Number 24
Funding
Events
Why fundraise yourselves?
Raising money through organised fundraising events can be a great way to involve
your members and supporters in your work. It can bring your group together and give
people a sense of achievement and the chance to feel they have contributed
something.
Most funders like to see some evidence that you are trying to help yourselves before
they give you anything. It helps your credibility.
Organising events can be hard work but it can also be fun and is a good way of
raising money quickly.
Fundraising events are a good source of publicity, helping to raise the profile of your
group and your cause within your local community and can help you to attract new
members or supporters.
Whatever sort of group you are, big or small, old or new, it is likely that you will have
to do some of your own fundraising. Sometimes, there may be no other way of
raising the money.
It is a good idea to form a fundraising sub committee to organise your event.
Don’t leave all the work to one or two people, involve as many people as possible
and give everyone clear roles.
Things for your fundraising committee to think about:
Choosing the right event
There are hundreds of different ways to raise money, from jumble sales, coffee
mornings, street collections and fashion shows, to swimming galas, bingo nights or a
trolley dash at your local supermarket.
What you decide to organise will be based on:
 The time, skills and experience your fundraising committee and other volunteers
can offer.
 Any other resources or contacts you have.
 The financial target you hope to reach from the event and whether it’s a realistic
one.
 Whether you think it is worth the time and effort.
 Whether it is the kind of activity that fits the image of your group.
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Whether or not it will be fun for your members. Once you have addressed these
questions choose one or two things that you think will work best for you and are
most likely to succeed.
Deciding on a date
Find out what else might be happening in the area.
You don’t want to duplicate things that are already happening or arrange an event
that clashes with something else taking place.
You’ll also need to allow plenty of time to prepare your event. For instance, if you are
going to hold a summer fete you probably need to start planning it and gathering
materials in January.
Planning and preparation
Careful planning of your event is very important and should help you to avoid any
problems on the day. Try to think of every likely eventuality and prepare accordingly.
For instance, will you need lots of small change on the day? Do you need to insure
against the event being rained off, or could you move it indoors?
Are venues accessible for people with pushchairs, elderly people and people with
disabilities? You need to think in advance about what you will need and what it will
cost to run.
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Put together an action plan outlining who’s doing what and when, both leading up
to the event and on the day itself. Make sure all volunteers are well briefed.
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Draw up a simple budget for any costs you will incur but remember you need to
make money, so keep costs to a minimum.
Plan how you will publicise your event. Write a press release for the local paper,
radio and any other free papers or community newsletters.
Produce leaflets and posters, which can be delivered door to door or put up in shop
windows, libraries, doctors’ surgeries and so on.
Legal issues and health and safety
Make sure you are not breaking the law. There are laws that regulate many
fundraising activities such as raffles, bingo, street collections and events where food
or alcohol is being served.
Permits and licences need to be applied for well in advance. Check with your local
authority. Carrying out a ‘risk assessment’ of your event is a useful way of making
sure you’ve considered all the health and safety issues.
The aim of the assessment is to identify all risks to the public, participants and
volunteers attending an event and to record how these risks can be eliminated or
minimised.
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Make sure all your event volunteers are aware of the risk assessment and are clear
about any emergency arrangements.
For some events your group may need to take out insurance against public liability,
theft or damage and even against the possibility of bad weather for an outdoor event.
Handling cash
Having a policy on how to handle cash carefully ensures that you are protected from
misuse and that helpers are protected from accusations of dishonesty.
Remember your responsibilities
Committee members have a responsibility to ensure that fundraising is carried out
properly. The Charity Commission publishes a booklet CC20 - ‘Charities and
Fundraising’ describing your responsibilities. For a copy contact the Commission on
0870 333 0123 or visit its website www.charity-commission.gov/publications/
The Institute of Fundraising publish ‘Codes of Fundraising Practice’ which are
standards set for fundraisers in the UK. There are separate codes for each
fundraising technique, which give guidance on best practice, areas of the law and the
techniques themselves.
The codes are available from the Institute’s website www.icfm.org.uk or contact the
Institute direct:
Fundraising
Market Towers
1 Nine Elms Lane
London
SW8 5NQ
Tel: 020 7627 3436
Thank yous
After the event remember to thank everyone involved including those who supported
the event. You may want to call on their help again another time.
Fundraising ideas
Here are a few fundraising ideas for your group. There are many more and the useful
books section at the end of this sheet includes books full of good ideas and advice.
Collections
These are a relatively simple, low cost way of raising funds. They are also a good
way of publicising your group. You don’t need a permit to collect money on private
premises but you must get permission from the owner.
