Gift Aid has revolutionised the way that the public support charities and since the mid-1990's the number of people financially supporting UK charities on a regular basis has increased by well over 100%.

Many larger charities capitalised on this trend early following introduction of Gift Aid and continue to benefit from increased and on-going public donations: However a decade later and a surprising number of especially medium and smaller charities retain a reluctance to maximising the opportunity offered by Gift Aid pledges from donors or members.

In many respects supporters giving to charity by regular direct debits have similar traits:-

	•		They do so because the opportunity to support charities is now greater than it has ever been, and a convincing argument was made to them by the Fundraiser.
	•		They already sympathise with the aims of the charity and it was convenient for them to sign up with a Fundraiser.
	•		They like the idea of having a balanced portfolio of charities. For example, “I support the NSPCC for children, the RNLI because my hobby is sailing and the RSPCA because I like animals”.

However; once people have “set” their portfolio they are often very reluctant to add more charities to it. This is where CMF's Face-to-Face fundraising excels avoiding expensive and frequently loss-making direct mail or leaflet orientated campaigns. By not pre-scripting our Fundraisers; prospective donors and supporters learn of specific charity activities which are of most interest to each of them as individuals. This personalised approach, combined with our low-key method enhances supporter knowledge and commitment resulting in longer-term support and lower short-term attrition rates.

Why charities choose to raise funds in this way:

Unlike many other types of fundraising (Project Appeals, Charitable Trusts, Lottery Grants etc), the funds that we raise are unrestricted. Unrestricted funds are the life-blood for any charity, regarded as by our clients as core-funding.

Through this method of gaining reliable and regular monthly donations from individual supporters, charities are able to accurately forecast their income and set budgets and manage cash-flow more accurately than is the case for traditional “annual” donations or subscriptions.

Who are the Fundraisers?

Unlike many other companies, we actively seek to recruit more mature staff. Many of our Fundraisers are in their 40's 50's and 60's. Our experience indicates that older Fundraisers recruit supporters from a wider age range than younger Fundraisers and more readily adopt a strong ethic to correct fundraising procedures. Typically, our Fundraisers have previously held senior or professional positions in education or commercial sectors, joining CMF as a semi-retirement option or to change their own lifestyles.

All of our Fundraisers are trained to an agreed level with the charity that they will represent; often visiting the charity head-quarters during their initial training. Thereafter for the duration of their employment, CMF's Fundraisers work (at least) to the standards set out in the Abridged ICFM Code of Practice: On-going training and development is customised, depending on the specific charity represented and all CMF Fundraisers are encouraged to regularly enhance their own knowledge of the specific charity they represent.

Once our Fundraisers have been assigned to recruit for a specific charity, they will usually represent this charity and no other for the duration of their time with CMFundraising. By working to this principle our Fundraisers build valuable knowledge of the charity, gain an affinity with it and provide a very high level of service.

Many of our Fundraisers go on to independently support, and volunteer with the charity outside of their work with CMFundraising.

Standard Costs & Fees:

CMFundraising's client charities are charged a very competitive, single commission based fee (plus VAT), based on the actual first year value of donations or subscriptions pledged. CMF does not levy fees on an annuity or continuing support basis.

Additionally, CMF operates a refund system against those pledges that are stopped within the first year of payment. This method of refund gives a no-loss guarantee to all charities using our services.