In the mid-1990s, when face-to-face (F2F) street fundraising first erupted in Austria and began its rapid trek across borders, I found myself in a peculiar role: the evangelist for a “crazy” idea. I remember standing at international conferences, explaining our methodology, only to be met with shaking heads.

“What? You stop strangers on the street, chat for a few minutes, and they just hand over their bank details to let you collect money again and again?” they would ask. “You crazy Austrians — it will never work in my country.” Even those who saw its early success were sceptical of its longevity. Three decades later, however, F2F has proven them all wrong, becoming the bedrock of global donor acquisition.

The engine of modern acquisition

Today, we aren’t fighting for the survival of F2F; we are fighting to meet the overwhelming demand for it. In many markets, F2F is the primary tool capable of delivering the high volumes of regular donors that organizations need to survive. While traditional channels face diminishing returns and digital acquisition struggles to scale, F2F continues to deliver the human connection that translates into long-term commitment.

The current challenge isn’t a lack of interest from charities; it’s a capacity crisis. Agencies and in-house programs are struggling to find enough high-quality staff to fulfil this demand. But this success is not self-sustaining — it requires a deliberate focus on the people behind the clipboards.

The antidote to “AI overflow”

Looking ahead, I am more confident in F2F today than I was years ago. We are entering an era where AI-generated content, visual fakes, and automated spam will overflow our digital lives. This “content pollution” will inevitably lead to widespread frustration and a profound crisis of trust.

In a world where you can’t be sure if the voice on the phone or the face in a video is real, the value of physical, human interaction sky-rockets. We might use AI behind the scenes to optimize campaigns, but it will never replace the fundraiser on the street or at the door. People will be relieved to have a real human interaction.

Protecting the ecosystem

However, this future isn’t just going to “happen.” To keep F2F successful, we must move beyond viewing it as a mere “technique” and see it as a human ecosystem that requires constant reinvestment. Historically, agencies and dedicated in-house programs have been the “nurseries” of our industry — investing heavily in training and building the next generation of talent. If we stop investing in the “soil” and move toward purely transactional models, the harvest will eventually fail.

Caring for the frontline

Maintaining quality starts with the well-being of our fundraisers. Our teams are on an “exhausted mission” — standing in the rain, facing rejection, and carrying the emotional weight of the world’s challenges. If we want them to inspire others, we must first inspire and support them through mentorship and stable structures.

This is where the strength of our global F2F community comes in. We are a unique breed — one that shares, cares, and learns across borders. By fostering this culture, we ensure our frontline heroes have the resilience to keep building those vital bridges. F2F hasn’t just survived the digital revolution — it is the tool that will thrive because of it.

Experience the spirit of collaboration

And it is exactly this spirit of collaboration and shared learning that continues to drive our sector forward. The 3^rd International F2F Fundraising Congress will take place on 15–17 March 2027, bringing together practitioners, innovators, and decision-makers from across the globe to exchange insights, challenge assumptions, and shape the future of face-to-face fundraising together. Find out more and register here.

About Robert Buchhaus

After completing his studies, Robert Buchhaus, who holds a doctorate in law, decided to pursue a career in fundraising to promote positive change in the world. Over the course of his diverse, decades-long career, he has personally asked over 50,000 people to provide regular support to a wide variety of organizations, worked as an internationally active fundraising consultant for various international NPOs, and established fundraising agencies (Global Fundraising Group) with partners in numerous countries; serves as managing director of agencies in Austria and Germany, and is a recognized speaker at international fundraising conferences as one of the leading specialists in face-to-face fundraising.

In 2014, he was the first in the German-speaking world to introduce tablet fundraising into face-to-face fundraising. He serves on the board of the Austrian Fundraising Association.

Greenpeace image: © Mitja Kobal, Greenpeace

The 2023 Edelman Trust Barometer, produced by global PR firm Edelman, surveyed 32,000 people in 28 countries in November 2022.

