Cash Donations from Supporters

Some individuals will send unsolicited cash donations to a charity, on a one-off basis or on a number of occasions, because they are aware of the charity and its work from personal knowledge or from publicity produced by the charity or periodic newsletters from the charity about its activities.

Donations may be given by various means, e.g. over the phone, through the charity's website, by deduction from salary by an employer, by direct debit, or cash collection boxes. 

Cash donations to a charity might also be in response to particular appeals or fundraising campaigns initiated by the charity. For guidance notes see Fundraising Appeals By Charities - Suitable Wording for Appeals and Public Charitable Collections: Charity Officers Acting As Fundraisers. 

The documents Know Your Donor/Refusing Donations and Donations - Due Diligence Questionnaire can assist a charity in deciding when it should refuse a particular donation.

Where the donor is a taxpayer, the charity might be able to recover from HMRC tax paid on the amount donated. In this connection, charities will publicise to supporters the availability of the HMRC Gift Aid scheme. Template Gift Aid Forms are available. One of them is designed for use where the donor is sponsoring a person involved in a fundraising event, e.g. a sponsored walk.