Standard C13 Explained

Why must organizations conducting face-to-face fundraising ensure that they:

a. provide verification of the affiliation of the person representing the organization – Individuals may be suspicious of face-to-face fundraising efforts such as door-to-door solicitation, worrying that it could be fraudulent. To avoid this perception, fundraisers conducting face-to-face fundraising should carry valid personal identification along with identification of the organization on behalf of which they are seeking funds.¹

b. secure and safeguard any confidential information, including credit card information, provided by donors – Under PIPEDA, the Personal Information Protection and Electronics Documents Act, all organizations in Canada are responsible for safeguarding the private information they collect from clients, donors, or participants.² Organizations are obliged to protect personal information using security safeguards including physical measures such as storing information in locked filing cabinets, organizational measures such as staff training and confidentiality agreements, and technological measures such as passwords and encryptions.² Organizations that engage staff or volunteers to conduct face-to-face fundraising must ensure that individuals are trained to understand the importance of protecting confidential information as well as the organization’s mechanisms and policies for ensuring that personal information is secure.

From "Accreditation Preparation Workbook Section C: Fundraising,"  Katharine Zywert, Social Prosperity Wood Buffalo at the University of Waterloo, 2013.

1. “Face-to-Face Fundraising Guidelines Canada,” Association of Fundraising Professionals.
2. “The Protection of Personal Information by Charities and Not-For-Profit Organizations: A National Perspective,” M. Jasmine Sweatman, The Philanthropist, 19 (4): 2004.