Globally, 51% said they thought of NGOs as a reliable source of trustworthy information, while 29% said they were likely to provide false or misleading information.

Businesses were also seen as good sources of information, with 48% considering them reliable. More people thought governments were a source of false or misleading information than thought them reliable (46% vs. 39%) while for media it was equal at 42% on both sides.

Whereas in 2022, trust in NGOs rose in 16 of the 27 countries included in the Barometer, this year gains were seen in just six, declining in 17. The overall level of trust in NGOs dropped slightly, from 60% in the 2022 report to 59% this year. This compares to 62% global trust in business, a figure which has not changed in the past year, while 51% trusted governments, and 50% trusted media.

The Barometer also shows that two of the three countries with least confidence in NGOs are in Europe: the least trusting is Japan where only 38% think they are trustworthy, followed by Germany (41%) and Sweden (44%).

Among the European countries monitored, trust in NGOs was highest in France at 55%, followed by Spain (53%), Ireland (51%), Italy (49%), the Netherlands and the UK (both 47%). Italy was the country with the biggest change in attitude year-on-year; in 2022, its figure was 54%, while Ireland dropped from 55%.

Globally, the countries with the highest NGO trust scores were China (78%), Kenya (76%) and India (74%).

Edelman’s report, launched annually at the World Economic Forum’s meeting in Davos, has become a regular source of media comment since it launched 23 years ago. Some 31,000 people are surveyed globally: around 1,150 people in each market.

This year, it received fierce criticism in the UK’s Guardian, which argued hypocrisy on the grounds that the PR agency’s clients have several fossil fuel producers, and the Saudi Arabian government. The Guardian also quoted criticism of the report by US academic Alison Taylor, who said: “What is being called ‘trust’ here is not ‘trust’ in any kind of academic understanding. This is reputation.”

Developed as part of the foundation’s Philanthropy.Insight project, the report highlights that trust is a key currency of the philanthropic eco-system, but questions whether foundations in recent times have been as concerned by reports of declining trust as their counterparts in government and in the corporate world.

With this in mind, researchers aimed to increase the understanding and awareness of the role of trust in philanthropic practice. During the two-year research programme, they identified five overarching principles for philanthropic trust – commitment, public purpose, relevance, performance and accountability – and developed a practical assessment tool to measure trust – the Philanthropy Insight Assessment Tool.

Supported by Carnegie Trust UK and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, the Trust in Philanthropy report finds that trust influences personal and institutional relations in two ways: as an authentic, honest intention and a willingness to be vulnerable; and as reliance on competence and skills. It also indicates that philanthropic trust manifests in at least three different forms: trust within philanthropic organisations; trust between actors of the philanthropic eco-system; and trust vis-à-vis the public and the private sector as well as in response to increasing public scrutiny.

Rupert G. Strachwitz, Maecenata Foundation

“It’s simply not enough just to look at impact,” says project leader, Rupert G. Strachwitz – a political scientist and historian and CEO of the Maecenata Foundation. “To be trusted, philanthropic and indeed all civil society organisations should adopt a broader view.”

Among the lessons that emerged from the Philanthropy.Insight project, the researchers highlights that commitment from philanthropic decision-makers is vital for building trust. The recommendation was made that organisations should devote an equal amount of time to sharing information with an audience as it does collecting that information.

The reluctance of leaders to take a risk or to face potentially negative findings relating to the lack of trust within their institutions was also identified as a potential barrier for addressing and building trust.

The Maecenata Foundation is a think tank that focuses on civil society, philanthropy and the civic space. Its core unit is the Maecenata Institute, a research and policy centre, founded in 1997. Maecenata operates from Berlin, Germany, with a strong European and international outlook.

Read the full report here.

Edelman’s Spring Update saw it conduct an online survey during April on public trust levels for government, business, NGOs and media in 11 markets: Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, the UK and the US. Altogether, there were over 13,200 respondents.

