The Fundraising Details

In this section you can find information about key performance indicators, pitch structure, objection handling, what ongoing donations are and the requirements around fundraising.

Key Performance Indicators

The core Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are what must be maintained in order for us to hit our targets and ensure a sustainable fundraising operation. There are then secondary KPIs that ensure that the core KPIs are met, and you as a Fundraiser play a huge role in those.

Number of Supporters
Amount Raised
Supporter Retention
Cost Per Donor

Number of Supporters

The number of supporters is fundamental in whether or not we are being successful in fundraising. It is not just about the money that comes in, as fewer donors with higher donations means more risk; if one cancels it is a greater loss, so we need a lot of people donating regular amounts. Our points system works that you get points for each supporter, so the more you get the better for yourself, and the better for the organisation too. Please refer to the payment structure for more specific information on your targets and minimum expectations.

Amount Raised

The amount raised is crucial to maintaining a sustainable face to face fundraising department. We know approximately how many supporters we will sign up in a year, and the amount we raise is used to set the budgets. If we were to fall below the target, it means a lot less money would be coming in than was planned for, which would affect the investigations and actions that may have been planned. There's a big difference between 10000 supporters donating £5/month as an average, or 10000 supporters donating £8 as an average. Every day may be different and naturally you’ll sign up some people doing a lot, and others a little, but your overall average should be £8 per month.

There are a few things you can do to increase your donation:

Use the shopping list

The shopping list subtly suggests an amount, and gives the supporter an idea of what their donation may go towards. It is important that we make clear to people that they are not actually buying the things on the list, it is just to give an idea of what our costs are.

Step down slowly

You may as well start with a high ask, and drop down bit by bit rather than jumping straight to the minimum. You will more often than not get an agreement somewhere in the middle of what you originally asked for and the minimum, which keeps your average donation high.

Huge joke first ask

This relieves the tension from the situation and tends to promote a laugh. This in turn tends to relax the supporter so they can think of what they’d like to give, and makes whatever amount you suggest next seem a smaller amount.

Give Options

Giving different options allows the supporter to have a choice in what they’d like to give but keeps the options inside of what you would like them to give. The best way to do this is to show them the options on the iPad.

Supporter Retention

The longer people give, the higher the return on investment, therefore we want people to give for as long a time as possible. Supporter retention is highly correlated with the age of the donor. It is not that younger people are less enthusiastic about Greenpeace – they often are, but their financial situation is usually less stable compared to that of a 50 year old. This means that statistically a 50 year old will give for longer than someone in their 20s. The longer they give the better the lifetime value of that donor, and the higher our return on investment.

As you can see from the chart, by the 3rd payment just over 30% of 21 – 24 year olds have cancelled. This means that Greenpeace has not recouped the costs of obtaining that supporter by that point, so will make a loss on that particular sign up. To aim for more quality donors, we expect a minimum of 70% of your donors should be over the age of 35.

Cost Per Donor

For every donor we get, there is an associated cost. From our pay to our equipment and train travels, but also the cost of welcoming and maintaining a supporter: designing emails and content to keep them engaged, communication via post, phone calls, opportunities to volunteer, these are all costs that are important as they are investments in keeping supporters.

For every £1 we invest into face to face fundraising, we get at least £2 back. Where this drops is fundraisers lateness/absence or damaged kit. Missing a whole day, or even part of a day means less time spent fundraising, so Greenpeace gets less supporters than planned that day. If someone is late 5 mins every day by the end of the year this would amount to just under 22 hours; equivalent to 6 supporters a year. Now imagine that for every fundraiser!

A few things you can do to keep our costs down:

Travel costs: Booking train tickets in advance, using railcards and travelling off peak where possible will keep costs down, so please always bear these things in mind when you book work related travel.
Anyone who is eligible for a railcard must get one as soon as possible. If someone is eligible and doesn't buy it/use it, they will be deducted the difference in rail cost from their pay. Anyone under 25 should get a 16-25 Railcard, and anyone over 25 who lives in the South-East should get a Network Railcard. The Network Railcard covers quite a big area (including Oxford, Bournemouth, Brighton and more), so please check if it applies to your area too. The cost of the railcard (£30) will be refunded as soon as Greenpeace has booked enough journeys to make up for the cost with deductions (usually a very short period of time).
Chartered Institute of Fundraising (cIOF) fines and penalties: This is a completely unacceptable use of Greenpeace money. Please read through the code of conduct and cIOF guidelines so you are 100% clear on what we could be fined for. Something as simple as not having your badge clearly on display can mean Greenpeace is fined hundreds of pounds. Complaints received are logged via our internal complaints procedure, and are recorded on the front page of your Fundraiser Log book.
Uniform and kit: Please look after your kit so it will last as long as possible. We waste money every year on lost items and it is not a good use of resources, so please be careful with every iPad, t-shirt and jacket.

