Data protection changes set to benefit fundraisers

Last month, the government presented the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill (DPDI2) to Parliament.

The Bill aims to clear up some of the confusion surrounding General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and make data handling for businesses and charities in the UK more straightforward.

The government claims the Bill will save businesses and charities over £4 billion over the course of the next ten years.

Note: If you want to read the 214-page Bill in its entirety, be our guest. Otherwise, read on for the Cliff notes.

How will the bill affect fundraisers?

There are four key points to note.

1.   Soft opt-in

The laws governing electronic marketing (email, SMS, and telemarketing) are covered in the UK’s Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR). Under PECR, businesses can send electronic marketing messages to existing customers without consent. This is known as ‘soft opt-in’.

Currently, the soft opt-in rule can only be used by organisations that are ‘selling something or negotiating to sell something’. And customer information can only be collected during the sales process. This means charities can’t use soft opt-in for campaigning. And, unfortunately, a donation to a charity doesn’t count as a sales transaction – it’s regarded as a transfer of money, rather than a purchase.

Under the proposed Bill, the soft option will be extended to charities, enabling them to communicate with existing donors on the same basis as commercial organisations. 

However, certain criteria need to be met:

• It will only apply to existing donors, not prospective or new ones.

• Marketing communications with existing donors must relate to similar services.

• Existing donors must be offered a simple means of opting out of receiving further communication from you.  

2.   Legitimate interest

The lack of clarity around ‘legitimate interest’ (situations where organisations can process personal data without needing explicit consent) has meant organisations have missed out on opportunities to attract new customers.

Under the new Bill, attracting and retaining donors through direct marketing is identified as a legitimate interest, and extended to charities, meaning you’ll be able to use it as a lawful basis to recruit new supporters. However, donors must have the right to object to marketing if they wish.

Cookie consent

Cookie consent will no longer be required when data is gathered to support website analytics. This means you’ll be better able to track how website visitors interact with your site and make changes to improve its performance.

Final Word

This is good news for fundraisers. It’ll bring electronic communication with supporters in line with print communications, and enable charities to approach supporters on the same basis as for-profit organisations.

If the Bill progresses as planned, the changes are unlikely to come into play until 2024, giving you plenty of time to assess your data protection practices and prepare for any changes.

This is where we come in. If you’re in need of a data-savvy fundraiser to check you’re compliant, we can help. Give us a call on 0203 750 3111 to get the ball rolling.

Introducing Microlink

The disability employment gap in the UK currently stands at 29.8%, which means more than two million talented people are missing out on job opportunities.

As staunch disability advocates, we believe that disability shouldn’t stop anyone from having a fulfilling work life and we champion organisations that feel the same way in our blog.

In this post, we’re focusing on Microlink.

What is Microlink?

The UK’s leading provider of assistive technology, workplace adjustments and accessibility solutions, Microlink has been revolutionising accessibility in the workplace since 1992. 

They provide tools, technology, training and support to ensure organisations and education providers to ensure they meet the requirements of the Equality Act 2010, and are properly equipped to accommodate disabled employees.

Microlink’s services

Microlink offer a wide range of services – (you can see the full list here), but in this blog post, we’re going to focus on three of their key offerings.

MiCase

Microlink’s core offering is MiCase – a one-stop, made-to-measure workplace adjustment service.

The service comprises of four components:

Assessment: Microlink advisors visit the workplace and carry out an assessment to identify obstacles and barriers (this covers both the physical and digital environments).

Consultation: They produce a report recommending cost-effective solutions (i.e., technology/software/products), along with a proposed timeline of implementation. 

Training: Solutions are delivered, and training is provided to staff.

Monitoring: Productivity is measured to demonstrate ROI.

The service costs circa. £750 and the entire process takes around 20 days.

Accessibility recruitment service

Microlink’s accessibility recruitment service ensures organisations’ recruitment practices are inclusive and accessible, to enable them to reach the broadest pool of talent.

They do this by providing audits on every stage of the recruitment process, from job descriptions and advertising to interviews and onboarding.

They then highlight potential obstacles, recommend solutions (often in the form of assistive technology), and work with organisations to implement them.

Coaching

Microlink also offer a series of coaching programmes.

Workplace strategy Coaching

 They work 1:1 with disabled employees to help them find practical solutions to challenges, and develop sustainable strategies for their condition.

