NGOs get larger share of income from street fund-raisers
The income and membership of non-governmental organisations has increased considerably as a result of increased fundraising on city streets.
Increased numbers of solicitors are already making a substantial amount of money for many organisations. The fund-raising campaigns are based on the signing of a direct debiting contract, where the donor agrees to give a specified amount of money a month to the organisation.
The income and number of members of many organisations has quickly multiplied as a result of street campaigns, and they have become the organisations' main source of income. It has already superseded telemarketing and direct mail campaigns.
Fundraising on the street has become so popular that it has become increasingly difficult to avoid the solicitors in some places. For example, you can run into a dozen or so fund-raisers around the Helsinki Railway Station, all cheerfully wishing as many passers-by as possible a nice day.
The organisations that do the most fundraising on the street, Greenpeace, UNICEF, Amnesty International, and The Finnish Red Cross, acquired about 30 000 new monthly donors last year. Only about 10-15 % of those cease their donations.
About 80 percent of the annual budget of the Finnish section of Amnesty International consists of monthly donations.
The Finnish Red Cross, something of a veteran in fundraising, began its street campaign only late last year.
Depending on the time of year, the non-governmental organisations have 30-50 employees working the streets. The organisations normally recruit or train the fund-raisers themselves. However, some groups hire consultants for the purpose. The busiest time for fundraising is the summer.
Fundraising is so far only concentrated on the major cities, Helsinki, Turku, Tampere, Oulu, and Jyväskylä, but now campaigns are being taken to rural areas as well.
Helsingin Sanomat
