Our supporter promise
We are so grateful to everyone who supports us – from donating to taking part in events, campaigning, organising a fundraiser, or leaving a gift in their will. All of this support helps us move forward together, and provide advice, information and support so that we can help people severely affected by mental illness to improve their lives.
Thanks to your support, we have achieved many positive changes. However, there is still much to be done, and your continued support is crucial. It enables us to keep working tirelessly to improve the lives of those affected by mental illness.
We want every supporter to feel valued by us, so we make you the following promises:
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We will always abide by the Fundraising Regulator’s guidelines (the Fundraising Code of Practice) to ensure that we operate to the highest standards of fundraising.
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We will never share your data with other organisations for commercial purposes. If we ever need to send data to a third party, we will make sure the company we use has signed a data processing agreement with us so that they are bound to take care of your data in the same way we do.
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We will only contact you by SMS or email if you have expressly opted-in to being contacted via those channels, and we won’t contact you by post or phone if you have opted-out of those channels. You can update your preferences at any time by contacting us at supportercare@rethink.org
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If you contact us to say you no longer want to hear from us, we will update our records within three working days. Please bear in mind that it may take longer for you to stop receiving communications from us – for example, if we are using a mailing house, as we have to provide the data in advance.
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We will only call you by phone if you have expressly given us permission or if we have proven legitimate interest to do so.
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Sometimes we work with carefully selected external suppliers to help us deliver communications and fundraising activities. We work with them to make sure they understand the people we work with, adhere to our policies and comply with relevant regulations. We may need to share your data with them for delivering a service (such as sending mail, or sending out information/fundraising packs), and will ensure their use of your data meets UK data protection legislation (GDPR, PECR and the Data Protection Act).
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We will only work with professional organisations that meet our high standards and will train and monitor them as appropriate. We will act quickly if for any reason a supplier does not meet those high standards.
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We will not knowingly target potentially vulnerable* people for fundraising, though we do find that people closest to the cause, like friends and family, are among our most treasured supporters. If you or someone close to you is considered potentially vulnerable, we will do our utmost to ensure that all our interactions with you are done as sensitively as possible, and we’ll listen to what you do and do not want. We want to ensure that all our supporters feel able to make an informed decision about how you support us, and do not feel pressured in any of your interactions with us.
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For the acquisition of new supporters, if we purchase individual data from a third party, we will ensure the data has clear permissions for the use of the person’s details in the way we intend to use them in accordance with data protection regulations.
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We will never ask or target under 18s for a donation where it is reasonable to assume that we knew their age.
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If you need to talk to someone about your supporter experience including donations, direct debits and the emails you receive from us, our supporter care team is here to help you. You can also make donations over the phone. The line is staffed from 9am to 4pm, Monday to Friday. Call 0207 840 3131.
Feedback and complaints about fundraising
The team at Rethink Mental Illness aim to provide a positive and transparent service to our supporters. As a member of the Fundraising Regulator, we agree to abide by their Code of Fundraising Practice. However, there may be times where you feel we haven’t got things quite right or could make improvements. If you wish to make a complaint or share feedback about our fundraising activities, we promise to listen and investigate.
Complaints Promise
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We promise to make our complaints procedure fair and easy to understand
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We promise to investigate our complaints thoroughly and in a timely manner
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We promise to escalate complaints appropriately
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We promise to review our complaints regularly and embed learning into our practices in the future
How to make a complaint
Please contact us by:
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Email: supportercare@rethink.org
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Phone 0207 840 3131. The line is staffed from 9am to 4pm, Monday to Friday
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Post: Freepost RETHINK LONDON
Complaints will be responded to within 5 working days. If your complaint is complex or requires further investigation, it may take us longer to resolve. If your complaint is likely to take more than 14 days to resolve, we will let you know the steps we will take to investigate your complaint and the expected time required to resolve it.
If you are not satisfied with how your complaint has been handled, you can request it is escalated to the Director of Fundraising within 14 days of receiving our response, who will review the information and may carry out a further investigation. This will be done within 28 days. A summary of the findings will be sent to the Chief Executive and you will receive a response from the Chief Executive or their nominee.
Should you wish to escalate your complaint further, you can contact the Fundraising Regulator.
Donation Refunds
Your valuable gifts will be used to fund our work supporting those severely affect by mental illness. If we have made a mistake in processing your donation, please contact us at supportercare@rethink.org or by phone on 0207 840 3131. Where we have made an error, we will refund your donation, however we are otherwise unable to refund donations. Thank you for your understanding.
For Direct Debit gifts, all payments are protected by the Direct Debit Guarantee.
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This Guarantee is offered by all banks and building societies that accept instructions to pay Direct Debits.
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If there are any changes to the amount, date or frequency of your Direct Debit, Rethink Mental Illness will notify you 10 working days in advance of your account being debited or as otherwise agreed. If you request Rethink Mental Illness to collect a payment, confirmation of the amount and date will be given to you at the time of the request.
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If an error is made in the payment of your Direct Debit by Rethink Mental Illness or your bank or building society, you are entitled to a full and immediate refund of the amount paid from your bank or building society.
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If you receive a refund that you are not entitled to, you must pay it back when Rethink Mental Illness asks you to.
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You can cancel a Direct Debit at any time by simply contacting your bank or building society. Written confirmation may be required. Please also notify us so we can update our records.
- Within our existing mix of donors and other supporters and beneficiaries – family, friends, workmates of those with mental health concerns – some may be severely affected by a mental illness themselves that we may or may not know of, or be potentially vulnerable in some other way. Mental health problems are not a constant, lifelong state for everyone, but we must consider that all our donors might at any time be considered potentially vulnerable in one way or another, through a diagnosed condition, mental capacity, age, disability, financial circumstance or other means. We must treat every donor or prospect with respect and clarity, listen and act appropriately. We will reach new audiences through posters, online advertising, direct mail or press adverts. It’s inevitable that some of these people are potentially vulnerable so we must make all of our communications clear, legible and honest.
Last updated December 2024