During a recent marketing exercise I was carrying out with local charities, I emailed approximately 250 charities, using their contact details on the Charity Commission Website.

Of this sample, 22 bounced back (almost9%) as the contact details were incorrect. In addition 7 of the 22 when I checked via their website listed at the commission had out of date website addresses.

As if this isn't bad enough, over 50% of them had their contact email listed as "info@" "enquiries@" or "admin@".

From my experience, those generic addresses often lose or indeed block information that should get through to the Trustees or senior leadership team. Certainly, anyone searching the Charity Commission website for relevant charities in their area would often find it difficult to get access using this as a sample.

So three lessons for all charities from my issues.

1. Check your entry on the Charity Commission website every year to make sure all the information is up to date
2. When you change your website or email contact, let the Charity Commission know and
3. If you use generic addresses for contact details, make sure your systems and processes do not prevent important information reaching your trustees and/or senior team