The Fundraising Regulator has hired a market research firm to gather further data about complaints that charities receive about their fundraising.
The 18-month project with BMG Research will look at the types of fundraising complaints that charities receive during 2026/27 and how the sector can learn from their experiences.
BMG Research has been a research partner of the Charity Commission since 2023 and has delivered several studies, including annual surveys with trustees to explore trust in charities.
A sample of fundraising levy payers and small charities listed in the regulator’s directory will be invited to voluntarily participate in the research project, which will conclude with a report on the findings, expected mid-next year.
The partnership will update and replace the approach taken previously by the regulator’s Annual Complaints Report, which focused on 58 of the largest and levy-paying fundraising charities to identify the most complained about fundraising methods among those charities.
The new project will “significantly expand on that sample size and include a cohort of medium and small fundraising charities”, according to a blog from Claire Herbert, policy specialist at the Fundraising Regulator.
The regulator decided to contract out this work to enable it to expand the research and give more charities of all sizes the chance to get involved.
Herbert said: “This is a great opportunity for individual charities and the wider sector to understand more about how supporters, donors and the public view fundraising, as expressed through complaints to charities.”
She said the research was an opportunity to reflect on practice and make changes where needed.
A spokesperson for the regulator said it did not share the value of commercial contracts.
The findings will also help the regulator to identify current weak spots in fundraising and shape guidance and resources, she added.
A sample of charities will be selected and invited by BMG Research to participate in the project.
All data and information submitted to researchers by individual charities will be anonymised in the final report and the regulator will not know which organisations have participated in the research.
“We really hope those invited to take part will want to get involved and help the sector and the Fundraising Regulator understand more about current fundraising practices,” Herbert said.