Ongoing Donations

Continuous card payments and direct debits are used for ongoing regular payments, as is the case with the donations that we obtain for Greenpeace for long term support.

We do not want short term donations, so if you know the supporter cannot give for at least a year they should not be signed up. There is a cost associated with every donor obtained for Greenpeace, but over time this is easily covered by the donation and ends up being a very cost effective way of obtaining support. However, if the donation was not to be long term, and the supporter were to cancel within the first couple of years of donating, Greenpeace could make a loss on that supporter. It is vital that we only sign up people we believe will give us long term support.

Compared to one offs, continuous card payments and direct debits have lower admin costs, so the supporter’s money goes further, it allows Greenpeace to plan for the future and set up various projects, and gives a higher return on investment, compared to cash or one offs. There is however an option for a one-off payment as a drop ask.

Continuous Card Payments and Direct Debits

Greenpeace priorities

Regular Card Payment via form transfer
Direct Debit
One-off donation via form transfer

CC Payments and Direct Debits

Benefits of Continuous Card payments to Greenpeace

Without ongoing donations obtained by fundraisers, Greenpeace would be forced to use other fundraising methods such as TV ads, which involve upfront costs, which are therefore a financial risk. These other methods usually only produce one off donations, therefore we would have to pay these fundraising costs every year. Ongoing donations are a sustainable method of obtaining donations, giving financial stability for Greenpeace, allowing them to plan for the future and set up long term projects. This would not be the case if we were to collect one offs such as cash or cheques. With continuous card payments, more money is raised for Greenpeace because the retention rate of supporters is higher than that of direct debit donations. Greenpeace also gets the first donation upfront, as opposed to waiting 10-15 days or having the donor cancel before the first donation comes out.

Benefits of Continuous Card payments to the Supporter

Donating by continuous card payment means that the supporter can donate in a safe and secure way, since none of the supporters card details are saved in our system. Supporters also have the comfort of completing the form on their own device so as to not give their banking information to the fundraiser.

Direct Debits

It is not possible to set up direct debits unless you are either a BACS bureau or a service user. This means that no one could set up a direct debit fraudulently on behalf of Greenpeace, making a direct debit a very secure method of donating, and should provide peace of mind to the supporter. A supporter must give the fundraiser their sort code and account number in order to set up the direct debit, which is the non-sensitive information on their card.

Banks offer a Direct Debit Guarantee which protects customers from payments taken in error. In the case of any incorrect or fraudulent payments, the payer is entitled to a full and immediate refund from their bank.

Pitch Structure

To learn more about Objection Handling, visit this page.

All fundraisers have different styles of delivering a presentation/pitch, and we don’t expect anyone to have a set one that they say to every person. If done repeatedly, this can make it sound very monotonous after a while, which usually makes it very ineffective. It is important to keep your presentation/pitch fresh, but ideally follow the structure as outlined below in order to get the information across in the clearest possible way.

A strong close can make the difference between a sign up - or not. A close containing a yes or no question - e.g. ‘is that something you’d be interested in?’ Will more usually than not, results in a no. Try using an assumptive ask like ‘so, can we get you on board?’ without intonation at the end of the sentence.

Legal Requirements

Data Awareness and Information Security

The data we hold is one of the most important assets we have at Greenpeace. The loss or compromise of our data could cause tremendous damage to Greenpeace’s reputation, campaigning and income.

In order to protect the data our supporters share with us, Fundraisers must adhere to the following rules:

Fundraisers must only record supporter data in Formunauts or in exceptional circumstances (for example at Festivals where there is no secure Wi-Fi or network coverage) on paper forms.

Fundraisers must not take screenshots or photos of supporter data. This includes taking screenshots of Formunauts pages where supporter data is displayed.

Fundraisers must not call supporters using personally owned devices, or contact them using personal email or other personal communications systems. Callbacks need to be made from the office or from Coordinators’ Greenpeace phones.
To prevent loss or theft of data, Fundraisers must not connect to public Wi-Fi using Greenpeace devices. This includes but is not limited to Wi-Fi on public transport, at festivals and events, in cafes and restaurants, and any other public spaces.
To prevent loss or theft of data, fundraisers must carry Greenpeace owned devices and paper sign up forms securely on or about their person while at work, and while travelling to and from work.
Fundraisers must store Greenpeace devices and paper forms securely when not at work.
When working away from home - for example at festivals and events and on road trips - Fundraisers must ensure Greenpeace devices and paper forms are stored securely when they are not working. In situations where fundraisers are camping, a vehicle or secure storage container will always be available for securing devices and forms during non-working hours.
When paper forms are used, the data must be processed through Formunauts at the earliest opportunity. The forms must be handed to Team Leaders at the end of each working day. Team Leaders must send paper forms to the office within 48 hours using secure, tracked post.
If your iPad is lost or stolen you must report it immediately to your manager and to the Police. You must provide as many details as possible, including the time, location and nature of the incident along with what data (if any) is involved. In the case of theft, you are required to obtain a police crime reference number.

