The trouble with chuggers...
A couple of days ago the BBC ran a report on the 'menace' of chuggers found in Wolverhampton. Feedback obtained by the council through Twitter had found that a high level of people had expressed their reluctance to visit the city centre for fear of being chugged by an ever increasing number of charity street fundraisers. The council's response was to impose a by law that states that 'no person in the street or a public place should solicit custom for a service or seek to gather information in way that could cause obstruction or annoyance' with charities in breach of this subject to a £500 fine.
Understandably many charities were dismayed by this decision, which could well lead to other councils imposing similar restrictions. But many charities are determined to continue chugging regardless - indeed the national fundraiser's regulatory body PFRA has been defiant and advised its members to ignore such rulings as they technically only apply to trading.
I can't help but sympathise with Wolverhampton on this one. Every Saturday without fail I am accosted by several chuggers on my local high street, more often than not from the same charity. Many make a point of standing in my way to prevent me getting past and some even border on being aggressive and rude when you try to avoid them. I'm always polite, they have a job to do after all, but I find the experience both annoying and at times intimidating and most of all irritating as it becomes an regular part of my weekend.
Almost all the chuggers I encounter are working on behalf of big national charities. They seem to be the only ones that have the finances to pay for this sort of service, which is usually run by commercial companies that make a profit from each donation made by the public - the chuggers themselves are normally paid a commission for each direct debit sign up they obtain.
And it's not just street chugging that's causing me annoyance. The rise of 'churglars', fundraisers that have taken to knocking on my front door in the evenings and on weekends, now means there is no escape from the never ending stream of causes that want my support.
I'm sure some of you are thinking that my working in the charity sector should mean I'd be more understanding of this mode of fundraising. Perhaps you're right. It certainly worries me that I'm not more sympathetic to these causes and that this may soon lead to more miserly traits, involving fingerless gloves and shouting 'humbug' at complete strangers. Times are hard after all and charities, like everyone else, are feeling the pinch and so they need to up their fundraising efforts, so whats the big deal? Today, as I played dodgems with the hordes of chuggers on the high street, this time from Amnesty International, I realised why it bugs me so much. It's not the practice per se, but the fact that almost all of the chugging charities that camp out on my high street have no real connection to where I live.
I live in a fairly poor area in East London. I haven't been here that long but I love it - the people are friendly and there is a real sense of community here. We were untouched by the recent riots despite the level of apparent poverty in some areas, which says a lot. There are, like in many other areas, community and charity services struggling to survive here and some take to the streets to organise fundraisers or run collections and I, along with lots of other locals, usually respond warmly.
For me having a personal connection with a charity, be it locality or issue, is key to my wanting to support them. If that's missing then chugging just becomes an annoying intrusion that I would rather avoid, similar to spam mail, or the man that telephones to tell me about insurance offers or even the Jehovah's Witness that knocks on the door to save my soul.
Perhaps instead of seeking to prevent chugging, councils should ensure that charities are able to demonstrate a local connection, with funds raised benefitting the local community? That way if someone like Barnados doesn't have a service in the locality they should not be allowed to fundraise there.
It's not an ideal solution, after all you would not prevent a commercial company from trading anywhere it feels there is business to be made. But we have to do something, otherwise we risk people becoming increasingly apathetic to charities which could lead to giving burn out and that won't be good for anyone.
Thanks for the comment @tehminagoskar yes I agree with you it's as much about changing behaviour as anything and making sure this is managed well. There is a code of conduct for f2f fundraisers but I guess it's hard to enforce. One thing struck me was the nature of outsourcing a service like this. I was at an event today where the head of BT customer services stressed how important it was to not outsource their social media customer services as the nature of the medium required people to develop real relationships and to have an in depth knowledge of the company. I'd say fundraising is v similar, it's all about building relationships and maybe the best people to do this are those that actually work in the charity rather than salespeople primarily driven by commission?
Thank you for posting this article. I think you have articulated what many people feel, whether they work in the charitable sector or not. I remember once collecting for Alexander Rose Day, many years back, outside the Labour Party's HQ at Millbank, London. I had strict instructions not to rattle my collecting box or call out or tout passers-by, or block entrances or pathways. Even with that in mind I was looked at with some disdain by some who found my presence simply irritating. Same when I collected for the Poppy Appeal. So why can't these guidelines also apply as rules to any charitable collector?
Whilst I agree that a local connection is a good one, not all charities can demonstrate this, such as medical charities and those that support efforts abroad--indeed, many causes that good communities would wish to support. Can't the behaviour of so-called chuggers be the focus of change instead? And in terms they can all understand rather than obscurely -expressed bylaws?
Finally, I must say that any aggressive or overly intrusive chugging has usually royally put me off ever giving to that charity, particularly those that want my bank details before explaining exactly what work my money would go to support.
Thanks again for making this a subject of debate!