I worked at a fundraising call centre which was forced to shut down. Here's my right of reply

Charity fundraising call centres have a bad reputation - but the reality is very different. (Martin Poole / Mood Board/REX)

I worked for GoGen Ltd – a fundraising agency which was sadly forced to close down as a result of campaign lead by the Daily Mail.

I started work at Gogen 7 years ago, first as a fundraiser, then as supervisor, manager and assessor. I worked across three of their call centres and within two of their departments.

Following the terrible publicity the charity sector has recently faced, it’s fair that these call centres have a right to reply.

Charity fundraising call centres typically earn reputations as vast, soulless entities, preying on the most vulnerable sectors of society for money. In reality this is far from the truth.

Yes, they are target driven work environments. And yes, we employ sales techniques and strategies to achieve the targets which are set for us by the charities for whom we fundraise. On some campaigns we would ask the potential donor up to three times (at a decreasing amount) for a regular gift. This was done, however, on the understanding that the majority of those we were approaching (through data supplied to us directly by the charities), genuinely supported the work of the charity and wanted to help. Asking that number of times would help us reach an amount that the supporter was comfortable with.

What so many of these so-called +exposes+ fail to mention is simply this: people like to give. They feel good supporting charities. We build relationships with these people. The supporters feel involved in the work done and contribute to charities’ achievements. That supporters frequently leave money in their wills to charities testifies to their care for the causes we pursue.

The level of scrutiny now being faced by charity fundraisers is extraordinary – especially given the incredible results many of those being attacked have achieved in the past. The colleagues I worked with at GoGen had a thorough understanding of the desperate situations of the people they were trying to help. We were unapologetic in our approach: we knew we were helping a child escape abuse, or helping providing funds for life saving medical treatment. Fundraisers were taught and encouraged to convey the urgency of these situations, as in most cases they had only a single opportunity to engage with a potential supporter over the telephone.

At GoGen, many procedures were in place to ensure telephone fundraisers followed best practice when speaking with someone who might or might not have been in the position to make a decision about their finances, or if the subject matter would be distressing due to personal circumstances. Provisions were in place and guidelines were followed; the calls would be terminated in a polite and professional manner. With regard to people on the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) register, they were always asked if they were happy to receive a call in the future. Permission to converse had to be obtained on every single call across every single campaign by telephone fundraisers. If somebody did not wish to take the call they were simply had to say no.

With changes in the law, and tighter restrictions on charities’ fundraising methods millions of vulnerable people – previously wholly reliant on the help of charities – now find themselves in a precarious situation. More than that, I would go so far as to argue that the tabloid campaign against the charity sector was both irresponsible and short-sighted. Bureaucratic procedural changes will ultimately be an extra expense for fundraising organisations, costing charities valuable time and money. We have to question who will suffer the most as a result. And do we really believe our current government to step in and compensate for where charities are no longer able to help?