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Charity Fundraising and Finance

When are the documents in this group relevant, and how will use of these documents benefit my charity?

Most charities need to engage in fundraising, either periodically, or continuously as an integral part of their overall activities. Fundraising can be carried out in a multitude of ways, but it can be fraught with regulatory obstacles and challenges, in particular for smaller charities that do not have in-house know how and knowledge of the relevant legal rules and requirements. 

The templates and documents in this group cover a wide range of fundraising and financing activities and arrangements. The documents are designed to help you formulate plans for, and facilitate your carrying out: fundraising events and activities, obtaining/receiving grants, receiving donations, borrowing money, and minimising or avoiding the various risk factors and legal pitfalls associated with such activities. 

Charities sometimes receive grants for their general or specific purposes, and it is important that they do so on terms that appropriately benefit and protect them. Charities sometimes give grants to other charities or non-charities and, again, they need to do so on terms that protect their position. Template agreements in this group contain such terms.

Charities might receive unsolicited donations. They need to be aware of possible pitfalls in doing so, and so relevant guidance documents have been included in this group.

A charity might raise finance by means of commercial (interest bearing) loans or by means of borrowing of small amounts for a short term with interest being payable or not payable. Templates in this group can be used for that purpose.

Which types of fundraising are covered by these documents?

The following activities of a charity are covered by the documents in this group:

  • engaging a commercial participator which runs a promotion for the charity whereby it sells products or services and contributes agreed sums to the charity derived from those sales
  • running an event that a commercial entity financially sponsors in return for the charity providing benefits for the sponsor
  • engaging a professional fundraiser to recruit individuals or organisations as donors to the charity, in return for payment to the fundraiser
  • working with volunteers wishing to fundraise for the benefit of ("in aid of") the charity, not as part of the charity's own activities but as an external  group, i.e. a group that the charity does recruit or manage  
  • launching fundraising appeals to the public for donation of funds for general use by the charity or for a particular project or emergency
  • making public charitable collections where its trustees or staff carry out that activity
  • receiving unsolicited or solicited donations from individuals or organisations
  • obtaining sponsorship from supporters participating in an fundraising event, and the charity is to benefit from gift aid derived from the sponsorship sums received
  • claiming gift aid on sums donated by supporters
  • promoting the leaving of legacies in wills by supporters of the charity
  • running a raffle for the benefit of the charity, or considering running some other type of lottery to benefit the charity
  • giving or receiving a grant
  • raising funds by means of borrowing from individuals or organisations, either on a commercial or non-commercial basis. 

What types of documents are included in this group?

There are a variety of template agreements that a charity can propose to an individual or organisation as the basis for engaging with that individual or organisation. There are various guidance notes about the activities covered by the templates in this group. There are also templates for legacy clauses for wills, loan documents, charity policies and forms.

Charity Fundraising and Finance is part of Corporate. Just £38.50 + VAT provides unlimited downloads from Corporate for 1 year.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which rules actually govern our charity's fundraising? +
A patchwork, which is why fundraising trips charities up. Working with businesses and paid fundraisers triggers Charities Act 1992 agreement and statement requirements. Raffles and lotteries sit under gambling law. Email and text appeals engage the marketing consent rules. Gift Aid brings HMRC record requirements. And across all of it sits the Code of Fundraising Practice as the standard the Fundraising Regulator applies. This group's sub-folders map onto those regimes with the documents each needs.
A local business wants to donate a share of its sales to us. What must be in place before it starts? +
Two things, both legal requirements: a written agreement between the charity and the business meeting the prescribed content of the Charities Act 1992, and a solicitation statement wherever the promotion appears, telling customers the charity's name and how much of each sale it receives. The business is a commercial participator once it represents that purchases benefit your charity. The agreements in the commercial participator sub-folder handle product and non-product promotions in two and three party forms.
Can we run a raffle to raise funds, and do we need a licence? +
Usually yes without a Gambling Commission licence, if you fit a tier. A raffle at an event, drawn at the event with tickets sold only there, is an incidental lottery needing no licence or registration. Regular or advance-ticket raffles are society lotteries: register with your local authority while proceeds stay within the small society limits, currently up to 20,000 pounds a draw and 250,000 pounds a year, and above that you need a Gambling Commission licence. The lottery guidance and checklist here walk the tiers.
Do we have to register with the Fundraising Regulator? +
Registration is voluntary, but the Code of Fundraising Practice is the standard your fundraising is judged against either way: the Regulator investigates complaints about charities whether or not they registered. Registration adds the badge, the levy for larger fundraisers and public commitment to the code. Small charities often register when public fundraising grows or funders ask. Whatever you decide, run fundraising to the code; the documents in this group are drafted with it in mind.
Can our charity borrow money, and how do we document it? +
Most charities can borrow if their governing document permits it and the trustees decide borrowing serves the charity's interests, minuted with the reasoning. Documenting the loan properly matters as much as the power: the loan and promissory note templates in this group come in versions for charitable companies, CIOs and unincorporated charities, because who signs and who is liable differs by structure. Secured borrowing against charity land carries extra statutory requirements, take advice before charging property.
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