Disclosure Statement

All Greenpeace fundraisers are open and honest about being paid, which most supporters appreciate, and therefore reduces the cancellation rate, which in turn reflects positively on the fundraisers. It is a legal requirement under the 2006 Charities Act that you inform a supporter that you are a paid fundraiser before asking for their bank details.

To acknowledge they have understood this the fundraiser must read out and tick the box to ensure they have let the new supporters know. It cannot be 'summarised' and must be read word for word.

Supporter services will give a welcome call to all supporters and will check that the supporter understands the process. The verification calls also check the fundraiser was polite and allows the supporter to give positive feedback about the fundraiser.

Data Protection

Asking new supporters how they’d like us to communicate with them in the future is a mandatory part of our sign up process. We are required to ensure our supporters are in control of what personal data they share with us and how we use it under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

The GDPR protects individuals’ privacy and choice. It is about protecting human rights and civil liberties, something that is very important to Greenpeace.

Marketing Communications

When we ask for consent for data protection we are only referring to Marketing Communications.

Marketing is defined as ‘any communication which aims to support or promote the aims and objectives of an organisation or gain sales’.

Non-Marketing Communications

Non-marketing communications do not require consent. This includes ‘thank-you’s’ (like our welcome calls and the welcome SMS and email sent by Formunauts), admin calls, answering communications from supporters, and confirming receipt of donations.

How do we keep track of supporters’ communication preferences?

Greenpeace captures new supporters’ communications preferences at the point they first sign up.

Supporters’ can unsubscribe from our emails at any time through the unsubscribe link at the end of all our emails, and stop seeing any social media advertising through settings on those sites.

What about post?

We send all of our donors a welcome pack when they join us, and our Connect magazine three times a year. This is something we need to do to fulfil our contract with our donors, which means we don’t need supporters to opt in to it.

We know that some of our supporters prefer to avoid receiving post of any kind, often for environmental reasons. If supporters want to make sure that they don’t receive any other post the fundraiser can opt them out by adding this request in the ‘comments’ box in the formunauts form.

Why do we want people to opt in to marketing communications?

If supporters opt in to communications, it means we can continue their supporter journey by providing them with more information about Greenpeace, where their money is going and continue to thank them for their support.

We could ask them later down the line if they would like to donate more to help towards a specific campaign or just raise their ongoing donation if they can afford to. If they cancel their donation and we have their consent for contact, we could even call them at a later date to see if their situation has changed and they would like to reactivate their donation.

All of these can help with the retention of current supporters and also raise more money to reach our targets and fund more wonderful Greenpeace work!

If a new supporter doesn’t give an email address, you should let them know where they can find it online: https://www.greenpeace.org.uk/help/privacy-policy/

Fundraisers Health and Safety

Ensuring every team member has a safe and healthy work environment is crucially important. In an effort to do everything we can to foster that environment, there are a few important rules you must follow.

It is also important to remember that everyone has different limits. You must only put yourself in a situation if you feel comfortable and never put someone you are working with into a situation if they do not feel comfortable. If an issue does occur, it is important that you contact your manager right away. This includes dog bites and situations where individuals you meet make you feel uncomfortable. You must always inform your Team Leader at the earliest time possible and they must contact your Coordinator immediately.

That being said, most problems can be avoided by adhering to the following rules and safety procedures:

Phones - Your phone must be easily accessible, it must have enough battery to last your shift and you must always have at least £5 credit on it. It is crucial that you are contactable at all times.
Stay close to the rest of your team - make sure there is someone who knows where you are at all times, especially if you take a break. We recommend being in shouting distance to at least one other team member. Never hesitate to say something to your Team Leader or Coordinator if, at any time, you feel unsafe or uncomfortable. This relates to any situation on the streets/doors or within the team dynamic.
Carry a torch with you when working in the dark – trips and falls can easily be avoided by carrying a suitable light sourc
Stay on site/turf - Always stay on your rostered site/turf unless you have been given specific directions by your Coordinator to leave. It is important, for safety reasons, and to ensure that we are in compliance with the cIOF rules, that you are working at your assigned site/turf. If you feel that a change in site/turf is justified, you must first okay it with your Team Leader or Coordinator.
Avoid going into houses - Only go into houses when you are expressly invited and you feel it’s necessary to do so in order to finish the conversation; for example, if it’s raining and someone asks you to stand under their porch, or when an elderly or physically disabled person invites you in to sit down. Never solicit for an invitation into a house, and never accept an invitation if you don’t feel completely comfortable with it. If you do end up going into a house, text a member of your team to let them know you are doing so to ensure that someone knows where you are
Parking - Always park your vehicle in a safe place and be sure that you have permission to stay there. Keep your vehicle locked anytime you are not in it.
Dogs - If you approach a house with a dog that makes you feel uneasy, move on to the next house. It is up to you to use your judgement as to what you feel comfortable with.

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