Setting Up Your Own In-house Face-to-Face Fundraising Operation

  • Better Donor Quality and Retention

  • Greater Control and Brand Alignment

  • Cost Efficiency and Long-Term Value

Our Experience

Our founder, Rory White, first helped set up an in-house face-to-face (F2F) fundraising operation in 1997 with Action Aid. From that moment, he was hooked, not just by the method, but by the people, the energy, and the process of helping charities build their own sustainable fundraising teams.

After founding Flow Caritas, he went on to help many charities establish and grow their in-house F2F programmes, including:

  • Shelter

  • Oxfam

  • British Red Cross

  • Barnardo’s

  • Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)

  • Scope

  • League Against Cruel Sports

  • The Children’s Society

  • St Oswald’s Hospice

  • EveryChild

Many of these programmes became long-lasting and enduring sources of income and donor loyalty. Flow Caritas earned a reputation as the go-to partner for exceptional F2F talent, not just at senior leadership level, but also for recruiting and staffing whole teams.

Why In-House
— and Why Now?

We are seeing many of the same market dynamics today that we saw after the 2008 financial crisis. At that time, charities like Shelter, who doubled down on their F2F programmes, invested, and grew them, reaped the rewards.

Yes, people feel the squeeze, and budgets are tight, but this is not the time to step back from engaging donors. Now more than ever, charities need to connect with potential supporters in meaningful, human ways and face to face.

Keys to a Successful In-House F2F Operation

1. Hire an experienced campaign manager

Involve them early to help plan, budget, and forecast the project.

2. Hands-on leadership

The most successful operations are led by managers who spend at least 70% of their time in the field, rolling up their sleeves rather than being tied to a desk.

3. Recruit, support, and manage fundraisers effectively

We provide ongoing recruitment and payroll support. Fundraisers are employed on contracts-for-services — they work under your brand and direction, but we take care of HR and payroll. This gives you flexibility to scale up or down as needed.

4. Effective training and onboarding

We help you design and deliver a training and interview process that secures the right people and improves retention from day one.

5. Nationwide reach

We have supported operations in Glasgow, Manchester, Leeds, Cardiff, Sheffield, Birmingham, Brighton — and beyond.

6. Strong account management

Our approach has always been collaborative: regular reporting, monthly meetings, and ongoing insight into every aspect of the operation.

7. Creativity in recruitment

The market is competitive, and success comes from finding and securing the very best talent through a proven, innovative approach.

8. Efficient management of your data

We can introduce you to organisations who can provide the necessary tech to your fundraisers and ensure that

9. Mystery shopping

We can also introduce you to organisations that will effectively mystery shop your teams and ensure that they are hitting your expected quality levels.

The Benefits

1. Revenue

A successful in-house team can become a core income stream. Shelter’s in-house F2F became a significant part of their revenue, with typical ROI of 2–4:1 over three years.

2. Donor retention

Donors recruited in-house tend to stay longer — on average, retention is 8% higher over three years. Why? Because in-house fundraisers take more pride in the brand and provide better donor care.

3. Cost Per Acquisition (CPA)

CPA may be higher in year one due to setup costs but drops as the team becomes more efficient. By years 2–3, in-house CPA is often lower than agency CPA.

4. Closer to your donors

Having your own team means you’re more in touch with donor sentiment — your fundraisers are your eyes and ears on the street every day, engaging with the public and donors.

5. Better donor insight

One agency leader at Media Lab told me that before launching a digital campaign for a charity, he always speaks to their F2F fundraisers to learn what messages resonate with donors. That intelligence has helped create award-winning campaigns.