Manager Coaching

In these sessions, Microlink experts advise managers on how to best support their employees. After eight hours of coaching, coaches are given an ILM certification (as evidence of CPD).

Co-coaching

These sessions explore the difficulties faced by employers and their colleagues and helps them find new ways to communicate and work together more effectively.

Group Coaching

Group coaching encourages disabled employees to share strategies, while making contacts through peer support. The sessions cover concentration, working memory, time management, organisation, communication, wellbeing, and any other topics the group feel they would benefit from.

Each participant receives a brief individualised report detailing their personal strategies and strengths that can be shared with their employer.

Want to find out how Microlink can help you make your workplace more accessible? Reach out to them at wpa@microlinkpc.com or give them a call on 02380 240 300 to get started.

Is a 4-day working week set to become the new norm?

We all love a 3-day weekend. Bank holidays are always a cause for excitement. But what if you scrapped the traditional 5-day week and made this the norm?

If the results of the world’s largest ever four-day working week trial are anything to go by, this may be the way things are heading.

Organised by 4 Day Week Global in partnership with thinktank Autonomy, the study saw researchers examine the impact of reduced working hours over a six-month period. 

61 companies across a variety of sectors, (including seven charities), took part, cutting their working hours by 20%, with no reduction in pay, from June to December 2022.

The findings were significant:

• 56 of the 61 organisations that took part said they plan to continue with the four-day working week, while 18 confirmed the policy has become a permanent change.

• 39% of employees said they were less stressed compared with the start of the trial, and the number of sick days taken during the trial dropped by around two-thirds

• 71% had reduced levels of burnout at the end of the trial.

• 60% of employees found an increased ability to combine paid work with care responsibilities

• The number of staff leaving participating companies dropped by 57% over the trial period.

• The results even found that company revenue increased slightly by 1.4% on average over the trial period, and by a much higher 35% compared to the same six-month period in 2021.

Winning the war for talent

The trial has shown that (among other things) a shorter working week has the potential to improve employee wellbeing, improve productivity, and boost revenue.

But there’s another major benefit. In the current candidate driven recruitment market, flexible working is high on jobseekers wish lists. In fact, a study by Remote found that 77% of 10,000 individuals surveyed valued flexible working hours over any other perk.

However, employers are well aware of this, with two thirds now offering it as standard. To win the war on fundraising talent, you need to take flexible working a step further.

A four-day working week could be just the thing to give you the edge over your competitors.

Opinion

It remains to be seen whether a four-day week is the solution to the changing 21st century workplace. It’s a concept that many organisations may struggle with, at least initially, as it requires a break to working culture norms and a complete shift in mindset.

But, if employee attraction, retention and wellbeing are high on your priority list, a four-day workweek could be the answer. 

Final Word

Whether you offer a 4-day work week or not, we have a bank of talented fundraisers looking to get their teeth into their next role. Give us a call on 020 3750 3111 to get the conversation started.

Introducing Evenbreak

There are approximately 7.7 million disabled people of working age in the UK. Many of them are more than able to work, but with the disability employment gap currently sitting at 29%, more two million of them are missing out on job opportunities.

This represents a huge pool of untapped talent that businesses can’t afford to ignore, given the skills shortages and increasing levels of economic inactivity in the UK.

This is where Evenbreak comes in.

Evenbreak is an award-winning social enterprise run by disabled people (every member of the Evenbreak team is disabled), for disabled people.

Headed up by Jane Hatton (an experienced diversity and inclusion professional), the organisation exists to help disabled jobseekers find work with inclusive employers who value their skills.

What do they do?

Evenbreak’s core offering is its accessible job board, which advertises roles exclusively for disabled applicants.

Around 50,000 disabled people are registered on the board, and 60+ employers such as John Lewis, Lloyds Banking Group, Network Rail, and the Wellcome Trust advertise their vacancies on it, in order to attract candidates from Evenbreak’s vast pool of disabled talent.

The job board benefits employers and candidates alike:

Employers: Advertising on the platform enables employers to attract candidates they won’t find elsewhere and demonstrates their commitment to inclusive recruitment.

Candidates: Employers pay to advertise their jobs with Evenbreak, so candidates can apply knowing their applications will be taken seriously, and they won’t be discriminated against.

