Fundraisers should value philanthropy for its own sake says report that calls for end to payroll giving

By: 

Cheryl Chapman

Managing Editor, Philanthropy UK

A new report has highlighted the need for fundraisers to better understand the needs of philanthropists if they wish to grow philanthropy and encourage more giving to charity.

It says charities need “to accept the value of philanthropy for philanthropy’s sake, as an end itself, not just a means to achieve their mission.”

The Growing Philanthropy report that aims to reflect some though not all views expressed at July’s Growing Philanthropy Summit at the Institute of Fundraising’s National Convention, written by Professor Adrian Sargeant of the University of the West of England and Jen Shang of Indiana University, says there is “insufficient understanding of the relationship between fundraising and philanthropy on the part of both government and the fundraising sector itself.

“Indeed fundraising is only justified when it is employed in a manner that allows donors to articulate their sense of self and bring real meaning to their lives,” it says,

More sensationally the report calls for the axing of payroll giving, arguing it was developed before the widespread use of direct debits “and may no longer be fit for purpose”.

A call for more payroll giving, the only way to give cash tax effectively, was one of the central planks of the independent Philanthropy Review’s June report that explored ways to boost giving.

Tom Hughes-Hallett, who led the review and whose panel included many philanthropists, said at a recent meeting that  if more companies adopted payroll giving schemes it would make a "huge difference” to the levels and culture of giving. Currently just 2% of companies had implemented payroll giving.

In the government's Giving White Paper among the payroll giving promotion initiatives were:

• a year-long national profile-raising campaign to be launched in autumn
• the re-launch the national Payroll Giving Awards on 18 October 2011, including introducing a new Platinum Award for the best national performers and recognition to organisations achieving the biggest percentage uplifts in employee-giving

 The call for the axing of payroll giving has prompted the managing director of Big Change, an online payroll giving platform, Christine Jenkins to accuse Sargeant of sensationalism: “I’m disappointed that he has acted so cavalierly in calling for the abolition of payroll giving. He must have realised that this would grab headlines . The alternative of direct debits in the workplace has been tried, unsuccessfully already. Companies would attach absolutely no value in direct debit donor recruitment as they have no means of measuring take up and therefore of reporting success. Payroll giving may be flawed but it is encouraging that this government is looking at reform before another promotional campaign.”

As well as encouraging fundraisers to avoid seeing donors as “piggybanks” and treat them as “partners” with more to give than money, the Growing Philanthropy report recommends the introduction of lifetime legacies, whose value has been called into question this week by  another sector leader researcher Joe Saxon.

Charities also concentrate too much on acquiring new donors and not enough on developing existing donors the report says: “The sector continues to lose donors at an astonishing rate.”

The report says growing philanthropy should involve education, research and lobbying initiatives with the explicit purpose of growing giving.

Peter Lewis, the new chief executive of the Institute of Fundraising, has welcomed a response by members to the recommendations.

“We need to see how the findings of this report match up to real life experience and the needs of grassroots fundraisers. Do the views of these two established fundraising academics bear weight with our 5,000 plus individual members or our 300 plus organisational members?”

“This report calls for the IoF to extend its activity and influence in many different areas. We are keen to consult with our members to see how these activities would impact on their roles day to day, and seek their guidance on how these recommendations should be prioritised.”

In his first weeks Lewis, who joined the Institute on October 3, will meet fundraising professionals and volunteers across the UK. In the longer term he will need to show leadership of a membership that is recommended should work more empathetically with philanthropists if they want to achieve their ultimate aim of “Growing Philanthropy.”

 The report can be downloaded here.