Undercover reporter reveals unethical door-to-door fundraising practices

Two major UK charities have launched investigations after an undercover reporter from WalesOnline released footage of face-to-face fundraisers breaking the Code of Fundraising Practice.

The Welsh newspaper revealed that workers at direct sales firm Vantage and Solution Cardiff employed pressure selling tactics to solicit donations from elderly people for SOS Children’s Villages UK and the National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS).

Reporter Conor Gogarty, who conducted the investigation, undertook training with the agency. During the session, he was told to “trick” people “into saying yes” and “expand greed” in them but he didn’t receive any training on fundraising regulations or identifying vulnerable individuals.

He was then taken out on door-to-door calls with other fundraisers, during which he recorded secret footage of conversations with people on their doorsteps. 

On the walkabout, Gogarty said he “witnessed a series of lies told on doorsteps to get elderly people to sign up to direct debits to charities”. He went on to say that “one pensioner had to say no four times before the sales rep stopped persisting. There was also an attempt to sign up a woman who was clearly confused. When the sales rep asked her if she banked in the UK, she answered, 'I'm 70-odd.’ Despite her confusion, the sales rep persisted - only walking away when the lady failed to give him a phone number.”

Response

Sarah Bradford, director of communications and brand at SOS Children's Villages UK, said of the footage, “this kind of behaviour, this working culture and these types of practices absolutely do not align with our values or the way we work. We demand extremely high standards from the agencies we work with to fundraise and are deeply concerned to hear of any experience where our required safeguards and quality controls are not being met.”

Bradford went on to say that, since seeing Gogarty’s footage, the charity has been in touch with the relevant regulatory bodies and “begun a thorough investigation into how this could have occurred”.

This includes checking all the paperwork, processes, training records and materials for fundraisers working on the campaign.

Due diligence

It remains to be seen how the reputation of the two charities will fare following the release of the footage. After all, unethical fundraising practices don’t make for great PR.

The footage also highlights the importance of due diligence.

Working with a fundraising agency can bring many benefits. They employ skilled and experienced fundraisers who are equipped to provide advice and expertise on how to carry out a great fundraising campaign.

But there are responsibilities that come with working with agencies.

Charities must undertake due diligence to ensure all fundraising carried out in their name is compliant and ethical.

Want to know more? The following resources will tell you everything you need to know.

•  Read The Fundraising Regulator’s Code of Fundraising Practice section on Working with Third Parties

• Review the rules around Solicitation Statements

• Take a look at the Chartered Institute of Fundraising’s guidance on working with third parties.

Final Word

Need an eagle-eyed fundraiser to manage your fundraising compliance? We can help. Call us on 0203 750 3111 or email info@bamboofundraising.co.uk to get the conversation started.

Team Talks: Joanna’s cold water swimming

Fundraising recruitment is a ‘people’ business. So, we thought it was about time you got to know the people behind Bamboo.

In our ‘Team Talks’ series, we’ll be grilling each member of the team on their hobbies, passions, and anything else we can think of.

First up is Joanna, talking about her passion for cold-water swimming.

What is cold water swimming?

Basically, it’s any form of outdoor swimming.

I do sea swimming regularly, but I’ve also tried river and lagoon swimming.

How long have you been doing it?             

I started doing it during the pandemic.

Before the pandemic, I swam every day in a private pool.

Swimming is my exercise of choice as its gentle on my joints and good for my various ailments. (Joanna has Congenital talipes equinovarus, also known as club foot. And Femoroacetabular impingement).  

Then lockdown happened, and it all stopped.

Everyone else swapped their usual exercise for long walks, but I couldn’t do that as my hips were painful, and I kept falling over.

Not being able to swim really got me down, so I went to see a doctor.

The first one I spoke to prescribed antidepressants. I didn’t want to take them, but as I was so low, I gave them a go. But they didn't sit well with me. So, I called the GP again and spoke to a different doctor.

