How does Greenpeace fundraise?
Like most major UK charities, we raise funds in many different ways, including:
- face-to-face fundraising,
- telephone fundraising,
- direct mail and
- web and social media.
In these places, and through our fundraising, we share the story of our campaigns, how we are working to defend the natural world – and how, together with people, we can protect and defend this beautiful planet.
Does Greenpeace accept Gift Aid?
Although we are a non-profit organisation, Greenpeace UK is a limited company and not a registered charity, which means regular gifts or one-off donations aren’t eligible for Gift Aid.
Being a company allows us to run political campaigns, speak out on important issues and challenge anyone who threatens the planet. This vital work wouldn’t be possible for a registered charity, and we rely on regular gifts from supporters to sustain it. You can set up a regular gift here.
There are some other ways to support us which are eligible for Gift Aid. If you would like to make a major gift or grant, or leave a legacy, we may be able to accept it via our charitable arm, the Greenpeace Environmental Trust.
Why does Greenpeace use fundraisers?
Fundraising door to door, on the telephone and at festivals and events is a cost effective way to generate more funds and inspire the public about our work. It also provides the opportunity for people to ask us questions and learn more about the issues facing the environment. This is vital if we’re to maintain and grow our campaigns. However, we’re always monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of our fundraising and if they’re no longer proving cost effective we’ll either adapt or discontinue the activity.
Who fundraises for Greenpeace UK?
Our door to door and festivals face to face fundraisers are contracted through our recruitment agency Inspired People, but are managed in house by Greenpeace staff.
Greenpeace Face to Face fundraisers working in London.
At events we work with an agency called Working for Wildlife – more information about them below.
For telephone fundraising we work with two fundraising agency partners: Purity and Thirtyone.
We are focused on ensuring the best use of our supporters’ donations and working with agencies is one of the most cost-effective ways of contacting people.
We work closely with our agency partners, providing them with regular updates on our campaigns to ensure anyone fundraising for Greenpeace (whether they work directly for us or through an agency) has the support and training they need to talk about our work.
Thirtyone
Thirtyone are an important extension of the Greenpeace team, making a direct difference to their campaigns by inspiring thousands of people every year to commit to Greenpeace’s mission. Every successful call we make is a step closer to saving our planet, our fundraisers really are making a positive impact every day.
Thirtyone is signed up to the fundraising regulator code of practice.
Purity
Purity Fundraising is a bespoke strategy and telemarketing agency set up in 2017, working solely within the charity sector and set up with the aim to provide the best quality fundraising in the UK. Purity is proud to be a partner of Greenpeace and feels there is a joint belief in the causes Greenpeace fights towards.
Purity is signed up to the fundraising regulator code of practice, and is a member of of the DMA, the ICO and the Institute of Fundraising (IOF). All senior managers are individual members of the IOF.
Working for Wildlife
Working for Wildlife is a face to face events agency that attends indoor and outdoor events; from science shows to food festivals. Working for Wildlife fundraisers inspire and answer questions from members of the public to learn more about Greenpeace and offer ways for them to get more involved. They have a love of wildlife and the natural world, and every one of their fundraisers is picked to represent Greenpeace for their passion for the environment.
Working for Wildlife Ltd. is an enthusiastic supporter and founding member of the Government-backed Fundraising Regulator (FR) and Institute of Fundraising (IoF).
How do I know if a fundraiser is genuine?
Our Tele-fundraisers will only call if you’ve supplied your number to Greenpeace. They will never call from an unknown number, and if you return the call a message will tell you who called and give you the option to opt out of the campaign. At the start of the conversation, they’ll say their name. They’ll also tell you they’re calling on behalf of Greenpeace.
If they ask you for a donation they will provide you with information on the cost of the fundraising campaign and how much income it is expected to raise for Greenpeace, as well as the name of the telemarking agency they are calling from.
A Greenpeace Face to Face fundraiser working in London.
Our Face-to-face fundraisers will be wearing Greenpeace uniforms, which may be in the form of branded t-shirts, tabards or jackets. Fundraisers operate door to door throughout the UK, and at a variety of events. They will also carry an ID card which bears their name, photo and details of the fundraising organisation they work for. If you’re unsure about the legitimacy of a fundraiser, contact Greenpeace’s Supporter Care Team on 0800 269 065 (9am to 5pm, Mon – Fri).
Our fundraisers will not ask for cash or be able to take cash donations from you. They’ll only ask you to support via Direct Debit, or via Debit Card, Credit Card or Contactless.
If a fundraiser asks you for cash, please refuse and report the incident to us by calling 0800 269 065 immediately as this will not be a genuine Greenpeace fundraiser.
How does Greenpeace UK make sure fundraisers work to the highest standards?
All fundraisers representing Greenpeace have clear standards they work to, including a code of conduct and people in vulnerable circumstances policies.
We do not call or approach under 18s and face-to-face fundraisers are not permitted to approach or sign-up people who are under 21. We think that automatically excluding people over a certain age is potentially ageist, so take a case-by-case approach to deciding whether or not to include older supporters in fundraising campaigns.
The agencies we use have rigorous recruitment processes. We train all agency fundraisers to our own high standards, we provide a clear code of conduct, monitor calls and conduct regular mystery shopping to check that all fundraisers working on our behalf are adhering to these standards.
We have few complaints and regularly survey our supporters to find out how they feel about our communications. Overwhelmingly and consistently, the feedback is that our supporters are very happy with the style and frequency of all our communications. If you would like to provide us with feedback on a fundraiser please click here.
Does Greenpeace UK sell or swap the names/addresses/contact details of supporters?
We will never sell or swap your details with other organisations.
We do use trusted companies like fundraising agencies, fulfilment houses and software platform providers to administer some activities, in which case they will use your details only for that purpose – for example, applying your name and address to a mailing of a Greenpeace Connect magazine.
Does Greenpeace UK make cold phone calls?
No. We only make calls to people who have already signed up to our work / one of our campaigns, or who have told an agency that they are happy to be called by us.
Why does Greenpeace UK call people who are registered with the TPS (Telephone Preference Service)?
We screen calls against the TPS register removing those on the list, unless we are calling people who have agreed to be contacted by us, in which case TPS screening is not required.