Charities fear reduced income due to postal strikes

Major UK charities fear that the UK-wide postal strikes could reduce fundraising revenue.

Response rates are set to suffer because of the strikes, with some smaller charities likely to experience the biggest problems with income over the two-week strike period.

“The postal strike has not only delayed the appeals we have sent out to donors, but it has postponed incoming funds from those who want to help us support disabled people,” said Karen Barnes, head of direct marketing and legacies at Scope.

However, Barnes stressed that the charity had taken steps to ensure that the services it provides were not affected.

Geraldine Cetin, marketing manager for acquisitions at the Royal National Lifeboat Institution said that in combination with the recent flooding across large areas of the UK, the strikes could prove most detrimental to smaller charities, which lack the contingency funds of larger organizations.

As well as delays to campaigns, charities are concerned about the strike’s potential impact on response rates and subsequent income.

“If donors receive two-week’ worth of mail in a couple of days, response rates will decrease,” said Andrew Jones, head of direct marketing at the Royal British Legion. “The strike could mean that we have significantly reduced direct mail income for two weeks.”

Jones also highlighted problems with response management at mailing and fulfillment houses and disruption to planned campaigns as further issues.