I’ll never forget our conversation. I was sitting in my car, crying. I told her I was struggling physically and mentally as I couldn’t swim.

She asked if I was comfortable swimming in the sea. I said I was, but I hadn’t done it for years as I lived in London and had a busy job.

She suggested I look into cold water swimming. She said there were groups all over the country, and if it appealed, she would write a letter that would allow me to do it without getting fined.

After the call, I jumped on Facebook, found the Blue Tits, and before I knew it, I was venturing out for my first swim, armed with my bathers, bobble hat, and my precious GP letter.

How was your first session?

I was nervous. As the group had been doing it for some time, I thought they might be cliquey. But they welcomed me in and made me feel comfortable, instantly.

As for the swim, it was amazing. Every bit of my body felt worked, including the bits I didn’t expect to feel, like my forearms.

But it wasn’t just good for my body. The social side of it was great for my mental health.

Do you still go?

Yes. I try and go twice a week. I’ve made some amazing friendships from it. We go for coffees, breakfasts, and celebrate each other’s birthdays. It’s lovely.

The group has also helped build my confidence. Off the back of it, I did the Tenby Boxing Day swim in a Christmas tree onesie last year

Do you swim all year round?

Yes. I remember the temperature was -2° on one of my swims in February. There was frost on the sand. It was warmer in the sea!

How does the Blue Tits work?

The Blue Tits is the overarching group, then there are local groups across the country.

Each group has a Facebook page, and everything is organised through them.

It’s very informal. You don’t have to pay to do it.

How many are in your group?

There are seven or eight regulars that go pretty much every day. They can afford to do it as most of them are retired.

Is it safe to say you’d recommend cold water swimming to burnt out fundraisers?

Yes! For me, it's a form of physical and mental therapy. It allows me to switch off from everything else going on in my life.

I knew anti-depressants weren’t what I needed!

And I can’t rave enough about the Blue Tits. They’re not regimental like some cold-water swimming groups. They’re relaxed, there are no expectations, and you don’t have to be a skilled swimmer to join.

We have a saying. ‘Never leave you flock’. Basically, you swim as a group and look out for each other. If you start struggling, or feeling unwell, someone will be on hand to help.

If you want to get out after five minutes, that’s fine too, as we respect each other’s limitations.

Final Word

Joanna clearly gets a lot from cold water swimming. Why not give it a go and start reaping the rewards yourself?

Want to find out more about the Blue Tits? Take the plunge and check out their website.

The Importance of employee engagement

Let’s start with a question. What’s the simplest and most cost-effective way to spread the word about the great work you’re doing? Social media influencers? No. Celebrities? Nope. Flashy ad campaigns? Definitely not.

Granted, these are great options if you have deep pockets or well-connected trustees.

But your most powerful ambassadors are a lot closer to home: your employees.

They know the charity better than anyone else. They’re on the front line, executing your fundraising campaigns, attending events, and working with beneficiaries. They also see the impact of the work you’re doing.

Who’s better placed to promote your brand?

What is employee advocacy?

Employee advocates are similar to brand ambassadors in the sense that they actively endorse your brand.

It can take place online or offline. But in 2023, the most effective way to do it is on social media.

It’s like word-of-mouth for the digital age.

What are the benefits of an employee advocacy programme?

Your employees are one of your biggest untapped marketing resources. They’re the influencers and brand ambassadors that have been under your nose all along.

Some of them may wax lyrical about the charity already. But an official employee advocacy program can take that organic influence to the next level. 

Here are just a few of the reasons to consider implementing an employee advocacy programme.

Credibility & trust

84% of consumers’ value recommendations from friends and family above any forms of marketing.

And 77% of consumers are more likely to donate after hearing about a charity from someone they trust. 

The numbers say it all. Employee advocacy is a powerful way to establish credibility and generate additional income.

