Handling money

It is important for you and the cause you support to keep a good track of the money you spend and the funds that you raise. Every charity should have their own method for supporting volunteer fundraisers with getting funds to them. Some will ask you to send all the funds to them and copies of the receipts so they can reimburse your expenses, others will ask you to send money fundraised less your expenses, with copies of the receipts. Start by finding out how the cause you are fundraising for likes to support you with this aspect of fundraising.

As a volunteer fundraiser you can reclaim ‘legitimate expenses’ incurred as part of your fundraising activity, but you can not keep any money to pay for your time or any other sort of ‘fee’ for running the activity. If you do, you will be considered to be a fundraising consultant, you must have authorisation from the charity to do this and you will need to meet other legal and tax requirements.

‘Legitimate expenses’ can include:

• publicity material
• purchase of equipment or materials
• venue and equipment hire
• insurance
• transport costs
• telephone costs

If you are in doubt about whether it is a legitimate expense, you should check with the cause you are fundraising for. You must keep a record of all these expenses, ideally you should have receipts. If you are reclaiming these expenses, then send a copy of the receipts to the charity and keep the originals somewhere safe so you can show that the money was not ‘income’.

For some fundraising activities you will need a float. So think about what denominations of coin and how many you are likely to need. Err on the generous side. Then don’t forget to reclaim your float when you total up at the end of the activity.

Have somewhere secure to put the money. At least one lockable box in a safe location is helpful so that as the sums build up they can be deposited safely. Tubs may suffice if you have a number of people handling money, but put them somewhere safe during the activity.

If you have a large event, consider having runners to collect up the larger notes and cheques and take them to the secure lockable box. Runners should have a note pad, and provide a ‘receipt’ to go in the cash tub saying how much money they have taken to lockable box.

Wherever possible give people receipts for items purchased and donations made. Include a gift aid declaration. This will help you to keep a record of what has been donated or purchased; you can buy receipt books, with carbon copy paper in stationers.

Ideally you should have two people together wherever money is being handled. You should certainly have two people to total up the takings at the end of the day. Get both people to write the sum down on a piece of paper and verify that they agree on the same amount (or start counting again if they can’t!)

Decide as soon as possible who is going to be responsible for banking the money. Get details of the charity’s bank sort code and account number so you can pay the money directly into their account. Get lots of plastic bags for coins and paying-in slips ready. Bank the money as soon as you possibly can, decide on a secure place to store the money if there is going to be a delay. If you decide to accumulate the money in your own bank account and then send it in one lump sum to the charity, for your own peace of mind, keep very good records of how much you have raised.

Remember if you are recording information about named individuals, you should check whether you need to comply with the Data Protection Act.

Other useful links:

The Institute of Fundraising Codes of Fundraising Practice:

Handling of Cash Donations

Data Protection

Guidance for 'In Aid of' Volunteer Fundraisers

Volunteer Fundraising

Disclaimer

Copyright

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