Canvassing and telefundraising 

Face-to-face canvassing and telefundraising are among the most effective ways to raise awareness and speak with people across Canada about how they can help Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) deliver critical medical care to people facing crises. 

Since 2002, MSF has raised vital funding for our emergency medical work through canvassing and telephone fundraising. We partner with fundraisers who are committed to MSF’s humanitarian work and who campaign on our behalf across Canada.

MSF works with Public Outreach, Globalfaces Direct, Stratcom and Fundraising Direct to carry out our face-to-face and telephone fundraising campaigns. These are well-regarded professional agencies dedicated to building a sustainable charitable sector through ethically and socially responsible methods. They have gone through a rigorous evaluation to partner with and represent MSF.

In keeping with Imagine Canada’s Standards Program and best practices for fundraising, our representatives receive an hourly wage and receive no commission for the supporters they sign up or the dollars they help raise.

How to identify MSF face-to-face canvassers

You can identify our representatives, who will be on the street, at the mall or going door-to-door, by their photo ID badge and MSF-branded lanyard, vest or shirt. They will often have a laminated brochure or a binder with our logo and information.    

MSF canvassers work with handheld devices (smartphones or tablets) to securely process credit card transactions and capture bank information on the spot, reducing administrative costs and our use of paper forms. All new donors should receive a confirmation email from MSF within 24 hours of their donation being processed.

For security reasons, our canvassers are unable to accept cash donations. 

We carry out our fundraising activities across Canada and currently have teams active in cities within the following provinces: British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia.

A note on telefundraisers

Our telephone campaigns provide donors with a secure and simple way to help support MSF’s work, especially when a humanitarian emergency happens. Our telefundraisers call from the following phone numbers across the country:

Questions?

If you have any questions or concerns, contact our Donor relations team:

Toll free: 1-800-928-8685

Tel: 416-642-3474

email: DonorRelations@toronto.msf.org

If you would like to learn more about our work, please visit our FAQ page.