Record highs were seen for all institutions across the markets surveyed, with trust levels in NGOs rising 4% since the January Barometer to 62%: equal to that for businesses, and just 1% below government. Government saw trust rise to 63%, making it the most trusted institution for the first time. Trust in media was lowest at 55%.

Overall, trust in NGOs has risen in 8 of the 11 markets surveyed since January, when it was the most trusted institution alongside business. This includes three in Europe: France, where trust remains static at 58%, UK, where it has risen four points since January to 54%, and Germany, which has seen an increase of 7 points to 50%. Worldwide, trust in NGOs is highest in China (86%), India (79%), and Mexico (75%).

The Barometer also looked at areas of pandemic response: containing the pandemic, informing the public, providing economic relief and support, helping people cope, and getting the country back to normal, asking respondents which institution they expect to take a leading role in addressing each one.

Worldwide:

– 56% trust NGOs to speak the truth about the pandemic

– 43% think NGOs are doing well or very well at coordinating local relief efforts getting food, healthcare services and financial support to the most vulnerable members of the community

– 38% think NGOs are doing well or very well at taking care of people who are suffering pandemic-related financial hardship

– 41% think NGOs are doing well at raising money for pandemic relief efforts.

However, respondents in seven of the 11 markets surveyed believe their local NGOs are not prepared to deal with the crisis, including Germany, the US and Canada.

Overall, expectations for government were the highest, with respondents wanting government to lead in all areas of the pandemic response: containing the pandemic (73%); helping people cope with the pandemic (72%); informing the public (72%); providing economic relief and support (86%); and getting the country back to normal (79%).

Richard Edelman, CEO of Edelman, said:

“Faced with one of the biggest health and financial crises in history, people are turning to their governments for leadership and hope. The speed and scale of the lockdowns, the brave performance of the public health services and the extent of public expenditure to support the private sector have shown government taking quick decisive action. This is a stunning turnaround for government which has always languished at or near the bottom of the trust hierarchy.”

The 20th annual trust and credibility survey, conducted by global insight and analytics consultancy Edelman Intelligence, covers a total of 28 markets, with 34,000+ respondents.

Out of the four institutions measured by the Edelman Trust Barometer, business and NGOs remain tied as the most trusted for the third year in a row globally (each at 58%), with a rise for both of just 1%, followed by government and media, which each scored 49%.

Trust in NGOs rose in all but one of the European markets included in the study, falling solely in Germany. In Europe, the Barometer data shows that trust in NGOs is highest in France and Spain and lowest in Russia, where it reaches only 25%. NGOs are ‘distrusted’ (where the trust rating is less than 50%) in Italy, the UK, Germany and Russia. However, Italy has seen a 5-point increase in trust and now stands at 49%.

Of the four institutions surveyed, NGOs are seen as the most honest and fair, and the only institution to be considered ethical, with a 31-point gap over government, and a 25-point gap over business. However, they are not considered competent, while the opposite is true for business, which ranks highest in this area, with 54-point edge over government as an institution that is good at what it does (64% vs. 10%).

Richard Edelman, CEO of Edelman, said:

“People’s expectations of institutions have led us to evolve our model for measuring trust. Trust today is granted on two distinct attributes: competence (delivering on promises) and ethical behaviour (doing the right thing and working to improve society). It is no longer only a matter of what you do—it’s also how you do it.”

For the first time this year, the Edelman Trust Barometer also asked respondents to tell it how well each institution is doing on a long list of issues that are challenging society. NGOs are seen to be doing best at: protecting the environment (48%), civil and human rights (47%), poverty, illiteracy, disease (45%). The areas identified as having most room for improvement are: transparency about funding, exposing corruption, avoiding becoming politicised, partnering with government, and partnering with business, with around a third of people thinking they are doing well in these areas.

The full report can be read at on the Edelman site.

