SCOTTISH charities are facing a possible shake-up of their fundraising methods after their own workers expressed concern over some of the tactics used.
It comes as charities north and south of the Border face intense scrutiny over the signing donors up by direct debit in the street and on the doorstep, the sharing of donor addresses between the groups and high volumes of appeals by direct mail.
The research commissioned by the Scottish Government from the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (scvo) says: "The public, and in many cases fundraisers, charity CEOs and trustees themselves, are simply not happy with some of the techniques used to raise money."
Based on a survey of members of the public, it finds that they would be willing to tolerate such approaches on a small scale, with care, but adds: "it is their large scale, indiscriminate use... and a culture where donors are seen by some as 'assets' to obtain and be maximised, that appears to lie at the heart of the public's discontent."
It claims there is no evidence of a large scale cancellation of donations or a significant drop in public confidence in charities.
However the informal review adds: "a culture where donors are not valued, and where those who are vulnerable are targeted, is far removed from the public's expectations of how charities should fundraise."
Ministers asked SCVO to look into whether the public and politicians could have confidence that the current system of charity self-regulation is working, and if not to recommend changes.
In an online survey more than half (59%) of those responding said their trust in fundraising had stayed the same in the last year, one third said it had decreased and the rest said it had increased.
But the report says charity trustees monitoring fundraisers effectively, the public have no say in how fundraising is regulated and a change of culture is needed.
It calls for a new code of practice for charity fundraisers, mandatory regulation and help for whistle-blowers to report those using dubious tactics.
However it says excesses are more prevalent in large UK charities than Scottish charities raising funds north of the border.
"Views differ as to whether these Scottish charities don't generally pursue what has been termed 'industrial-scale' fundraising because they have a different culture, or because it is simply not economically viable in a country the size and composition of Scotland", it adds. The system by which Scottish charities regulate themselves is in need of improvement, not fundamentally broken.
SCVO chief executive Martin Sime, said: "Everything we do hinges on public trust, so it's absolutely critical that we sit up and listen to what people are telling us. We can and must do better.
"Self-regulation is still the best way to oversee fundraising in Scotland but we need a much simpler approach. Charities and their trustees should take the lead in designing a new system of self-regulation."
The report is being published as SCVO's counterpart south of the border issues its own report saying that fundraising regulators had lost the confidence of the public and charities. The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (ncvo) said they should be replaced by a more powerful body with the public interest at its heart, which should be funded by a levy on all large charities which spend £100,000 a year or more on fundraising. Fundraisers currently set standards themselves via their trade body, the Institute of Fundraising. The ncvo said this was an inappropriate arrangement which is not in the public interest.
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