted fourth ‘Most Influential Person in Fundraising’(out of 50) by readers of Professional Fundraising magazine.
Future Fundraising
Future Fundraising was launched in 2004 as a consultancy to help charities to either implement or improve their regular giving income streams, primarily through face-to-face and door-to-door fundraising. Future Fundraising specialises in helping charities maximize their income from face-to-face, through proactive retention management.
Morag Fleming
Morag Fleming is head of fundraising at Quarriers. Morag has been with Quarriers for nine years running face-to-face campaigns every year over that period. She was responsible for the implementation of a direct marketing strategy that increased income from individuals by 500 per cent over a three-year period. Morag has been an executive board member of PFRA since 2002 and is convenor of PFRA Scotland.
Quarriers
Quarriers is a Scottish charity providing care and support for children, adults and families. We challenge inequality of opportunity and choice to bring about a positive change in people’s lives.