Press Release
PFRA reveals sign-ups through direct dialogue fundraising increased by 16 per cent during 2008/09
June 22 2009
• PFRA AGM to reveal strong growth in face-to-face sign-ups despite recession fears
• AGM to be followed by first-ever PFRA parliamentary reception
Delegates to the Public Fundraising Regulatory Association's AGM on Wednesday 24 June will hear that face-to-face (F2F) and door-to-door (D2D) fundraising secured at least 681,000 new donors during the 2008/09 financial year.
PFRA chief executive Mick Aldridge will tell delegates that this figure represents a 16 per increase on sign-ups from 2007/08 – despite the UK economy having been in recession for the past six months – with an estimated pledge value of at least £70 million1.
Attendees will also hear details of PFRA developments and achievements in promoting, protecting, and extending F2F activity over the past year, including:
• growth in the network of PFRA-managed access diaries
• significant additions to the association's panel of professional advisory 'Observers' (admission of NALEO – National Association of Licensing and Enforcement Officers); and
• important outreach and engagement projects involving key stakeholders such as ACPO (Association of Chief Police Officers) and TSI (Trading Standards Institute). On June 12 PFRA became a corporate affiliate of the TSI, signifying the association's commitment to 'fair trading and consumer protection'.
The AGM will be followed by the PFRA's first-ever parliamentary reception, hosted in the House of Commons by Martin Horwood MP (LD, Cheltenham) who has been a supportive correspondent of the PFRA since during the passage of the Charities Bill.
The purpose of the reception is to introduce the PFRA to and senior fundraisers to key parliamentarians, in the context of the anticipated implementation of the Charities Act during 2010 – certain to be an election year. It is also one of a series of events that the association is undertaking between October 2008 and October 2009 to mark the fifth anniversary (21 Oct 2003) of the association's demerger from the Institute of Fundraising and subsequent development as an independent regulator.
Aldridge is excited by the symbolism as well as by the hard challenges ahead. He comments: "F2F in all its forms have come a long way since 2003 and the PFRA has been instrumental in building bridges towards local government and opinion-formers of all kinds, and reforming the image of the medium. Over the year ahead we will inevitably be under the spotlight once again as the act rolls out and the election gets under way, but the sector is more confident and resilient than ever.
"There is now a solid 10-year record of success here in the UK which charities can build on. In the teeth of a recession people still want to give, and give effectively, person to person. Nothing can replace the human touch and we hope to make that point clearly, even within the grandeur of Westminster."
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- PFRA reveals sign-ups through direct dialogue fundraising increased by 16 per cent during 2008/09
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