Street Fundraising - Face-to-face Fundraising

Face-to-face Fundraising

Face-to-face fundraising, which includes street and door-to-door fundraising, has in recent years become a major source of income for many charities around the world. The reason the technique is so popular is that charities usually get a very profitable return on their investment (often around 3:1) because the person is asked to donate on a regular basis. By securing long term donations, charities are able to plan future campaigns in the knowledge that they have a guaranteed amount of money to work with.

Face-to-face fundraisers also serve to raise awareness of small charities and highlight the importance of new campaigns in larger, more well known organisations. The primary role of a fundraiser is to secure financial support, but charities also consider it an effective way to reach people and share important information. It is known to be particularly effective as a method of engaging young people who may not normally consider themselves interested in the charity's work.

The regulations made by the Charities Act 2006 in the UK led to significant changes to face-to-face fundraising. From 1 April 2008, professional (paid) fundraisers have been required to disclose to the public that they are paid, and fundraising agencies have been required to disclose the donor recruitment costs involved in that campaign.