Supporter acquisition
To build a sustainable and expanding supporter base, SSAFA actively invests in supporter acquisition. These efforts are vital to ensuring our charity has the resources needed to meet the needs of our beneficiaries.
SSAFA is regulated by the Fundraising Regulator and adheres to the Code of Fundraising Practice (2025). Through the code, we aim to make sure that all our fundraising activities meet the following values:
Legal: our fundraising must meet the requirements of the law.
Open: our fundraisers must be clear about their processes and willing to explain them when necessary.
Honest: our fundraisers must act with integrity and must not mislead people when asking for donations.
Respectful: our fundraisers must respect the people and places they interact with.
Since 2022 we have had a team of face-to-face fundraisers working with us. The fundraisers are employees of agencies we have contracted to talk to members of the public in private sites and at events. Donations raised through face-to-face fundraising help to fund our core welfare services such as Forcesline, SSAFA Norton House, Stepping Stone Homes, Family Support Groups, and provide training for our volunteer caseworkers and mentors. For more information, please read the Face-2-face fundraising FAQs (available in web and PDF formats):
Which fundraising agencies do we work with?
We currently work with one agency, CF Fundraising. All our agencies are carefully chosen based on their reputation, client references and performance.
CF employs experienced professional fundraisers, some of whom are veterans. To effectively represent us on the ground, they have been briefed on the work our charity does, the services we deliver and how SSAFA is structured.
We are confident in their professionalism and behaviour, having undertaken ‘mystery shopping.’
How do the face-to-face fundraising teams operate?
Agencies conduct fundraising by:
1. Booking stalls at events such as tradeshows and county shows.
2. Securing permission to engage with the public at private sites such as shopping centres and at retail outlets such as Tesco, Asda, Aldi, and Sainsbury’s.
The professional fundraisers engage with members of the public by asking to have a conversation about our charity, hopefully leading to an ‘ask’ for financial support through a regular donation regularly via direct debit.
Where are we currently fundraising?
The face-to-face fundraising activities are currently focused on counties across England.
Where does the money from this initiative go?
The donations we receive help support our charitable activities, from volunteer management activities to the national recruitment campaigns and training provision; and vital funding for core services such as Forcesline, Norton House, Gildea House, and our family support groups.
How do we keep local branch representatives informed?
We send Branch Chairs and/or Secretaries an email with details of where the fundraising teams are working on a weekly basis. On receiving the information, if you observe that your volunteers will be in the same location, and on the same day, please let us know immediately.
What are the collaboration opportunities?
We strive to work in unison with our volunteers to maximise awareness. Whenever and wherever possible, our volunteers join forces with our fundraisers to interact with members of the community who require and qualify for our assistance. These opportunities are mostly possible at events such as county fairs, military shows and tradeshows, but not at shopping centres and retail outlets due to space limitations and restrictions imposed by the businesses.