Collecting For Charity - The Legal Stuff
Hopefully you have already read our other articles "Collecting for Charity - Door
to Door" or "Collecting for Charity - outside a supermarket, shopping centre or in the street", on how to get the best results from the time that you and your collectors spend raising funds for your favourite charity. But you want to ensure that you do not risk the success of the venture by falling foul of the legal requirements where you live.
It is crucial that you apply to your Local Authority for a licence to hold your collection. If you plan to collect in a shopping centre or outside a supermarket you will have to apply to them, possibly as well as the local council.
In summary the main points that you need to stick to are
* each collector has a numbered permit issued by your organisation
* each collector has a sealed and numbered collecting box or bucket
* the contents of each collecting box need to be recorded
* you need to send a statement to the Local Authority within one month of the collection
* the statement needs to be independently signed off by a "qualified" person.
You should apply to the Local Authority in writing for permission to hold the collection no later than one month before the date you plan to hold it. In practice you may need to apply 12 months in advance, particularly for a popular site or for key times like the month leading up to Christmas. It does no harm to speak to the relevant person at the council so that you can get the benefit of their advice, should any questions or problems arise.
The collection can only be made on the date(s) and within the hours stated in the permit.
No collector should be under the age of sixteen.
You need to provide every collector with their own written authority to collect. This may be in the form of a badge that identifies the charity, the name, address and signature of the collector and the fact that they are authorised to collect for you. They will need to produce this if asked to do so by an authorised officer of the council, a police officer or even a member of the public. Indeed it makes sense for the collector to display this prominently on their coat or jacket etc.
No collection should be made in a manner likely to inconvenience or annoy anyone. Nor should you demand or be persistent in requesting donations; the regulations call this importuning. You probably don't like it when it happens to you and all it does is put people off. They can see what charity you are collecting for, for this should be displayed prominently on each box, so if they want to give, they will. You will be amazed how generous people can be without your waving a tin under their nose.
Why not increase the impact by having a small stand showing what the money will go towards, for it's true that a picture gets your point over better than words. Just make sure that your stand does not block the pavement or the entrance to any shops.
You may also wish to give out small stickers or badges or even "thank you" leaflets that tell people more about your organisation and how they can get involved.
While collecting you need to remain stationary (but not like a statue!) and no two collectors should be nearer to one another than twenty metres.
Every collector should carry a collecting box that should be numbered consecutively and securely closed and sealed, so that they cannot be opened without breaking the seal.
All money collected should be placed immediately in the box. The collector should deliver all collecting boxes unopened to the organisation. At least 2 people should be present when the boxes are opened and the money counted. The amount collected needs to be entered on a list against that box number and certified by that person.
No payment should be made to any collector, nor to anyone connected with the promotion unless previously agreed with the council.
Within one month of the collection the person to whom the licence has been granted should forward to the Local Authority
a) a statement showing the amount received and the expenses and payments incurred. This should be certified by that person and either a qualified accountant or an independent responsible person acceptable to the council
b) a list of collectors
c) a list of the amounts contained in each collecting box.
The council may also expect you to send a letter to the local newspaper setting out how much was collected where and what expenses were incurred. But even if they don't, it does no harm to do so, as it brings your charity to the public's notice and it is never wrong to say "Thank you".
All of this may sound daunting but better to have a successful collection without problems than fall foul of the council and jeopardise the chance of future collections.
I hope that this series of articles with practical hints and tips is useful and increases the amount of money that you raise.
Happy collecting!
You may freely reproduce this article as long as you include details of our website.
Collecting For Charity - The Legal Stuff
By: Christine
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