A fastmap survey to 2,000 UK adults has revealed that concerns over data use is in the top three causes that stop people donating to charity.
For those over 55 a charity maintaining high standards is even more important and, with GDPR only months away, this has significant implications for charities.
A poll conducted by fastmap to over 2000 UK adults found most would stop donating to a charity for misuse of donor funds (61%). However, these attention-grabbing numbers divert from another vital finding. A colossal 57% would stop donating if their personal data was misused.
In the survey, conducted between 14th and 16th February 2018, participants were asked which behaviours might make them stop donating to a charity. These behaviours include misuse of personal data, misuse of donor funds, over-communication, transferring of personal data to other charities/organisations, campaigning on political issues, paying celebrity ambassadors for their campaign support, high chief executive salaries, sexual abuse and sexual discrimination of female staff.
Those over 55 are even more intolerant of poor standards.
The heartland for many charities is the older donor who seem to be even less tolerant of poor behaviour. Indeed, a significant 65% of those over the age of 55 would stop donating because of misuse of their personal data. Whilst a charity can measure the impact of cancellations to regular giving programmes, it is more difficult to assess the impact upon someone’s likelihood to leave a legacy.
“Those charities that adhere to high standards will continue to retain the public’s trust. Our research shows that misuse of personal data, an issue at the heart of GDPR, encourages 57% to stop donating. Whilst GDPR data protection fines can be significant, up to 2% of global turnover, the greater risk for many is the court of public opinion. Some charities are well prepared for the data implications of GDPR but many are not and will find out the hard way.”
David Cole, Managing Director, fastmap
“Charities must respect donor’s personal data. This poll and the recent fines by the ICO for pre-GDPR data protection issues, show the importance of telling how supporters how their data will be used.”
Michele Voznick, Director Information Law and Technology, DWF
For more information about fastmap’s research, visit www.fastmap.com or get in touch with David Cole, Managing Director, fastmap on +44 (0) 20 7242 0702 or david.cole@fastmap.com.