Reach & engagement

Collectively, your employees are probably connected to hundreds, if not thousands of people on social media. LinkedIn research shows that, on average, employees’ social network are ten times larger than those of brands.

That’s a lot of potential eyeballs on your brand.

It’s also worth noting that content shared by employees receives 8X more engagement than that shared by brands directly, due to it being perceived as more authentic.

Talent acquisition & retention

Employee advocacy is being adopted by a growing number of brands to meet the growing recruitment challenge in the UK. And it’s making a difference.

According to LinkedIn research, organisations with successful advocacy programmes are 50% more likely to attract talent and 20% more likely to retain employees.

No surprise there. What would appeal to you more? A bog-standard job ad, or a personalised recommendation from someone working on the front line?

Final Word

We’ve told you what employee advocacy is and why you should consider implementing an employee advocacy programme. Now what?

Keep an eye out for part two of this series, where we’ll tell you how to turn your staff into raving brand ambassadors.

In the meantime, if you’re looking to expand your fundraising team, we’re well-placed to help. Give us a call on 020 3750 3111 or email us at info@bamboofundraising.co.uk to get started.

Blogging 101: Part 3

You’ve spent hours crafting an insightful, educational, and engaging blog post. You followed the advice in our previous Blogging 101 post and are proud of the quality of your content.

You give it a final proofread, upload it to your website, and wait for the influx of views, comments, and shares.

A week later, you’re disappointed to see there’s been no engagement.

The post has tanked, and you have no idea why.

The good news? It may have nothing to do with the quality of your writing. A lot of blog posts fail to capture readers’ attention due to the way they’re formatted.

In this final part of our Blogging 101 series, we’re going to give you the lowdown on blog formatting and leave you with a few best practice tips to ensure your readers keep coming back for more.

Let’s get into it.

Why is formatting important?

People consume blog content differently to printed content. Web content is rarely read word by word. Instead, people scan the page, picking out individual words and sentences.

For this reason, your blog posts need to be clear, easy to read, and scannable. If they’re not, readers will move on.

Here are some top formatting tips to bear in mind when writing your next blog post.

Keep your paragraphs short

A blog post doesn’t need huge blocks of text to communicate depth. Let the value of your content speak for itself. By keeping your paragraphs short (2-4 sentences), you’ll give readers the gift of whitespace, which has been shown to increase reading speed and comprehension.

Break up the copy

No one wants to be faced with a wall of text - it’s a surefire way to turn readers off. Break up the copy by incorporating these formatting tactics:

Subheadings

Subheadings are effectively mini titles. They act as “signposts” in the copy, so readers can easily identify what each section of the blog is about. If you’ve got four key points to make in your post, you’ll likely need four subheadings.

Lists

Lists are the cornerstone of scannable content. They’re generally used to summarise/highlight key information or lay out a sequence of steps in a process.

You can itemise your lists using:

Bullet points: use these when the order of the information doesn’t matter.
Numbered lists: use these when the order of the items is important, (e.g., steps for following a recipe).

Images

A picture is worth a thousand words, so make use of them.

• Striking images can drive a point home and elicit an emotional response.

• Diagrams or gifs can help you explain complicated topics.

• Infographics are a great way to highlight the impact of a campaign.

Include internal links

Internal links are links from one part of your website to another part of your website. For example, this internal link takes you from this page to part one of our ‘Blogging: 101’ series.

Internal links are important as they help readers navigate your website and find information they want to read.

They’re also important for search engine optimisation.

The number of internal links pointing to a page is a signal to search engines about the importance of that page. So, the more internal links a post or page receives, the more important it’s perceived to be by the search engines.

In other words, you can use internal links strategically to give the most important pages on your website an SEO boost.

Incorporate keywords

If your blog content ranks highly on Google, you’ll get web traffic consistently over time. But you can’t just publish any old content and expect to be inundated with visitors. You need to write about topics that people are searching for.

This is why you need to include keywords in your blog posts. 

