The Institute of Fundraising has urged Government to recognise fundraising as a vital and valid activity in volunteering initiatives.
Substantial numbers of volunteers are fundraisers - the 2008 NCVO Civil Society Almanac highlighted that approximately two thirds of all volunteers in the UK raise and handle money. This suggests an equivalent of 660,000 full time fundraising employees and substantial additional income to their respected organisations.
Government priority
Volunteering remains a top priority across Government. Engaging the public in volunteering to increase outputs across a range of sectors and improve civil society is key to many public policy agendas. Yet, despite all this energy, volunteer fundraising is rarely acknowledged as a significant and valuable volunteering activity.
The Institute called for the same investment and recognition in volunteer fundraising as service delivery volunteering, prompted by the launch of the Department of Health's consultation, 'Towards a Strategy to Support Volunteering in Health and Social Care'. This consultation was set to act as a blueprint to inform other Government-led initiatives.
Research
To support the Institute's response to the consultation, research was undertaken amongst the membership which produced the following key findings:
- 89% of respondents felt that fundraising volunteers were important or very important within their organisations;
- Volunteer fundraisers raise more than £100,000 per annum in more than a quarter of the organisation who responded to the consultation;
- 61% of the organisations who responded to the consultation have less than 50 volunteer fundraisers;
- Fundraising volunteers were most valued for the additional income they generated, the role that they played in building awareness of the organisation in the community and the local knowledge that they were able to contribute to an organisation;
- Less than half of the organisations who responded to the consultation questionnaire had a specific budget allocation for investment in volunteer fundraising;
- Only 21% of respondents felt that the investment that they had was sufficient;
- More than 80% of those who responded felt that the potential of volunteer fundraisers was not yet being met.
Read the Institute's response to the consultation.
The Institute will continue to press Government to include ALL volunteering activities in any future volunteering strategies. It is vital to the sector’s health and future that volunteer fundraising activity receives the same investment, support and recognition as other volunteering activities.
