By Daisy Houghton, Head of Communications and Corporate Services
Looking out for the Fundraising Badge – the logo that says ‘registered with Fundraising Regulator’ – is a key part of our safer giving advice for the public. We’ve been asking people to ‘look for the badge’ for quite a while, and this year we have worked to get it in front of audiences we might not have engaged with before. After a year of this dedicated digital marketing, we thought it was high time to see if this was working and if people knew what the badge meant.
Safer giving
We worked with nfpResearch to help us measure recognition of the badge, and they ran a nationally representative survey of the general public for us. The survey had a total sample size of 2,200, with two boosts of 100 each in Northern Ireland and Wales. The results are both informative and overwhelmingly positive.
There were high levels of positivity towards the badge with high levels of trust associated with the badge and the Fundraising Regulator. A few of the key takeaways are as follows:
- 61% of respondents would be more likely to think positively of a charity showing the Fundraising Badge
- 73% would be more confident in supporting a charity displaying the badge (when told what the badge represents) *
- 50%** were more likely to support a charity they had never heard of if it was displaying the badge; and
- 28% have checked if a charity is registered with the Fundraising Regulator before making a donation.
It’s incredibly encouraging to know that most donors are more likely to think positively of a charity displaying the badge, and that they are more likely to support a charity they haven’t heard of if it displays the badge.
The badge shows a commitment to excellent fundraising practice and means people can have confidence in the fundraising organisations that use it. If we can continue to reassure people of what to look for when carrying out checks before donating, we can hope to build levels of trust in fundraising organisations across the sector.
Building recognition
This isn’t the first time we’ve measured awareness of the Fundraising Regulator, we last looked at it in 2018/19 as part of a Code of Fundraising Practice consultation when awareness levels measured 7%. Since then, recognition has more than doubled, with 20% of respondents to the recent survey having heard of the Fundraising Regulator. This is the equivalent of one in five people, which is a further endorsement of our public engagement activities. In the coming years we aim to build on this, uncovering more opportunities to connect with the public and make sure they know all the ways that we can support them.
Next steps
This is undoubtedly a good news story for us, and for all charities and organisations using the badge across their fundraising materials. With such high levels of positivity associated with the badge, now might be a good time to take a look at your donor facing materials, both hard copy and digital, to see if you have it correctly in place.
Organisations which are registered with us can download the badge and guidelines on its use from our website registered users’ area. For more information on how to apply to register with us as a charity or non charity, see our registration pages.
*This was updated to include (when told what the badge represents) on 01/05/2024
**This was updated from 51% to 50% on 01/05/2024