Other services

In addition to the job board, Evenbreak offers a range of additional services for candidate and employers:

Services for candidates

• Free One-to-one careers coaching

• Practical help and advice such as interview practice and CV development

• Webinars with coaches and ‘meet the employer’ events

• Additional career advice and resources are available on Evenbreak’s Career Hive 

Services for employers

• Bespoke consultancy and leadership support (which draws on Evenbreak’s lived and shared experiences of disability)

• Interactive workshops, workplace needs Aasessments, 1-2-1 assistive technology training, workplace strategy coaching, and mental health mentoring

• Diversity events

• Webinars, round tables and ‘Evenbreak Explores’ events

• eBooks

• Their best practice portal contains a wide range of practical resources and tools for employers around inclusion and accessibility in the workplace. 

Final word

More and more businesses are discovering the benefits of building a diverse workforce.

If you’re an inclusive employer looking to attract disabled talent, or a disabled fundraiser looking for work with an inclusive employer, why not let Evenbreak support you on your recruitment journey?

Email them at info@evenbreak.co.uk or give them a call on 0845 658 5717 to get started.

Word from the top: Springboard Interim

It’s official. Recruiting for senior interim fundraising roles is harder than ever.

Clients are telling us their interim roles are remaining unfilled for months, while candidates are saying the combination of the candidate-driven market (giving them access to a greater choice of permanent roles than ever before), coupled with an uncertain economy, (making short-term employment a riskier option), means interim work doesn’t have the allure it once did.

Charities can’t afford to have key senior fundraising roles vacant, nor can they afford to settle for an imperfect fit.

So, what can you do to make interim contracts more attractive?

1.      Guarantee a fixed-term

The vast majority of interim contracts are created due to maternity/paternity leave.

Quite rightly, new parents are entitled to return to work at a time that suits them. However, this can create uncertainty for interim fundraisers, who might find themselves out of a job sooner than planned.

Some of our clients are combatting this by offering candidates a fixed term that covers the entire maternity period, i.e., if the new parent returns to work early, the charity will either redeploy their interim fundraiser or pay out the rest of their contract.

2.      Pay an interim premium

A few of our clients are trialling a 10% - 20% premium on salaries for interim contracts.

If you’re paying below market rate, this may not help, but it can make all the difference if you’re offering a generous salary. A boost in pay can make the potential risks of a short-term contract easier to swallow.

3.      Offer longer notice periods, sooner

A few of our clients are looking to introduce longer notice periods, starting from day one. i.e., if their standard notice period is one month, they’re extending it to three. If it’s three months, they’re making it five.

The key point is the notice period starts from day one, without the need for the candidate to pass a probationary period.

This gives them more time to find a new role when the contract comes to an end.

To add another level of security, one of our clients is looking at a notice period that comes into play even if the entire maternity contract is served.

4.      Offer development opportunities

One way of securing interim talent without stretching your budget is to offer the role as a development opportunity.

Effectively, this means recruiting someone with all the skills, talent, and experience you need, but customising the role to stretch their experience in terms of team size, budgets, or something else, to help them springboard their career.

If a candidate thinks they can cut the curve of their career progression by a year or two, they may consider stepping out of a permanent role.

This option appeals to a lot of charities we’ve spoken to, but they don’t have the internal capacity to support candidates.

This is where Springboard Interim comes in.

What is Springboard Interim?

If you’ve got an interim fundraising contract you’re struggling to fill, but can’t afford to compromise on quality, we’ll help you find the perfect candidate.

No money is paid up-front, but you’ll commit to working exclusively with us.

We’ll target rising fundraising stars (in permanent roles), for whom your role represents an incredible development opportunity.

“Why would they consider it?” I hear you ask. Because we offer the following:

• A signed contract committing us to working with them to secure their next role (beyond the interim one).

• An additional month’s notice, paid by us, if we don’t find them their next big role (once their contract is complete).

• Half a day’s mentoring by a talented fundraising career coach every month, for the duration of their contract. This will help the candidate navigate their role effectively, whilst ensuring they develop the skills and experience necessary to go on to bigger things.

We’ve trialled Springboard Interim with a few clients and the results have been spectacular.

But don’t take our word for it. Get in touch with our Director, Graham, at graham@bamboofundraising.co.uk and try the product out.

And be quick about it. Due to the resource-intensive nature of the product, we only have three spaces left until the end of March.