While the overarching trend is that trust is on the rise, the Barometer reveals that four out of the six markets identified as distrusting NGOs – those where less than 50% of people agree that they trust these institutions – are in Europe, namely the UK, The Netherlands, Italy, and Germany. At the bottom of the scale, only 44% of Germans said they trusted NGOs, although this is a 7% increase on the previous year.

European countries with a neutral rating (between 50-59%) were Ireland, Spain, and France. Trust in NGOs fell in two European countries: Italy, by 2%, and Spain, which had the biggest year on year decline among all markets surveyed, with an 8% drop. France had the highest trust rating out of these markets, with 56% – a 4% year on year rise.

Overall, the Barometer shows a shift in trust, with more people now trusting their employers than any other type of institution. Globally, 75% of people trust their employer do what is right, significantly more than NGOs (57%), business (56%) and media (47%).

The results also show that overall, men trust NGOs slightly more than women, at 58% versus 55%, while the informed public (broadly speaking those with a college income and in the top 25% for household income) have higher trust levels than the general public at 69% against 56%. Trust levels among both the informed and general public rose slightly from levels recorded the previous year, up 4% and 2% respectively.

The percentage of people globally who would trust information given by an NGO representative to be credible also rose, by 2% to reach 48%.

Edelman surveyed 1,150 respondents per market for the Barometer, all aged 18+. 27 markets were surveyed between October and Nov 2018, with 33,000+ respondents in total.

Related feature: Special focus: 5 trends influencing giving in Europe

Related article:  Czech NGOs focus on relationship building to address declining public trust

Figures from the Public Opinion Research Centre show that declining trust levels have been particularly apparent since 2015/6, with 47% of people overall saying they mistrusted NGOs in 2015, rising to 51% in 2017 and 53% in 2018.

According to the For Easy Giving coalition, which focuses on developing relationship fundraising to address this issue, charities are starting to change their approach to better engage donors, moving away from the traditional ask for support to a greater focus on relationship building.

For Easy Giving’s Jan Gregor said:

“Non-profits have become aware of the benefit of change from the classic fundraising approach of “help us” to the new, modern one of “join us”. By engaging people, they not only get donors, but they also increase public trust, so a developing trend appears to be the integration of programme, fundraising and communication activities and searching for activities with mutual value.”

“Although only a few Czech NGOs are truly adopting this integrated way of thinking so far, such as Friends of the Earth Czech Republic, Greenpeace, and those connected through our coalition, we are seeing NGOs becoming more willing to work on their accountability and communications to increase the public’s trust in them.”

A 2017-18 campaign by Friends of the Earth CZ, entitled ‘In every heart is a piece of wilderness’ and asking people to pledge to save areas of wilderness in the Czech Republic, saw 50,000 sign ups and 770 new donors in three weeks, resulting in 360 new direct debits after seven months. 2018 also saw the country’s first Charitable Will Month (pictured) take place across September and October to encourage more people to leave legacies.

As a result, donations are growing, both from individuals – particularly online – and corporations, while charitable wills are also starting to rise.

There is also an increasing willingness to cooperate among organisations, with the For Easy Giving coalition saw an increase in membership last year. In addition, For Easy Giving and Foundation Nonprofits.cz initiated a network of PR and communication professionals to share best practice in dealing with lack of public trust in NGOs, while a number of other groups including Glopolis “Měj se k světu”, a coalition of non-profit platforms and organisations, also joined forces to form a network that aims to raise the profile of the sector.

Having recently joined the German fundraising association (DFRV), can you give us your take on the charitable giving market and the main opportunities for growth in Germany?

Philanthropy is hugely important here in Germany. The latest data (Bilanz des Helfens 2018 from Deutscher Spendenrat e.V. and GfK Germany) shows that the total amount donated in Germany will likely reach around 5.5 billion euros this year. Charitable donations hit record levels in 2015, but after a dip in 2016, it’s now back up and that’s a great development. Still, compared to other ‘wealthy’ countries, the amount donated per person and the extent of major donor philanthropy are both quite low, so the growth potential for giving as a whole is enormous.