You do need a permit to run a street collection, Flag Day, or house-to-house
collection. You also have to comply with a strict set of regulations designed to protect
the public. The regulations cover things like the age of collectors, sealed collection
boxes and annoyance to passers by.
You must get your permit at least one month in advance of your collection day.
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You can get a permit and advice on the law on street collections from the licensing
section of your local authority.
Raffles and lotteries
The 1976 Lotteries and Amusements Act governs how you can run lotteries.
Generally it distinguishes between small private lotteries and public lotteries. Small
lotteries or raffles do not need a licence so long as they are part of another occasion
(like a fete or entertainment) and the sale of tickets and draw takes place at the
event.
The promoters must not use more than £250 from the proceeds to pay for prizes, but
there is no limit on the value of donated prizes. Money prizes cannot be given.
Proceeds must not be used for private gain. Public lotteries require a licence from
your local authority’s legal department who will also advise on the law governing the
issue and sale of tickets.
Other types of lotteries covered include sweepstakes, tombola’s and games with
tickets with a tear open window or scratch card.
Bingo
The 1968 Gaming Act sets out the rules for playing bingo. If it is played to raise funds
for a charity a licence or registration is not needed. The game can be advertised and
the public admitted.
The stakes and fee must be no more than £4.00 and the total value of prizes can be
no more than £400. If bingo is the main event of a club then a licence is necessary.
For more information contact your local authority or The Gaming Board for
Great Britain
Midland Region,
5th Floor
Minerva House
Spaniel Row
Nottingham
NG1 6EP
Tel: 01159 419991
Website: www.gbgb.org.uk
Sponsored Events
Just about anything can be sponsored - walks, bike rides, swims, discos, you name
it! They can be good fun as they involve a lot of people, attract audiences and can be
financially very rewarding.
But they do need a lot of organisation and hard work finding sponsors and collecting
the money after the event. Keep records of everyone being sponsored so you can
chase them up for their collection.
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Make sure the sponsorship form includes the following information:
Why the money is needed.
A description of the event.
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Its purpose and date.
The name, address, and age of sponsored person (if under 18).
Each sponsor’s name, address and amount pledged.
A statement to say:
I certify that............has walked/ swum/sung........... miles/ lengths/ songs.
The organiser’s signature and date.
Gift Aid
You may be able to benefit from this scheme at your fundraising event. Gift Aid
allows registered charities to reclaim from the Inland Revenue basic rate tax on
donations or ‘gifts’ from taxpaying individuals. In practice a charity can reclaim 28p
for every £1.00 donated by a standard rate taxpayer.
Charities need to register with the Inland Revenue and ask each donor to fill in a Gift
Aid declaration. Public collection envelopes and sponsorship forms can include this
declaration.
For more information contact:
The Inland Revenue
Tel: 0151 472 6056 (Gift Aid Help line)
The Giving Campaign Tel: 020 7930 3154 Website: www.givingcampaign.org.uk
For more on Gift Aid see our information sheet ‘Raising money from individuals’.
Other ideas
There are many other ways of raising money, some of which may need a lot of
preparation and organisation. Contact other local groups who have experience of
fundraising for ideas and advice.
There may also be other groups who will fundraise on your behalf. These include
local schools, religious bodies, rotary clubs, scouts, guides, and women’s institutes.
Useful Books
All the titles below are available from the Directory of Social Change (DSC)
Tried and Tested Ideas for local fundraising events by Sarah Passingham,
Directory of Social Change, 3rd edition, 2003
Organising Special Events for Fundraising and Campaigning by John F Gray &
Stephen Elsden, Directory of Social Change,2000
The Complete Fundraising Handbook
by Nina Botting & Michael Norton, Directory of Social Change, 2001
Community Fundraising The Effective Use of Volunteer Networks edited by
Harry Brown, Directory of Social Change,
Updated July 2009
Number 24
The Fundraisers Guide to the Law by Bates, Wells & Braithwaite,
Directory of Social Change,
24 Stephenson Way,
London
NW1 2DP
Tel: 020 7209 5151 Fax: 020 7391 4804
Email: books@dsc.org.uk online
Website www.dsc.org.uk/charitybooks
Community Action, 4 Charnwood Street, Derby DE1 2GT
Tel: (01332) 346266 Fax (01332) 205069 Minicom (01332) 341576
E-mail enquiries@communityactionderby.org.uk
Website www.communityactionderby.org.uk
Updated July 2009