This process will outline how a group can fundraise and how the money can be handled to ensure all parties are confident in the process.

 

Please read the guidance and FAQs (attached below) along with this process whenever you are planning any fundraising activity as a student group.



Please note that any fundraising must follow charity law:

As the Student's Union is a charity itself, only the profits of an event can be donated to charity, no group funds can be directly donated to charity. This means, if you are holding a bake sale, the costs involved in running that event i.e. the cakes, equipment, hire of a venue etc. must be paid back into your group account from the money made from the event. Any remaining funds can then be donated to charity.


 

How to plan an event

  • Let the Union know you are planning an event by filling in the event proposal form.

  • When planning the event you will need to decide how you advertise for the donation, this is important as it will need to state how much of the money is going to the charity and if it is being spent in a specific manner. Once this has been stated it must be used in this way.

  • Remember you can always split the donations between a charity and your group- please make sure this is advertised at the point of donation.

  • Any money collected should follow the paying in process here and the donating to charity process below.



Using Online Platforms

  • Fundraising for one charity? If you're fundraising for one other charity then you can use a JustGiving page to help raise more funds for your chosen charity. The funds will be automatically donated to the charity, meaning there's little hassle for you!
  • Fundraising for more than one charity? This is a little more complex, but still completely possible! Depending on the style of event you are running there are multiple options you can use. Reach out to us first so we can support you.
  • Fundraising for yourself? RHSU is a charity, which means you are part of that charity so you can fundraise for your own group! Self-fundraising is a great way to boost your income and don't forget, if you're planning a fundraiser you could split the profits - 50% for your chosen charity, and 50% for yourselves. If you want to use an online platform to help with your self-fundraising then you will need to use GoFundMe. However, this will need to be set up by the Student Opportunities team to ensure the funds are properly managed within financial and Charity laws; you should not set up a GoFundMe yourselves. So drop us a Freshdesk ticket and we can get this sorted for you!


 Donating to Charity

  • Need to bank transfer the money into your group account? Any bank transfers should follow the process outlined in this article. Then you must fill out this charity donation form. This will get submitted straight into Freshdesk, so once the money lands in your account we will arrange the donation for you.

  • Is the money already in your account / paid in using a webpage button? So if the money is already in your account (i.e. it was paid in using a button your webpage), for example if it was profits of ticket sales to an event - then you just need to fill out the charity donation form and we will arrange the rest!

  • Cash Please avoid collecting cash! We no longer accept cash drops at the Helpdesk. Please use the card machines. If you do collect cash you will need to bank transfer the money to the SU's account.


In order to plan a fundraising event or activity you should follow the standard steps by which you would to plan any event/activity, which you can find out more about here.