Correspondence: Adrian Sargeant, Indiana University, SPEA 801 West Michigan Street Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA. Tel: +1 812 935 8123; Fax: +1 317 274 7860; E-mail: asargean@iupui.edu

¹is the Robert F. Hartsook Professor of Fundraising at Indiana University and Professor of Nonprofit Marketing and Fundraising at Bristol Business School, University of the West of England.

²is Director of the nonprofit consulting firm Sargeant Associates Ltd and the author of 'Fundraising Management' and 'Building Donor Loyalty', published by Routledge and Jossey Bass, respectively.

³is Director of the Centre for Voluntary Sector Management and a member of the School of Reputation and Relationships at Henley Management College. He is also a Visiting Professor of Marketing at the University of Geneva.

Received 2 January 2008; Revised 2 January 2008.

Abstract

In response for calls for greater accountability and transparency in the voluntary sector, this paper reports the results of a major new benchmarking study of the fundraising performance of the UK's Top 500 charities. It focuses on the performance of the key direct marketing media and in the light of the results, highlights a number of critical lessons that must be conveyed by charities seeking to gain the public trust.