Institute 'not yet' lobbying on postal strikes

[Geezer]

http://www.professionalfundraising.co.u ... pg=2&cat=2

The Institute of Fundraising is holding off discussing the postal strikes with those involved in the dispute despite warning that charities could have to lay off staff as a result of the income lost.

A report released by the Institute today warns that the ongoing strikes by Royal Mail workers, both nationally and at local levels, could see charities rack up “millions” in losses.

“It is also possible that charitable organisations may find that they have to lay people off as a result of significant income loss. Beneficiaries of charitable services will also in some cases not receive the services they need because those charities suffering losses will have to cut back on what they can deliver,” the report said.

Direct mail appeals, postal donations, membership and subscriptions, trust and corporate donations, and event sponsorship donations all stand to be affected by the industrial action.

The Institute said it had not yet contacted either the Royal Mail or the Communications Workers Union about the strikes, but a spokeswoman for the organisation said this is “something that we are contemplating doing”.

The spokeswoman said that it has been difficult to lobby while negotiations were in progress but that “it is certainly something we may consider doing if the strike looks like going on for much longer”.

“What we would not wish to do would be to take sides in the dispute, but just to point out the effect this is having on charities,” she said.

The effect on charities, however, was championed today by Liberal Democrats MP Jenny Willott, who issued a public warning about the impact the strikes are having on the sector.

"Charities are rarely mentioned when it comes to the impact of a postal strike. But direct marketing appeals and charity Christmas cards are a huge source of income for many charities,” she said.

"If the postal strike continues for much longer, it could seriously damage charities already facing a major shortfall from private donations.

"Although there may be legitimate concerns behind the postal strikes, they have no right to hold the country to hostage like this."
Migrate online

While acknowledging the difficulty many charities will have in doing so, the Institute recommended that organisations attempt to migrate their supporters online in order to circumvent the postal system. It suggested that in future, charities should obtain email addresses in addition to postal and telephone information so that donations can be acknowledged via email and that some organisations may want to replace their traditional Christmas appeals with an online campaign.

The organisation also suggested telephoning supporters to inform them of the impact and sending out Christmas appeals earlier than typical.

The advice, the Institute acknowledges, may not help organisations such as the Salvation Army who typically receive 90 per cent of their Christmas appeal donations via the post.

Celina Ribeiro
4 November 2009