Fundraising Policy
- The Cuisle Cancer Support Centre is committed to ensuring that fundraising activities are carried out in an ethical manner. The Cuisle Cancer Support Centre is a non-profit charity with the mission to provide information and support to people diagnosed with cancer, their families, and carers. We believe no one should face cancer alone, so we provide emotional support through counselling and complementary therapies to the patient and their loved ones. All donations solicited on behalf of the Cuisle Cancer Support Centre shall be used to further this mission and follow the policies and procedures outlined below.
- Purpose of the Fundraising Policy
- The purpose of this policy is to outline procedures/guidelines on fundraising practice and to document the standards expected in raising funds from the community.
- Who does the Policy apply to?
This policy applies to the Board of Directors, staff, volunteers and any third parties acting on behalf of the Cuisle Cancer Support Centre. - Principles of the policy
The Cuisle Cancer Support Centre funds shall be solicited in a respectful manner and without pressure.
In doing so, the organisation will adhere to the following standards:
Fundraising activities carried out by the Cuisle Cancer Support Centre will comply with all relevant laws.
• Cuisle Cancer Support Centre ensures that all donations are tracked, recorded and comply with data protection requirements.
• The Cuisle Cancer Support Centre prepares financial reports consistent with the requirements of the Charities Act 2009.
• Any communications to the public made in the course of carrying out a fundraising activity shall be open, truthful and non-deceptive.
• All monies raised via fundraising activities will be for the stated purpose of the appeal and will comply with the Cuisle Cancer Support Centre’s mission statement and purpose.
• All personal information collected from doners by the Cuisle Cancer Support Centre is confidential and is not to be given away or disclosed to any third party without prior consent.
• Nobody directly or indirectly employed by or volunteering for the Cuisle Cancer Support Centre shall accept commissions, bonuses or payments for fundraising activities on behalf of the Support Centre.
• No general solicitations shall be undertaken by telephone or door-to-door.
• Fundraising activities should not be undertaken if they may be detrimental to the ethos, good name or community standing of the Cuisle Cancer Support Centre.
• Financial contributions will only be accepted from companies, organisations and individuals the Board considers ethical. - Donor Charter for Fundraising
This Donor Charter has been produced to assure donors and prospective donors of the integrity and accountability of the Cuisle Cancer Support Centre’s activities. As a non-profit charity seeking donations from the public, the Board of Directors, staff, volunteers and any third parties acting on our behalf aim to achieve the highest professional standards and to treat our donors with respect, honesty, and openness.
The Cuisle Cancer Support Centre commitment to that our donors and prospective donors;
• Donors will be informed of the Cuisle Cancer Support Centre’s mission and any donated resources solicited on behalf of the Cuisle Cancer Support Centre will be used to further this mission.
• Donors will receive prompt, truthful and forthright answers to questions they may have in relation to the Cuisle Cancer Support Centre.
• Donors will be informed of the identity of those serving on the Cuisle Cancer Support Centre’s Board of Directors.
• Donors will be assured that their donations will be used for the intended purpose for which they were given.
• Donors will receive timely and appropriate acknowledgement and recognition of their donation.
• Donors will be assured that their right to privacy is protected in compliance with Data Protection. No information referring to them or their donation will be shared with a third party without seeking prior permission.
• Donors can expect that all relationships with individuals representing the Cuisle Cancer Support Centre will be dealt with professionally and in a fair and transparent way.
• Donors will be informed whether those seeking donations are staff, volunteers or third parties acting on behalf of the Cuisle Cancer Support Centre.
• Donors will have easy access to the agreed procedures for making and responding to complaints.
- Organising Fundraising Events
When holding a fund-raising event, the parties concerned must first seek permission from the manager of the Cuisle Cancer Support Centre. The fundraising events must be in keeping with the ethos of the Centre.
If bucket collections are being carried out or organized as part of an event, Garda permits are required from your local Garda station in advance of the event. - Cash and Non Cash Handling
Cash handling procedures are important to protect the Cuisle Cancer Support Centre from fraud, theft or embezzlement; to protect staff or volunteers from accusations of dishonesty and to assure donors and prospective donors that their donations are used for the purpose for which they were given.
