F2F Fundraising in 2018 Pt1

What’s in store for face-to-face fundraising in 2018? Whilst one or two charities pulled out of the Australian channel in 2017 following the announcement of the first class-action lawsuit and Channel 7's so-called expose, we are seeing more charities joining the f2f ranks. In short, this means that demand is at an all time high and that supply will need to catch up if all charities are going to hit their targets.

Just two weeks after the Australian Red Cross announced that they would no longer use third-party commission-only contractors in their fundraising mix, a second class-action case is reported. Pressure is being put on the suppliers by the press and their clients to ensure they are not deemed to be short-changing their representatives.

So, what’s in store for 2018? I predict a lot of employment-model and in-house fundraising will be adopted, but I’m nervous that even though the staff will be paid, we will see a big drop in ethics and standards in the field. As mentioned last week, base wage fundraising means that the top performers earn less than they used to and the worst earn more. This is not an ideal business model, but it is one that needs to be adhered to.

With targets increasing, the agencies may pile the pressure on their teams to perform at a level that their skills do not reach, and this can mean trouble.

Gone are the days of set and forget f2f management. In 2018, charities will need to be better resourced with even more vigilant supply chain management and contract negotiation, even more intense with mystery shopping, even stronger with their complaints reporting, better and more frequent with their training, and at all costs they need to invest in an attrition report that filters by agency and fundraiser.