Victoria Hordern and Mairead O’Reilly from our Data Privacy team have recently taken part in a Charity Finance roundtable with a panel of other experts to discuss how charities can ensure their fundraising stays within privacy rules.
The discussion centred on how the COVID-19 crisis has hugely effected the way charities operate, as well as having a significant impact on charity funding. Money from events, charity shops, face-to-face and donations has been lessened, or in some cases, halted completely, at the same time that demand for such services has risen.
Speaking on the panel, Victoria raised how “charities have had to become more dependent on digital and online interaction in a new environment, while engaging with supporters within a data protection and privacy framework where the rules are becoming stricter around direct marketing and fundraising.” She went on to note how often “crisis situations frequently prompt innovation and opportunities“.
The discussion also focused on charity standards, with Mairead questioning whether it is in fact right for charities to hold themselves to a higher standard than commercial organisations, and highlighted how the “ICO sometimes gets the balance wrong and doesn’t act proportionately in its approach to charities“.
To read the full roundtable discussion report, please click here.