The key principles to governing cash handling are;
All cash (including cheques, postal orders, drafts, credit cards and gift card donations) is recorded at point of entry and should be capable of being traced through to the Cuisle Cancer Support Centre’s bank account.
All cash is banked and acknowledged at the earliest possible opportunity.
Cash at all times is to be counted by two staff members or two authorised representatives of the charity.
9. Handling of Cash
A. General:
• Cash received must be collected, counted, and recorded by two individuals.
• Cash must be counted in a secure environment and held in a secure place until it is possible to bank it.
• Income summaries should be made at the point of counting for reconciliation with banking details at a later stage.
• Deductions must not be made from cash received. Expenses (where previously agreed) must be met by the Cuisle Cancer Support Centre after receipt of the cash.
• A receipt must be given to the donor recording the amount of the donation, the donor’s details, the source of the donation and the purpose for which the donation is being made (if relevant). If the total amount is not known at the point of handover, this should be recorded on the receipt as ‘not yet counted’.
• Acknowledgements must be issued, where requested and where practical, to third party donors e.g., a coffee morning participant, fundraising event sponsor etc. This serves to ensure that the donor receives official confirmation that their donation arrived and will be used for the purpose the donor intended.
• All donations are to be recorded including taking note of those made for specific purposes to ensure donors’ wishes are met.
• Where the Cuisle Cancer Support Centre is unable to apply the donation for the specific purpose nominated by the donor, Cuisle Cancer Support Centre will immediately communicate with the donor and deal with that donation in a manner satisfactory to the donor which may include returning the donation.
• It is best practice to acknowledge all donations however it may not be either practical or cost effective to do so. A decision can be made as to the level of donations above which an acknowledgement to the donor is practical.
• All cash handlers must have suitable banking bags for counting and bagging up the money. - Banking
• Wherever possible, cash should be banked immediately. Night safe facilities should be considered for large amounts banked outside working hours.
• In a situation where cash cannot be banked immediately, it is to be placed in a sealed container in a secure place. Cash can never be left unattended or in an unattended environment. Cash should be banked the next day and where practical, for security reasons two people should bank the cash. - Reconciliation
At the earliest possible date reconciliation should be made between cash received and banked and income summaries. - Cash Handling and Events
Planning
• If possible tickets should be sold prior to an event to reduce the need for cash collection on the day of the event.
• All tickets for sale must be pre-numbered, the sale of tickets and takings from sales must be reconciled.
• One individual should be nominated with overall responsibility for overseeing cash handling.
• Consider ways in which cash can be held securely during the event, for example, through the use of secure collection buckets.
At the Event
• When issuing quantities of tickets or programmes to sellers, the sellers should sign for the quantity received.
• Unsold tickets or programmes must be returned and reconciled with the record of cash received from each seller.
• Discrepancies should be investigated without delay.
• To avoid sellers accumulating significant amounts of cash, pre-designated collectors should collect cash. Alternatively, secure cash-receiving locations should be available to sellers.
• Collections must be recorded on a summary with a signature from the sellers stating the amount of cash collected.
• At the end of the event all final amounts including floats must be collected and recorded from all locations.
- Handling of Non-Cash Donations
Non-cash donations/collections may comprise of cheque, postal orders, credit card details, gift cards or other means. These non-cash donations may be handed over in person at an event or may be received through the post. - Handling Postal Donations
• All post should be opened in the presence of two staff members.
• All postal donations must recorded at point of entry (includes cash, cheques, drafts, postal orders, credit card or gift card donations).
• All postal donations must be held in a secure location until they are banked.
• All donations must be acknowledged in a timely manner as early as possible (with an exception during particularly busy periods).
12. Responsibilities
It is the responsibility of the Cuisle Cancer Support Centre’s General Manager to develop an appropriate policy on fundraising. It is also the General Manager’s responsibility to annually review and update this policy.
It is the responsibility of the Cuisle Cancer Support Centre’s Board of Directors to approve the policy on fundraising.
It is the responsibility of all Board members, volunteers, staff, and others acting on behalf of the Cuisle Cancer Support Centre to be familiar with and comply with the fundraising policy.
- Review of policy
The policy on Fundraising will be reviewed annually by the General Manager of the Cuisle Cancer Support Centre.
Any changes to the policy on fundraising will be agreed by the Board and notified to staff, volunteers and contracted third parties.