Charity Fundraising Policy Template (Free, UK)

1. Purpose and scope

This policy sets out how [your charity] raises money in a way that is legal, open, honest and respectful. It protects the people we ask for support, the money we raise and our reputation.

It applies to everyone who raises money in our name: trustees, staff, volunteers, community fundraisers and anyone we work with. It covers all the ways we ask for and receive donations, including in person, by post, online, by email, phone or text, at events, through collections, and raffles. Delete any channel you do not use.

2. Our fundraising principles

We follow the Fundraising Regulator's Code of Fundraising Practice.² In everything we do, we aim to be:

• Legal. We obey the law that applies to our fundraising.
• Open. We are clear about who we are, what we are raising money for and how gifts are used.
• Honest. We never mislead people, exaggerate our need or make claims we cannot support.
• Respectful. We treat donors and the public with courtesy, and we respect their decision to give, to give less, or not to give.

3. Trustee responsibility

The trustees are responsible for our fundraising, even when other people carry it out on our behalf.¹ The trustees will:

• approve this policy and any significant new fundraising activity;
• make sure fundraising fits our charitable purposes and does not put the charity's money, assets or reputation at undue risk;
• check at least once a year that our fundraising is working well and is within the law and the Code.

Day-to-day responsibility for fundraising sits with our fundraising lead, [name the person or trustee]. In a small volunteer-run charity this is usually a named trustee.

4. Registering with the Fundraising Regulator

We are registered with the Fundraising Regulator (record the date you registered). Registration is open to charities of any size⁷ and shows the public we are committed to the Code. If you are not yet registered, the trustees should register as a priority.

5. Accepting and refusing donations

We accept most gifts gladly, but the trustees may decline or return a donation. We will normally refuse or return a gift where:

• accepting it would break the law, or the conditions attached would prevent us using it for our purposes;
• it is offered with conditions we cannot meet or that conflict with our aims or values;
• we have good reason to believe the money comes from crime, or accepting it would seriously damage our reputation or relationships with supporters;
• the cost or risk of accepting it clearly outweighs the benefit.

A decision to refuse or return a donation is made by the trustees, recorded with the reasons, and taken in the charity's best interests. We will not refuse a gift lightly, as that also has a cost to the charity.

6. Protecting people in vulnerable circumstances

We take extra care with anyone who may be in a vulnerable position, for example because of age, ill health, disability, bereavement, or financial or emotional difficulty.

• We never use pressure, and we stop an approach at once if someone seems unable to make a free, informed decision or does not understand what they are agreeing to.
• Anyone raising money for us knows they can pause or end a conversation, and who to tell if they are worried about a donor.
• We do not knowingly accept a donation from someone who lacks the capacity to make that decision.

7. Honest asking and donor care

When we ask for support we will:

• say clearly who we are, that we are raising money for [your charity], and what the money is for;
• make clear whether a fundraiser is a volunteer or is paid;
• respect a 'no', and never use undue pressure, persistence or guilt;
• thank donors and, where a gift is for a specific appeal, use it for that purpose or go back to the donor if plans change;
• tell donors how to contact us or stop hearing from us.

When we run an appeal for a specific item or project, the appeal wording says what we will do if we raise more than we need or less than we need. For example, if we appeal 'for a new minibus' and raise more than it costs, the wording tells donors in advance that any surplus will go to a stated related purpose. This means a surplus or shortfall on a restricted appeal is settled up front, not by writing to every donor afterwards.

8. Data protection, consent and the Fundraising Preference Service

We handle supporters' personal information in line with UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, and we follow the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) for marketing by email, text and phone.⁵ In practice:

• we only contact people for marketing where we have their consent or another lawful basis, and we keep a record of it;
• we make it easy to opt out, and we act on opt-outs promptly;
• we screen our phone marketing against the Telephone Preference Service, and we act on requests made through the Fundraising Preference Service within the required time;⁶
• we keep supporter data accurate, secure and no longer than we need it.

See our Document Retention Policy for retention periods, and our Data Protection Policy for lawful basis. Our data protection lead is [name the person].

9. Handling money and restricted gifts

We keep donations safe and account for them properly:

• cash from collections and events is counted and banked under our Financial Controls Policy: two people count it and both sign the record, and it is banked within 5 working days;
• we give a receipt or thank-you that identifies the charity;
• money given for a specific purpose or appeal (a restricted gift) is only spent on that purpose and is tracked separately;
• we claim Gift Aid only on eligible gifts with a valid declaration.

This protects the charity and the collector alike: if one person runs a bucket collection or event bar and banks the takings days later with no one else counting them, no one can show that nothing went missing. See our Financial Controls Policy for the full cash-handling controls.

10. People who fundraise for us

We are responsible for anyone who raises money in our name: volunteers, community fundraisers and supporters running their own events.

• We tell them, in plain terms, the standards in this policy and the Code before they start.
• We only let people use our name and logo with our agreement, and we ask them to be clear that they are fundraising for us.
• We give community fundraisers simple guidance on collecting and handling money safely and getting any permissions they need.
• We keep a note of who is fundraising for us and can ask them to stop if standards are not met.

11. Paying others to fundraise: professional fundraisers and commercial partners

If we pay a person or business to fundraise for us (a professional fundraiser), or a business sells something and says a portion goes to us (a commercial participator), the law requires:⁴

• a written agreement in the form set by the Charities Act 1992 before any fundraising starts; and
• a solicitation statement: the fundraiser must tell people how they are paid or how much of the price comes to us.

The trustees approve any such arrangement in advance and check it is being followed. We do not currently use professional fundraisers or commercial participators; if we plan to, the trustees will put a written agreement in place first.

12. Licences, permissions and lotteries

Before we run these activities we get the permissions the law requires:

• Public collections: a licence or permit from the local council for street collections, and the correct authority for house-to-house collections;
• Collections on private land (a supermarket, station or shopping centre): the owner's permission;
• Raffles and lotteries: we follow Gambling Commission rules and register a small society lottery with the council where needed. Small raffles held wholly at an event usually need no licence;
• Events: any licences the venue or activity needs, for example alcohol or food.

List the collections or lotteries you run, and delete the ones you do not.

13. Complaints about fundraising

Anyone can complain about our fundraising. We will:

• make it easy to complain: give the contact and, if you have one, link to your Complaints Policy;
• acknowledge and respond promptly, courteously and fairly;
• tell the complainant they can take an unresolved fundraising complaint to the Fundraising Regulator.

The trustees review fundraising complaints so we can learn from them.

14. Review and approval

The trustees approved this policy on [date] and will review it at least once a year, or sooner if the law, the Code or our fundraising changes. The next review is due by [date].

Policy owner: our fundraising lead. Approved by: the trustees.

This template is a starting point to adapt to your charity. It is not legal advice. Take professional advice on anything you are unsure about.