We Are Dementia Friends
At LFS, a big part of our face-to-face fundraiser training involves treating the vulnerable with care and respect.
We are licensed by the Gambling Commission and adhere to the Fundraising Regulator’s Code of Fundraising Practice. This helps us ensure we never knowingly sign up those whose behaviour indicates they may be unable to make an informed decision. This might be someone with dementia, someone suffering from permanent or temporary mental or health issues, such as a bereavement, someone going through a significant life event, someone who is unable to afford to support the charity financially, or someone exhibiting signs of impaired judgment.
All our team members follow our Face-to-Face Fundraiser Charter and complete Dementia Friends Video Training from the Alzheimer's Society. This teaches them to be calm, patient and kind when communicating and to understand when and how to walk away from a potential encounter with someone vulnerable gracefully.
An LFS trainer also tests our fundraisers. If they complete the training successfully, they receive a certificate and a Dementia Friends badge.
Caring for those with Gambling Addictions
As a licensed ELM (External Lottery Manager), our legal obligations require us never to knowingly sign up someone with a gambling addiction. Our administrative staff are trained to deal with any behaviour that might identify an issue, so we can signpost that person to receive professional support from charities such as BeGambleAware and Gamcare.
Respecting everybody and the process
At LFS, we take our responsibility to protect the public and the reputations of our charity partners very seriously. For example, our fundraisers should never go into a potential supporter’s home — even if they’re innocently invited for a cup of tea!
Each fundraiser understands their responsibility to be a charity brand ambassador and ensure supporters know what they are agreeing to, how it will help the charity, and how much it will cost. Our face-to-face fundraisers are trained to be clear, never coerce, and respect an individual’s right to say no or change their mind about supporting at any step.
We are members of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising, and we understand everyone has the right to support a charity they love. we train our fundraisers to give extra time to ensure people are never rushed and can always make informed decisions.