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Street fundraisers: brightening your day

By Victoria Watts
August 10, 2010 at 12:01 pm

We’ve all done it: crossed the road, averted our eyes, pretended to be on the telephone – anything to avoid them. I’m talking about street fundraisers. The enthusiastic, smiling, bouncy people that hit the high streets and heaven forbid try to talk to us on our lunch hour.

They seem to hit a nerve – be it guilt we’re not giving or annoyance that someone dare interrupt us – but there’s no denying that street fundraising is a controversial topic.

Last week, I had a reason to closely observe the fundraisers when our chief executive Nick Young, and director of fundraising Mark Astarita showed their support and witnessed first hand the role of street fundraisers by going incognito in the role for an afternoon in Moorgate.

I stepped out to watch them and winced as person after person walked past employing their individual avoidance techniques. I wasn’t even fundraising but I could still feel the pain of consistently being ignored.

Things did pick up and the two men caught some people’s attention and had a number of meaningful conversations but alas no money was made. You might have a giggle at this and think that surely the chief executive and director of fundraising should have had some success but really the lesson learned is that this is a really difficult job.

Indeed, both Nick and Mark’s immediate reaction to their two-and-a-half-hour stint was how tough it was. Nick said: “It was fantastic but really hard work. You are essentially performing all the time – trying to make people smile, finding witty remarks. I am in awe of the fundraisers’ energy and enthusiasm. It’s a difficult job and they do it with grace, style and panache. They deserve our utmost thanks.”

And we really do owe them thanks. The reason the Red Cross uses street fundraising is because it works. In 2009 alone, it recruited 9,877 donors with a projected one-year income of £606,422. You can’t really argue with that but, of course, many people do.

One of the fundraisers I met on the day was Adam Rolfe who plans to study for a masters in human rights next year. In the previous eight weeks, he had managed to raise thousands of pounds for the Red Cross, which is brilliant – just think of the difference that money will make.

But for me, it wasn’t these impressive totals that struck me the most. As I sat watching the fundraisers, I noticed that on the street they were among the only people smiling. They were cheerful, they said their hellos and above all they made other people smile too. They truly brightened the street. And contrary to popular belief, if they met someone’s eye and the person declined, they simply said “Have a nice day” and moved on.

So next time you come across a charity fundraiser, don’t avoid them like the plague. Remember the difficult job they’re doing and choose one of two options: politely decline or, even better, listen to what they have to say and sign up if you can afford it – but most of all try to smile because, if you’ll excuse my cheesiness, a smile won’t cost you anything.

Watch out for an upcoming blog by street fundraiser Mark Quinn: In defence of chugging

Find out more about our fundraising campaigns

Images: Travis Hodges/BRC

Comments (10) »

Tags: Mark Astarita, nick young, street fundraisers

The Red Cross values comments both complimentary and critical. However, we will not tolerate the following: aggressive or personal criticism of the blogger, breach of copyright, obscene, defamatory, profane, sexually oriented, racially offensive or likewise objectionable comments.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 10th, 2010 at 12:01 pm and is filed under Fundraising and events. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

no chuggers

I HATE chuggers! I support the Red Cross, but this really is harrassment. Even worse, the Red Cross come and ring on my elderly mother's doorbell to try and persuade her to give money. I think these kind of tactics are out of order. My mother signed up with one of those chuggers because he sweet-talked her, and she didn't even understand that she was doing a direct debit! Shame on the Red Cross for employing these tactics!
http://blogs.redcross.org.uk British Red Cross

We use face-to-face fundraising as way of raising money because it is personal, cost-effective and engages with audiences that we cannot reach through more traditional methods.

All our fundraisers are trained in procedures that ensure that common sense and courtesy are applied when approaching individuals, with specific policies and procedures in place to help ensure that vulnerable people are protected. All face-to-face fundraisers are regulated by the Public Fundraising Regulatory Association, whose website can be found at http://www.pfra.org.uk/

We would therefore welcome your further comments on your Mother’s negative experience, as we are keen to investigate your concerns and take action, where appropriate.

