At nfpSynergy we’ve spoken a lot about negative media coverage of charities over the last year, with a particular focus on fundraising practices.

This coverage, combined with the looming Fundraising Preference Service, has created a precarious atmosphere for charity fundraisers. More than ever fundraisers give careful consideration to how they approach people in order to maintain positive relationships without alienating potential supporters.

In the light of the Fundraising Preference Service (FPS) working group consultation, here are some questions that still remain.

Process and practicalities

Leading charity Law firm Stone King have been spearheading a debate as to what trustees should be considering when assessing how to fundraise.

There are proposals for a new Regulator in the light of inappropriate fund raising tactics, but before that is formally set up, charities are already having to balance their fiduciary duties against pressures to amend their practices.

At nfpSynergy we have been very interested in the effect of the new fundraising regulation on charities.

Our research shows it is likely to be popular with the public, but every conversation we have had with charities shows a deep level of concern about the impact of the Fundraising Preference Service.

One aspect of the new regulation about which there has been little discussion is the legal dimension. Our understanding is that trustees have to make decisions that are first and foremost good for the charity they are trustees of: their fiduciary duty.

The charity sector in Ireland has had a hard time of it lately.

The recent economic crisis at home has seen growing pressure on domestic charities’ services and the threat of people turning away from overseas charities. Controversies and scandals in the charity sector have also had a huge impact on public attitudes towards Irish charities, with many feeling that they can no longer trust the sector.

On Tuesday 15^th December 2015, nfpSynergy hosted an open meeting on fundraising regulation, together with the Centre for Sustainable Philanthropy’s fundraising think tank Rogare (read their blog on the event here).

We would like to thank our clients and partners for inspiring us to keep researching the topical issues in the sector. As part of our Social Investment programme we regularly produce Free Reports and feed our finding back to the sector so any charity regardless its size or sector can find something useful. Here are the 12 popular reports this  year.

Falling at the first hurdle? Joe Saxton points out the many challenges ahead of the Fundraising Preference Service, and poses some tough questions.

The Fundraising Review proposed the introduction of a Fundraising Preference Service (FPS). The detail on how this would work is very sketchy, but the basic idea is that a person could ask for all direct charity communications addressed to them to stop. This blog tries to explore how this would work and what the implications might be.

Last month the regulator for premium rate text messages, PhonepayPlus, released data showing that in 2014 text donations raised over £114 million.

This is a great success story for fundraising and charities. At nfpSynergy we are pleased to have played an important role in the changes that bought about the development of text donations. Back in 2008 when I finished my stint as Chair of the Institute of Fundraising I agreed to take on the task of trying to make text donations economic.

There's no doubt the last few weeks have been a torrid time for the charity sector. Joe Saxton explores how it happened, why it happened and, more importantly, what we can do about it.