Have your say on the future of cheques

A call to all Institute of Fundraising fundraisers

Rapidata is working with the Institute of Fundraising to explore the issues and challenges facing charities in their fundraising and receipt of donations by cheque.

In 2011 the Institute of Fundraising campaigned successfully to stop the abolition of the cheque in 2018. Even so, use of the cheque as a payment mechanism is in natural decline. In the UK, 11 million cheques were used each day in 1990 compared to just 3.5 million a day in 2009; and usage continues to fall, currently by 10% per year. It’s important we acknowledge this natural decline and that consequently cheques are unlikely to remain a viable payment mechanism for ever.

The Institute of Fundraising has today asked for all its members to complete a short survey. Your responses will be kept anonymous.

It is important that fundraisers give an account of their experiences and take a few minutes out to complete this survey. The aim is to report the findings to the Payments Council and relevant Government Departments to ensure that charities and their needs are recognised in the management of the cheque going forward, and in the development of future giving methods.

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Reduce costs – sign-up now to pay us by Direct Debit

As you would expect from a Direct Debit Bureau, Rapidata has offered its clients the choice of payment options which includes Direct Debit. Most of our clients pay us by Bacs transfer or Direct Debit however we are today writing to all those clients that send us in a cheque in settlement of their invoice, to sign-up to Direct Debit.

Why do this?

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The Need for More Information

So you’ve built your eDirectDebit web page, it’s branded with your logo and artwork, it supports the cause with strong messages for the potential new donor, and it’s approved by all the UK clearing Banks. You’re now ready to receive direct debit payments and log those donors onto your database.

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Creating additional eDirectDebit web pages

Over the past few months, Rapidata has been asked to create additional direct debit web pages for specific standalone campaigns, reactivation asks, and for separating membership, lottery or donations payments. These unique web pages provide the added benefit of having separate messaging and reporting that is trackable and measurable.

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How to maximise your online direct debit facility: Reactivating lapsed donors

Following on from last week’s blog, this week’s tip for maximising your online fundraising is reactivating lapsed donors.

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Use Google Analytics to maximise your online direct debit facility

Following on from last week’s blog, this week’s tip for maximising your online fundraising is to start using Google Analytics to track donor behaviour.

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Rapidata Launch Online Giving Survey

Rapidata in acssociation with UK Fundraising has created a short survey to ask some simple questions about your experiences on online fundraising, treating your answers confidentially and with anonymity.

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Free Resource: Online Sort Code Checker

The Payments Council has recently added a sort code checking tool on their website in keeping with their commitment to ensuring payment efficiency.

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Direct Debit Cancellation Management for Charities

Winning back cancelled donors

Direct debits make it easier for people to give to charity. Unfortunately, they can also make it very easy for people to stop giving to charity, especially with today’s propensity for using online banking where a cancellation is just a click away.

What can be done as remedial action to win back these cancelled donors?

We have laid out a series of recommended actions that we feel are most important for managing direct debit cancellations, and we hope you might find this useful.

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Haiti Emergency Appeals

Many of our clients are providing assistance and relief to the people of Haiti following the earthquake on the 12th January.

The web is an important direct response channel. The Burma Cyclone Appeal saw 42% of donations come through online*. Online means the money gets to the charity quicker so they can use the money immediately.

If your charity is involved in fundraising for the Haiti relief effort, we are on call to support you in your emergency donation appeals during this time.

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