The Fundraising Standards Board has called for the public to be able to more easily opt out of unwanted charity contacts, in an interim investigation report into fundraising practices.

The FRSB’s investigation was launched on 18 May, prompted by allegations that 92 year old Bristol woman Olive Cooke, a committed volunteer fundraiser and regular charity donor, was overwhelmed by fundraising requests.

Mrs Cooke was found dead in the Avon Gorge in early May. Subsequent media reports quoted her family as saying charities were not responsible for her death, but the FRSB said the situation prompted a surge in public complaints about fundraising practices.

The interim report calls for revisions to the Fundraising Code of Practice to provide greater clarity about the rules for gaining donor consent, including the requirement for charities to provide clear and easy ways for individuals to opt out of further communication.

Current guidance for communicating with older and vulnerable people should be expanded, the FRSB said, and the frequency of charity approaches should be limited.

The FRSB recommends removing the current Code reference stating fundraisers can use ‘reasonable persuasion’, and clarifying that charities cannot call people who are registered on the Telephone Preference Service unless they have given clear permission otherwise.

The board also suggests making it clear permission must be granted by an individual before their personal information can be passed on to third parties.

Releasing its interim report today, the board said it received 384 complaints between 15 May and 5 June 2015.

Of the complaints raised, 42 per cent addressed the frequency of charity communications and 35 per cent were specific to fundraising approaches made to the elderly or vulnerable people.

One in six complaints were about how consent is given for charities’ use of contact data, with concerns that the current opting out measures for charity communications was unclear. A third of complaints addressed fundraising by specific charities and will be channelled through the FRSB’s three-stage complaints process.

FRSB chief executive Alistair McLean said the board had heard from many people who recognise the vital work that charities do and the pressing need for donations, but who also feel charities are asking too often.

The public wants greater clarity and control over how their contact details are used, McLean said.

“Although the Code already makes it clear that charities must respect donors’ preferences in terms of the way they are contacted, how their details are used and the amount of times they can be approached, we want to see charities making those options much more evident.

“We are looking to the Institute of Fundraising’s Standards Committee to review how donors’ current concerns can be addressed by strengthening the Code of Fundraising Practice. Essentially, we want the public to be given more control over the way they are approached by charities and for further safeguards to be put in place when it comes to fundraising requests of the elderly and vulnerable,” McLean said.

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