• Non-Profit Organization Membership – for non-profit organizations that utilize face-to-face fundraising to acquire sustainable donations by way of internal teams or an agency relationship.
• Professional Fundraising Agency Membership – for agencies or suppliers that provide face-to-face fundraising acquisition services.
• Affiliate Membership – for companies that provide support services to non-profit organizations and/or professional fundraising agencies that support face-to-face fundraising acquisition, management, reporting and/or analysis.

A representative of a non-profit organization (NPO) engages with a member of the public in a public street, at their front door, in a retail environment or other private site, and asks whether they would like to support sustainable solutions for a particular cause or mission by becoming a “Sustainer” - someone who makes an automated, regular donation to a NPO.

Donations are made on a recurring basis, usually monthly, by credit card, debit card or electronic funds transfer, EFT, from the donor’s bank account. Hundreds of thousands of people join the large community of sustainers for leading NPOs every year in the United States. Face-to-face fundraising has become an integral part of community outreach campaigns involving regular, everyday people to pledge their support in a way that is comfortable for them: one-on-one.

Those NPOs using face-to-face fundraising include organizations that deliver services to communities locally, nationally and internationally. Ongoing support to non-profit programs ensures sustainable funding for critical mission-related work in the U.S. and aboard for humanitarian, social justice, environmental, animal welfare, and health organizations.

The generous gifts made by Sustainers, and their ongoing pledges for future support can be relied upon in the long-term and provide NPOs with a predictable source of funding for their impactful programs. This allows NPOs to fund services or projects that are needed to deliver and maintain their essential services.

More than 30 NPOs have used or are using face-to-face fundraising as an important part of their fundraising mix. As has been proven through decades of successful campaigns for NPO and political organizations, grassroots fundraising or canvassing is the original community outreach method. With heavy reliance on the power of human interaction and infinite scalability, face-to-face fundraising has proven to be both an effective and scalable option for NPOs.

All direct response fundraising methods require an upfront investment by the NPO. As face-to-face fundraising is a direct response fundraising method, the same is true. It is one of the most efficient forms of fundraising, as well as brand and awareness building. Like some other forms of efficient direct response programs, face-to-face fundraising is an excellent tool for NPOs to balance their risk and reward or effective fundraising investment as face-to-face fundraising programs are most commonly remunerated based on positive results.

As our society has progressed in recent decades, it has become more difficult for NPOs to find volunteers who have the right skills and consistent long-term availability needed for critical fundraising campaigns. As NPOs strive to provide reliable and sustainable solutions for challenges faced in the 21st century they have had to rely less on volunteer availability and invest more in full-time, dedicated staff. These fundraisers are trained, licensed and registered in accordance with municipal, county and state requirements to represent and advocate on behalf of the NPO’s work and cause. They are required to adhere to a comprehensive Code of Conduct put forth by the PFFA and self-regulated by its members.

Based on available internal resources or other challenges faced by the NPO, they often decide that outsourcing the fundraising activities for direct response efforts will deliver the best result. This is the case for most direct response fundraising efforts worldwide, and especially face-to-face fundraising in the United States, where more than 90% of face-to-face fundraising services are provided by PFAs.

Face-to-face fundraising is regulated by state and local governments. These regulations ensure that NPOs and PFAs comply with a range of licensing requirements, which may vary by municipality, county and/or state as they are based on state laws and requirements and not federal law or requirements.

The PFFA is a registered tax-exempt nonprofit organization. The PFFA annual filings and other documentation can be found on the IRS website which provides a tax-exempt organization search function. Please use the full name of the PFFA (with hyphens) to search, or you can search by our EIN 82-1519942.

The members of Professional Face-to-Face Fundraising Association (PFFA) abide by a self-regulatory Code of Conduct which provides a common-sense standard for fundraiser behavior in addition to state regulations and licensing which strive to provide the best donor experience.