Please e-mail us in confidence at supportercare@redcross.org.uk
Mrsvictoriawm

I'm really impressed the CEO and director of fundraising went onto the streets to do this! It looks like a pretty tough job and I think maybe this is the only way some people come into contact with charities. Keep up the good work!!
guest

good on the red cross chief exec gettin out there and trying to stop people. its so funny when u see ppl ignore everyone. WERE SO AFRAID TO TALK thesedays. I saw a lady giving out free sachets of Nescafe coffee the other day, and people were going IM NOT INTERESTED. the fact is that people dont approach charities to help, and weve all watched tv adverts and not given, i think the fundraisers have a real hard job, and THEY ARE PEOPLE, not robots, so treat them with a bit of respect.
What does it cost?

There's plenty about how much street fundraisers raise.

There's nothing about how much street fundraisers cost. And that's a crucial part of the equation. If it raises £1 million, but costs £2 million it is a pointless exercise. The fundraiser on the other blog being so unabashedly ashamed of his making money (and enough to support a family of four with him as sole breadwinner, to boot) gives me the horrors. It also demeans the amount of money I give to the Red Cross and the amount of money I personally raise for the Red Cross, which no one paid me to do.

I give a lot of time, energy, effort and money to the Red Cross, and make a point of raising quite a bit as well through sponsored events, donating my First Aid at work extra pay and encouraging others to do the same, and so on. Please someone tell me why I should even bother when someone a) will so arragantly claim he can support a family of four on the money the Red Cross will pay him to raise money instead, b) while chuggers continue to generate substantial bad press and bad feeling towards charities that use them, c) there is no transparancy as to how much they cost the Red Cross, and d) they make it harder for the rest of us to raise funds, even in an emergency.

When I try to solicit funds of late (I'm doing a sponsored event), I am increasingly met with “I checked, they use chuggers, my funds are going elsewhere. I'm sick of paying for them/being annoyed by them/the harrassment/insert gripe here” I can't say I disagree with them. So what are they costing on paper, and what are they costing in terms of other lost donations?
Imogen Ward

I am so impressed that Nick and Mark ventured into the frontline of fundraising! It's all too easy for senior management to be lofty about the coal face and this a brilliant signal of top down commitment. The simple act of engaging someone in a conversation about charities work and asking for support of its projects is one of the oldest and most immediate forms of fundraising stretching back centuries. People who do spend the time to engage with street fundraisers in it's 21st century 'modern' form generally feel enriched by the experience even if they decide not to sign up for regular support. Nobody should ever feel harassed by street fundraisers and if this is the case there are plenty of mechanisms for complaints as outlined on other posts. But really if it's just because the cause doesn't float your boat or you just cringe at being approached a polite no will really suffice & is a far more mature response then a sneer!
Saradel89

Oh wow, this is such a nice article, as an ex-fundraiser it’s lovely to see the work of fundraisers being truly appreciated for exactly what it is! Well done for having the guts to go out and have a go!
Doug_Kent

I have come across street chuggers and door-to-door chuggers from Red Cross, I think its absolutely outrageous that this type soliciting takes place, its paramount to begging. When you multiple this by the number of charities chugging (save the children, blind dogs etc) the whole process is a complete nuisance. A number of London authorities have a process in place whereby any street peddler needs to get authorisation from the authority prior to starting. I think this should be compulsory and this type of activity severely restricted. I’ve seen elderly people getting their bank details out of their bag for complete strangers press ganging vunerable persons. The charities have substantial funds in their bank accounts and should be above this type of disgraceful behaviour.
Disgusted of Basingstoke.

I have just been accousted on my doorstep by a Red Cross fundraiser who when I politely declined and stated that I have made my charity arrangements asked me what they were. What a cheek.
massiv

to be honest im a little peeved at your reaction to somebody being able to live on a wage which you consider to be too little to raise a family of four. my mother is currently living on a student allowance and supporting 3 children and a good for nothing husband so my reaction to hearing news like this is pleasing to me. i am curently about to start work as a street fundraiser and will be earning considerably more than my mother so you seem to have a poor perception of what people are capable of when need must. sorry to go on a but i felt i had to comment.

I wish you all the best for the future

kind regards P G

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Street fundraisers: brightening your day

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Victoria Watts

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