At the same time, we can see a continued but disturbing trend: charitable donations are being made by a shrinking number of supporters. Less people are giving more money. The big challenge here in Germany is to stabilise and increase the number of donors, particularly by attracting the younger generations.

The good news is that civil society is growing with a strong volunteer element and that is certainly something to celebrate. Just recently, the Federal Minister of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth announced that a public foundation will be set up to support activism by German NGOs in 2019: the Engagement Stiftung. Over 32 million euros is to be invested in the foundation and this is a good sign that politicians understand the need to support German civil society and are willing to put money behind that effort.

Given the rather low percentage of funds raised digitally and via social media in Germany, there is a huge possibility to raise more funds, combine activism and fundraising, and find new and younger donor groups.

You’ve mentioned your concern about a dip in donor numbers and the need to address that. What other challenges are there for fundraisers in Germany?

Digitalisation is as much a challenge for the sector as it is an opportunity. German NGOs, especially small ones, often lack personnel and financial resources to establish and execute digital strategies, although online fundraising is extremely relevant for a successful fundraising mix and will become even more important in the future.

Another major challenge is fundraising education. We need promotion and funding by the state to establish better training conditions for fundraisers all over Germany. While there are good training opportunities through the German Fundraising Academy and others, fundraising education and research is missing from most public universities and academic institutions.

What about the public? What are their perceptions of non-profits currently?

There are rising expectations among private donors, companies and foundations about what non-profits should be able to deliver: more financial transparency, lower overheads but more and faster services, greater donor involvement, stronger ethical standards and much more detailed reporting. In an increasingly interconnected world, organisations must redefine their intermediary role and be able to justify their fundraising activities.

Generally, charitable organisations are seen to be credible, but there are many warning signs of public discontent that are concerning and cannot be ignored. This includes a lack of trust in public institutions and political parties, questioning over post-war achievements such as the UN treaty and establishment of the European Union, the rise of the far right, and the assault on truth by social networks and fake news. This must be countered with a robust reinforcement of civil society, and this will need sufficient funding and resources.

Do you think the ‘warning signs’ you speak of are also being felt by your neighbouring states and other nations globally?

The economic situation in Germany is better than in many other European countries and the state is still providing significant social support as well as extensive educational and cultural services. The willingness to volunteer remains high, and the competition in fundraising is less noticeable and less drastic than in other countries. So, overall the situation for many civil society organisations and for fundraisers in particular seems to be a bit more comfortable than elsewhere. But the warning signs of de-solidarisation and disintegration are present just as in other countries, and the trends in society and among donors should not be ignored.

We can and should use the relatively good situation in Germany to make timely changes to strengthen fundraising and civil society more widely, to look outward and learn more from the experiences of other European countries.

What can DFRV do to support the fundraising community to respond to these issues?

At a policy level, we are increasing our engagement in German politics. We want to create better conditions for fundraisers and for that reason we are keen to be involved in the conceptual planning and the development of the forthcoming Engagement Stiftung.

Operationally, one of our major tasks is to provide networking and training in fundraising, offering a variety of educational and networking opportunities at regional and thematic meetings and working groups, at national seminars and symposia, and of course at our flagship annual fundraising congress. Since there is a strong demand for digital topics, at our 2019 congress there will be an extra symposium dedicated to digitalisation in fundraising (Fachtag Digitales). In addition, we continue to support the development of the German Fundraising Academy and other formal educational opportunities for fundraisers.

On a personal note, what are you most looking forward to working towards at DFRV?

I’m delighted to have the chance to work for a strong and growing network of fundraisers in Germany. It’s an exciting opportunity to strengthen civil society, working together with DFRV’s members and contributing at an important time; when inhumanity seems to be becoming socially acceptable again.

