Ring Ring. Ring Ring. “Hello?” [giant pause]… “Hello sir. My name is Andy. I’m calling on behalf of [insert name of business, polling company, charitable cause or foundation here]. Your contribution could save a life/a tree/a seal/the environment…” etc., etc. Sound familiar?

It’s the classic telemarketing (or telefundraising) call template heard by Canadians daily, and while many perceive the call as intrusive or annoying, for many organizations, it’s a completely legal tool.

The law on who is allowed to tele-solicit and who isn’t were clearly laid out by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) in 2011 when the so-called “Do Not Call” legislation was passed in the House of Commons.

Who you gonna call?

While millions of Canadians have registered their numbers on the National Do Not Call List (DNCL), it’s important to note that the CRTC has exempted five types of organizations from inclusion on its DNCL. The following entities are still allowed to solicit individuals by phone or fax: registered charities, newspapers looking for subscriptions, political parties and their candidates, organizations conducting market research, polls or surveys, and companies with whom people have an existing business relationship.

The latter is defined by the CRTC as follows:

“You are considered to have an existing business relationship with a telemarketer if you: Purchased, leased, or rented a product or service in the last 18 months from the telemarketer; have a written contract with the telemarketer for a service that is still in effect or expired within the last 18 months; and/or asked a telemarketer about a product or service within the last six months.”

Telemarketers may also call if someone have provided express consent to be called. Express consent, according to the commission, includes: permission on a written form, electronic form, or an online form; or verbal permission.

What’s interesting to note is that the CRTC also stresses that the above-mentioned organizations are obliged to maintain their own internal “do not call” lists, though it’s unclear how the that policy would be enforced.

Truth be told, they may not really have to.

E.T. is not phoning home

The Association of Fundraising Professionals of Canada (AFP) notes that the country’s nonprofit sector has a relatively low rate of using telemarketing to fundraise. Michael Nilsen, AFP’s Washington-based vice president of public affairs told CharityVillage that according to the association’s 2011 State of Fundraising Canada Survey, with regards to telemarketing, “31% of organizations that used telemarketing raised more funds through telemarketing in 2011 than they did in 2010, while 57% saw results unchanged, and about 11% raised less funds in 2011 using telemarketing. Compared to other types of fundraising, telemarketing saw less success in 2011.”

He added that typically, Canadian charities and nonprofits that actually use telemarketing represent “a pretty low number” overall, usually about 20% of survey respondents.

Desi Cabrera, business development manager with Miratel Solutions Inc., a Toronto-based call centre, eBusiness and letter shop mail house specializing in professional fundraising services, said her nonprofit clients aren’t affected by the DNCL. But she also stressed that the charities employing her company, one of which is Ontario’s Heart and Stroke Foundation, “do maintain an internal list of donors and supporters who have asked to be removed from their calling lists.”

Follow-up queries to Miratel about how many nonprofits use their service and whether the company has a different set of charges for charitable sector clients were not returned.

Let’s get ethical

Interestingly, Imagine Canada’s ethical standards program, of which nearly 400 nonprofits subscribe to, including the Heart and Stroke Foundation, provides rigorous guidance around the practice of telemarketing for fundraising purposes.

Cathy Barr, Imagine Canada’s senior vice president, said her organization doesn’t frown on the practice, but does encourage proper execution of telefundraising by all its members.

“We don’t take a position on telemarketing for fundraising purposes. Telemarketing is just one of the many fundraising tools, like direct mail, advertising, events, etc. that organizations have at their disposal to use,” she said. “However, our Ethical Fundraising and Financial Accountability Code and Standards Program have clear policies on the payment of fundraisers, list management and donor relations.”

Imagine Canada advises organizations to adhere to the following rules it has laid out about telemarketing:

• Organizations are prohibited from using finder’s fees, commissions or percentage compensation as a form of payment for fundraising activities.
• An organization must not sell its donor list. If it rents, exchanges or otherwise shares its donor list, it must abide by the Canadian Marketing Association Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice and donors’ requests to be excluded from such lists.
• Anyone seeking or receiving funds, on behalf of the organization, whether a volunteer, employee or contracted third-party must cease contacting a prospective donor who states that he/she does not wish to be contacted. The organization should also honour donors’ or prospective donors’ requests to not be contacted by telephone or other technology.

According to Imagine Canada, if organizations follow these rules, it will help them stay above-board in transparency, particularly when donors ask how their dollars are being spent.

Wear your heart on your phone

Asked about its telemarketing practices, a spokesperson for the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario said the organization sometimes engages third parties to call donors during major campaigns. It complies with all requests by donors to be put on their internal “do not call” list at such times.

“The Heart and Stroke Foundation periodically uses telemarketing to contact the public. For example, we contact our lottery supporters by phone to let them know information about our lotteries because it is an effective direct response tool that complements other media activity,” Teresa Roncon, the foundation’s senior manager of public relations said. “The foundation will also engage a call centre to help recruit door-to-door canvassers for Heart Month, our biggest fundraising program of the year, as well as to call active donors to ask if they would like to join a regular giving program. It’s important to note that HSF does maintain a strict ‘do not call’ list and that all our telemarketers are paid by the hour, not by commission.”

Asked whether the foundation could provide any metrics on how effective its telemarketing practices are, Roncon replied that results were difficult to measure due to the varied purposes behind the various telemarketing campaigns. However, the foundation sees good returns on investment when it does spend on telemarketing, she said.

The foundation “uses telemarketing because we see favourable results with our objectives,” Roncon added.

Andy Levy-Ajzenkopf is president of WordLaunch professional writing services in Toronto. He can be reached at andy@wordlaunch.com.

Photos (from top) via iStockphoto. All photos used with permission.

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