How to Fundraise for Charity

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1 A Guide to: How to Fundraise for Charity Fundraising for charity Charity Law Checks and Permissions Charity and VAT The resources available to you

2 Background Raise and Give (RAG) are the main fundraising student group affiliated to the Guild but other students and student groups also take part in fundraising. RAG and the Guild s Fundraising Coordinator, Nicola Davies, are here to support any fundraising on campus. Whoever you re fundraising for, be sure to let the A&V Front Desk know and your efforts will be added to the University of Exeter Students Fundraising Total. Why raise money for Charity? Raising money for a charity is a great way for your society to make a difference in the world. By fundraising you can gain valuable skills, including: Event management Marketing Budgeting Money handling Volunteer management Communication Team work Using your initiative Resourcefulness The ability to be proactive and so much more! Before you start fundraising Before you begin Fundraising you must have some clear goals set out, this will not only give you focus and ensure your fundraising is on the right path, but it will help you when it comes to publicity. The things you should think about when setting your goals are: Who do you want to fundraise for? Why do you want to fundraise for this charity? How will the charity use your money? What is your fundraising target? Who is your target audience? Charity Law It is extremely important that you stay within Charity Law when you are fundraising. There are so many laws and regulations that apply to fundraising for charity, below are the ones that will apply to you as a student, or student group within the University. If you have any queries don t hesitate to contact us by coming to the Activities and Volunteering Desk in Devonshire House or us at aandv@exeterguild.com.

3 You cannot directly give to charity any money that you collected as membership to your society, or any money that the Guild has allocated you through funding. This is because it is against the law for a charity to give money to another charity, and the Guild is registered charity. Charities are allowed to raise money on behalf of another charity (this is what RAG do, they are acting as a fundraising agent for another charity). When you are fundraising for a charity, always ensure you state that you are fundraising on behalf of your chosen charity. Checks & Permissions You must check that the charity you are raising money for is in fact a real charity. Every charity must have a registered charity number, this is to protect you, and you want to make sure the money you ve worked hard to fundraise is put to good use. Usually a charity number is listed on all the charities publications (such as signatures and the bottom of their website). If you can t find the number this way, you can always search for them on the charity commission website ( You must let your donors know where their money is going to. This will not only help you promote your efforts, but it is also a legal requirement. It must be clear at all times what charity your money is going to. Depending on where you are planning to fundraise you might need a permit to do so. To collect money in the City Centre, you must have a permit from Exeter City Council. The Fundraising Coordinator will be able to help you organise this. You must plan well in advance for street collections, you can only collect for charity in the City Centre on Fridays and Saturdays and there must only be one charity at a time. This means that demand is high for a charity permit and the City Council prefer all submission forms to be in at least 6 weeks before the proposed date of collection. If you would like to fundraise in the Princesshay Shopping Centre, you must contact the Shopping Centre manager. Wherever you fundraise, you must first get permission from the landowner. If you wish to fundraise on campus, you must make the Activities and Volunteering desk aware of your plans. When you are collecting money for charity you must have the following: A security sealed container to collect the money in (A&V can loan these out. The charity logo and number displayed on the container. Charity money should then be brought to the A&V desk as soon as you have completed your fundraiser to be stored and counted. You can borrow charity collection buckets from A&V. Please give us plenty of notice and we require a 5 deposit which is returned to you on safe return of the buckets. We can also help you to label and seal them so that they are compliant with charity fundraising law.

4 Publicity and Charity When marketing your charity event it is important that you are careful with the wording of your publicity materials. All profits go to This means, any money you make after you ve paid for the cost of the event, goes to charity. All proceeds go to This means ALL money that you take as income from your fundraiser must go to charity, regardless of whether you have costs to cover. Think carefully about your wording! Any posters, tickets, publicity material must clearly display the charity that you are donating money to, along with the registered charity number. Fundraising and VAT Unfortunately, not even Charity escapes VAT. VAT will still apply on the majority of fundraising that you do. For example, if you are holding a Charity gig and tickets are 10, you will lose 20% of this to VAT. However, if it was a suggested donation (which means attendees could pay whatever they felt was appropriate) then all of the money can go to charity of course you run the risk of people paying nothing. VAT exemptions include: Cake sales this is because during the war cakes was deemed as a staple of the British diet, and so were not taxed. Donations for example, when you collect money on the high street. All of this money must go straight to the charity as a donation. If you have received sponsorship, e.g. your friend gives you 10 to do a sponsored walk you will still lose VAT on that. For more information on VAT, check with the A&V desk as to whether your fundraiser is subject to VAT deductions. Remember, it is not The Guild taking 20% of your fundraising efforts, its HMRC.

5 Stuck for Ideas? There are A LOT of cake sales on campus so it s good to be innovative with your fundraising ideas. Assault Course Charity cricket match Football competition Run a marathon Mountain climb Sponsored walk or run Bike-A-Thon Sponsored Swim Colour Run Get Active With the Local Community Supermarket bag-packing Street Party Coffee Morning Breakfast Morning Raffle Musical Bingo House-to-house collection Car Washing Dog walking BBQ Concert Disco Host a Ball Games Evening Promise Auction Pub Quiz Raffle Pancake Day Lucky Dip Craft Fair With Friends Just You Sponsored head shave Sponsored beard shave Movember Give something up Sponsored silence Sponsored Skydive Sponsored Bungee Jump Sell items Something Different! Go Busking or Gigging Penny Fundraising Drive Cream Teas Dress as your idol

6 Further Guidance If you are in any doubt about Fundraising and the Law, or you re just a bit stuck, then please do pop into the Activities & Volunteering Office anytime Monday-Friday 10am-4pm or aandv@exeterguild.com or nicola.davies@exeterguild.com.