Will I have to travel far for interviews and training?

We try to conduct interviews and training in your local area, but we may ask you to travel to another location ,in which case we’ll pay your fares.

Why do you ask for 6 weeks commitment?

It’s not cost effective either for us or the charity to train people unless we can be reasonably sure that a certain number of new members will be recruited.

I don’t like performance related pay. Why don't you just pay a good basic hourly / weekly rate?

We agree that although the basic hourly rate is hardly generous, we have had to devise an earnings scheme to reward well those Membership Promoters who are strongly motivated to find new members for the charity. Our existing Promoters will agree that the earnings scheme we have devised works well. After many years of experience, we find that working partly on a performance basis gives the best results for all parties. Inevitably, your earnings will vary from week to week. If you require a job that will give you an entirely predictable income from an entirely predictable number of hours, then this is definitely not the job for you.

Do you cover motoring expenses?

We will cover your fuel expenses.

Will I have to carry a heavy bag full of brochures?

No. The most that you'll ever need to carry is 20 A5 sized booklets and/or a hard backed display folder (and a pen!), and sometimes a compact umbrella

Will I have to work to a script?

Yes, you'll be using the Soft Approach, but it's very short and you can invest some of your own personality into it!

What about working in bad weather?

You must be prepared to work when it's raining. The use of an umbrella is essential. It's most unlikely that it would be too wet, too windy and too cold on a regular basis to prevent any kind of work. Some of our long-term Promoters choose to work all year round – though most opt for a 6-8 week break in midwinter.

Will I have to work in the dark?

Yes, at certain times of the year but you would usually try to start work in daylight and attempt to complete your “first calls” in daylight.

Why is it necessary to have a car or bicycle?

As you frequently have to make more than one return visit to collect the booklets and see potential members, there would be too much walking involved. You'll find it tiring, especially in summer, and you'll waste a lot of time walking from A to B.

Can I approach my friends and family to obtain memberships?

Yes, but we are looking for committed supporters. We don't want people joining only to cancel their Direct Debit a few weeks later. It is not recommended to approach friends and family until you are very familiar with the method. The method is designed specifically to work on the doorstep.

I can't believe that this method will work. Won't people be annoyed if I knock on their doors – especially at night time?

It really does work! If people have an interest in wildlife habitat conservation, they'll make time for you even if they are in the middle of something else! It is rare that people will be upset or annoyed with an unsolicited house caller unless that caller makes a nuisance of him/herself and won't take no for an answer. People only get annoyed with rude, foot in the door salespeople or religious zealots.

Will it work in my area?

It will work in any area where there are people with disposable income. It's never a good idea to prejudge an individual's or an area’s predisposition to react favourably or unfavourably to this sort of approach. It's also unwise to make any assumptions at all about people's apparent wealth or their inclination to support charitable causes.

Surely this is a very expensive way of recruiting new members. How does the charity benefit?

Our method finds both new members and new sources of predictable and unrestricted income. All charitable membership promotion and fundraising incurs costs. In this scheme all the Direct Debits that are entered into by new members are directly in favour of the charity. We know from experience that when people join in this scheme, new members paying by Direct Debit with an amount of their own choosing are likely to contribute for an average of 7 years. This means that each new member found (+ tax that can be reclaimed via Gift Aid) will give an average of £580 to the charity.

NB. The charity does not pay any sort of fee unless a Direct Debit is agreed upon. ( Any losses incurred are borne by FMR Solutions). The cost to the charity is declared in the booklet we use.

What if someone just wants to make a cash donation?

We do not deal with cash under any circumstances.
But a member of the public can make a cheque donation or join by cheque. There is no cost to the charity, but we do not pay a bonus/commission for cheque transactions.

I've heard a lot of unfavourable reports recently about charities doing public collections. Why is this scheme any different?

We don't put people into the potentially embarrassing position of having to make a decision on the spot. Nor do we make any attempt to engage with people who tell us they are not interested. As people are paying by Direct Debit they are protected by the Direct Debit Guarantee. People can easily cancel a Direct Debit if they feel they have been pressurised. Our method ensures that donors are not put in an uncomfortable position.

Won't people refuse to give their bank details?

This has been known to happen, but because we work in an honest and ethical way, most people feel entirely comfortable dealing with us. We always make sure that any personal details are kept secure. A very small minority of new members will prefer to deal directly with the charity.