Report calls for payroll giving to be replaced

A new report has called for payroll giving to be scrapped and replaced with direct debit solicitation.

The report, Growing Philanthropy in the UK, is based on the issues raised at the Growing Philanthropy Summit held in July. The report is jointly published by Bristol Business School and the Institute of Fundraising.

Although its authors state that the final report does not represent the views of all participants, the document says that the general feeling among those who attended the event, including fundraising academics and representatives from charities such as the British Red Cross, Cancer Research UK and the RNLI, was that payroll giving should be replaced by direct debits.

Acknowledging that the subject was one of the more contentious issues discussed at the summit, the report says: “Payroll giving was developed in a pre-direct debit era and may no longer be fit for purpose.”

The report also calls for the Fundraising Standards Board (FRSB) to be given similar powers to the Advertising Standards Agency, enabling it to refer organisations which break good practice rules to the Office of Fair Trading. Its authors suggest that 0.05 per cent of all Gift Aid should be used to fund the FRSB.