Michael Naidu, acting chair of the PFRA
Figures from the Public Fundraising Regulatory Association show 730,269 people signed up as donors to member organisations in 2010/11
The number of donors recruited by members of the Public Fundraising Regulatory Association through face-to-face fundraising rose by more than 100,000 in 2010/11, according to figures released in advance of its annual general meeting today.
The figures show that 730,269 people signed up as donors to PFRA member organisations during the year, compared with 624,951 in 2009/10. It is the second-highest level of sign-ups in the PFRA’s 10-year history, behind the 740,670 recorded in 2008/09.
Figures on attrition and retention rates for face-to-face fundraising were due to be released by the PFRA at the annual meeting.
A spokesman for the PFRA said the increase in sign-ups occurred "because the bigger charities are doing more recruitment".
He said the PFRA had 103 charity members – a slight rise from last year – but the majority of the new members were small charities. He said the increase in membership was not the main reason for the higher sign-up figure.
Of the sign-ups in 2010/11, 559,659 were recruited through door-to-door fundraising, an increase of 25 per cent compared with 2009/10.
The report says 170,610 were recruited through street fundraising – a fall of 4 per cent on last year. Street sign-ups in Scotland were up by a third, however.
Michael Naidu, the PFRA’s acting chair, said the drop in street fundraising sign-ups occurred because a delay in the implementation of part 3 of the Charities Act 2006, which makes the Charity Commission the lead regulator of public charitable collections, was causing uncertainty among charities.
He said the delay was driving charities to move their budgets to door-to-door instead, which is not affected by the act.
