The government has accepted an amendment to email marketing rules that could increase annual donations to charities by an estimated £290m.
The Data & Marketing Association (DMA) previously wrote to science secretary Peter Kyle on behalf of its charity members, asking him to amend the data (use and access) bill to allow charities to contact people in the same way businesses can.
Members of the public previously had to consent to their details being used for direct marketing at the point of their data being collected.
However, commercial organisations could use “soft opt-in” rules to send electronic marketing communications to a person without their consent if their details were collected during the sale of a product or service.
A previous bill laid by the former Conservative government, which did not complete all its stages before the general election, proposed extending this “soft opt-in” to charities and other non-commercial organisations.
Labour’s bill, which was introduced in the House of Lords on 23 October, removed this clause.
But this month, the clause was added back into the bill after being proposed by Liberal Democrat peer Lord Clement-Jones.
In his explanatory statement, Clement-Jones said: “This amendment seeks to enable charities to communicate to donors in the same way that businesses have been able to communicate to customers since 2003.
“The clause intends to help facilitate greater fundraising and support the work charities do for society.”
‘Significant step’ in empowering sector
In a statement published last week, the DMA said: “This decision marks a significant step forward in empowering the charity sector to strengthen relationships with supporters, foster deeper community connections, and ultimately enhance the impact of their vital work.
“By extending this measure—currently available only for commercial messages—the government has shown it is willing to listen to charities and act to unlock more fundraising opportunities.
“In a time of consistent challenges for charities, this is important.”
According to the DMA, the new amendment will “encourage innovative marketing strategies from the sector”.
The bill is currently nearing the end of its journey being debated in the House of Lords, and is now set to proceed to the Commons in February, where the DMA says that it anticipates its “swift passage”.
CIoF: amendment will put charities on level playing field with business
Claire Stanley, director of policy and communications at the Chartered Institute of Fundraising, said: “We are delighted to hear that the soft opt-in to email marketing will be extended to charities as part of the Data Use and Access Bill. This is something we have been calling for on behalf of our members for some time.
“It’s a significant win for the sector and will finally put charities on a level playing field with commercial organisations, which have benefitted from soft opt-in since the introduction of the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations back in 2003.
"And crucially – it’s shown a willingness from the government to listen to the sector at a time when it is facing multiple challenges to deliver services amid rocketing demand. We are looking forward to working with government on this and will keep our members updated on the next steps.”
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