The number of people who respond to face-to-face fund raising in Britain grew 16 percent during the 12 months ending March 31.

According to the Public Fundraising Regulatory Association, a London association of charities that practice street and door-to-door fund raising, says that an estimated 680,000 people were recruited as donors, the largest number since the group began tracking such data in 2003.

Mick Aldridge, chief executive of the association, told Third Sector Online, that the report shows that asking for gifts in person works despite the recession.

Street fund raising is popular with British charities, though the public has objected to some aggressive face-to-face tactics. American groups have started to adopt some of the techniques in recent years, which have met with success.

Read The Chronicle’s article about how American fund raisers are using face-to-face appeals.

What do you think? Has face-to-face fund raising been successful with your group despite the downturn in the economy?