Find out more about keywords, read our post titled: improve your SEO in 5 easy steps.

Best Practice tips

That’s the lowdown on formatting. Let’s round things off with a few best practice tips.

How long should a blog post be?

If you google this question, you’ll get a million different answers, because there’s no hard and fast rule. There’s evidence to suggest that long form blog posts (1000 words+) rank better on google, but there’s no “one size fits all” solution as different topics require different depths of content.

The one thing the experts agree on is, for SEO purposes, a blog post should be 300 words minimum, but over and above this, it’s a case of quality over quantity.

How often should you post?

Search engines favour blogs that are updated frequently, so the more content you publish, the better your chances of climbing the search engine rankings.

However, you can’t compromise on quality, so be realistic about what you can produce.

Start by posting once a week. You can increase it once you know how time intensive the process is.

Build up a reserve

Whether you’re posting once a week or daily, you need to be consistent - both to establish credibility with your audience and keep them coming back for more.

To ensure there are no gaps, build up a reserve of content. Aim to have 3- or 4-weeks’ worth of posts written in advance, so you don’t get caught short.

Need some help/advice with your blog? Our content manager can help. Give us a call on 0203 750 3111 or email info@bamboofundraising.co.uk to get started.

Proposed changes to inheritance tax could affect legacy income

Inheritance Tax (IHT) has been hitting the headlines recently, sparked by a group of Conservative MPs lobbying for its abolition. 

Jacob Rees-Mogg and Liz Truss are among 50 MPs who have written to the prime minister calling for IHT to be scrapped.

The campaign was spearheaded by former chancellor Nadhim Zahawi, who branded inheritance tax “morally wrong”.

As a result, the Conservative party is said to be considering making the scrapping of inheritance tax part of its manifesto pledge, in an attempt to shore up votes ahead of the 2025 general election.

While the proposed change is being welcomed by homeowners, charities are concerned about the effect it would have on legacy giving.  

Before we delve into the reasons why, let’s look at how charities benefit now.

The current state of play

Inheritance tax is a charge on the estate of a person that has died. An estate consists of their property, money, and possessions.

As things currently stand, people with an estate worth less than £325,000 don’t have to pay inheritance tax.

Anyone with an estate above that value is liable to pay 40% tax on the amount over the £325,000 threshold.

The current IHT framework incentivises legacy giving, as charitable gifts in wills are exempt from tax, effectively increasing the IHT allowance on supporters’ estates.

And, if someone donates more than 10% of their estate to charity, they benefit from a discounted IHT rate of 36% across the remainder of their estate.

Third sector concerns

Through its Remember A Charity campaign, the Chartered Institute of Fundraising is urging government and policymakers to consult with them to explore the impact it would have on charities.

The organisation is concerned that changes to the IHT framework could pose a risk to what has become one of the largest sources of voluntary income in the UK, raising £3.9bn annually.

Lucinda Frostick, Director of Remember A Charity said of the news, ‘Legacy giving has become a lifeline for thousands of charities and community-based organisations, building resilience and long-term income that has proved crucial in the current economic climate.”

While IHT impacts less than 4% of deaths, the impact of the gifts from those estates is considerable. They account for around one-quarter of all charitable estates and half of all legacy income donated.

Third sector response

Remember A Charity is taking the lead on a collaborative response to the Government. As Lucinda Frostick explains: ‘As a representative body for almost 200 charities that rely on legacy giving, we’ll be urging government and policymakers to consult with us, our partners, and the wider sector to explore the impact of any IHT changes on gifts in wills and ensure that legacy income will be protected.’

The organisation is working with the Chartered Institute of Fundraising and other sector bodies to build up a bank of evidence on the importance of the IHT to present to Sunak Rishi in the coming months.

Looking for a fundraiser to maximise your legacy income? We can help. Call us on 0203 750 3111 or email info@bamboofundraising.co.uk to get started.