Having led the international youth foundation Schüler Helfen Leben before joining DFRV, I managed the organisation’s annual Social Day; a campaign that has since spread to Italy, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belgium, and Denmark. I’ve also been a passionate volunteer for human rights for many years, working on the board of Amnesty International Germany, and this is a fantastic opportunity to build on that expertise and to support the profession as a whole.

Here at DFRV, my goal is to mobilise sufficient resources for the many forces of good in society. I also hope to strengthen the association itself by increasing its membership and its funding, by improving the quality of its membership services, and by enhancing its public profile and deepening its partnerships with other organisations and institutions.

About Larissa Probst

Recently appointed managing director of Deutscher Fundraising Verband (DFRV), Larissa Probst is a long-term social marketer, fundraiser and human rights activist. Previously, she served as managing director of the international youth foundation Schüler Helfen Leben and was on the board of Amnesty International Germany, with responsibility for communications and fundraising.

Picture credit: German Fundraising Association e. V.

Trust in charities has fallen from 6.7 out of 10 in 2014 to 5.7 this year, according to a report produced by Populus for the Charity Commission, based on surveys of a representative sample of over 1,000 people and discussions with four focus groups.

The main reasons given for the decline in trust were the media coverage about charities generally (33%), as well as more specific coverage about how charities spend their donations (32%). Other reasons given were a lack of trust (21%), the use of pressurising techniques (18%) and too much money being spent on advertising or wages (15%).

The report reveals that trust is typically based on five factors – whether charities make a positive difference to the cause they are working for (16%), ensure that a reasonable proportion of donations make it to the end cause (13%), are well managed (12%), ensure that their fundraisers are honest and ethical (12%), and make independent decisions to further the cause they work for (10%).

Many also highlighted issues with fundraising techniques, with 74% saying that some fundraising methods make them feel uncomfortable. This has been on the increase since 2010 (60%), reaching 66% in 2014. The public also agreed that high-pressure fundraising techniques such as phone calls and street fundraising made them feel uncomfortable which, in turn, made them feel less inclined to give money.

Charity accountability and management were also cited as issues. 67% of those questioned thought that charities spend too much of their funds on salaries and administration, up from 58% in 2014. Management accounted for 12% of the drivers of trust and confidence. A perceived lack of progress on many of the causes charities fight for, and lack of feedback from charities explaining on what they have done with donations also make people less likely to donate.

The report also showed that although most be people agreed that charities are regulated either fairly or very effectively, trust and confidence in the Charity Commission has fallen from 6 to 5.5.

Sarah Atkinson, director of policy & communications, said:

“A fall in trust is not unexpected after a very difficult year for charities. The public wants to see charities explain more and account better for how they manage and spend their money. There are positive signs in the sector already, with a new fundraising regulator, a new Charities Act, and with many charities responding positively to the challenge to address public concerns. But there is more work to do to win back trust.”

In response to the findings, NCVO chief executive Sir Stuart Etherington commented:

“Charities have listened to public concerns and have taken concerted action to ensure that members of the public can have complete confidence in what they do. This year, charities have established a tough new fundraising regulator. A new fundraising preference service means people who have found themselves on a large number of mailing or call lists and feel unable to get off them, or who have relatives in this position, will have a way to opt out. And charities are now working towards ensuring that they always have clear consent before they contact anyone.

“Charities are also working to strengthen their governance, including reviewing the sector’s Code of Good Governance practice. They are also working with their representative bodies to explore better ways to explain how they work to ensure the public can have confidence in them.”

Peter Lewis, chief executive of the Institute of Fundraising added:

“Individual charities understand how vital it is to maintain public support and have responded to concerns over the last year by improving fundraising practice. We have seen charities work to strengthen the connection between donors and the charities they support, and evidence shows that existing donors are choosing to continue supporting their charities. Putting the donors at the heart the way charities fundraise, building long-term relationships between the public and the cause, is a strong basis for rebuilding public trust in the future.”