We want you to have a fantastic time fundraising, so here’s everything you need to know to keep your event, legal, safe and fun!
- You should carry out a risk assessment to make sure that risks are eliminated or minimised for both yourself, any volunteers and your event participants
- Contact the Red Cross or St. John’s Ambulance if you’re organising an event with large numbers of people
- Always ensure that children are safe and accompanied by a parent/guardian. Children should not be allowed to ask for or collect money without an adult.
- If your event involves the general public it’s always a good idea to have Public Liability Insurance. Your chosen venue might have its own insurance, so do check with them. Unfortunately Cardiomyopathy UK cannot insure or accept any responsibility or liability for your event. Lots of advice can be found at hse.gov.uk
- If you are handling food for your event then it’s vitally important to be careful; no one likes getting sick! Please take great care, it’s a good idea to review the Food Standards Agency Guidelines on catering for charity at www.food.gov.uk. You should also should check with the environmental health department of your local council to see which food safety laws apply.
- If you are selling alcohol as part of your event, you will need a licence. You need to contact your local magistrate’s court for a temporary licence - they will need a minimum of one month’s notice. You can offer alcohol but not charge for it without getting a licence, but you must make clear exactly what is being offered and how much it costs, for example ‘one free glass of wine with every ticket’. A different option is to hold your event at your local pub. This means that there is a licensee responsible for the sale of alcohol and you won’t need to apply for a separate licence.
- Be sure you are in good health to undertake your event and if in any doubt, gain clearance from your doctor, particularly in relation to a physically demanding activity.
- If you hold a raffle at your workplace or club, there’s no need to obtain a licence, it is classified as a private lottery. Just make sure that the raffle is only offered on the premises and make it clear who is running the raffle.
- If you are holding a raffle as part of an event, (but it's not the main focus of the event), you can also run it without a licence. This is known as a small lottery. With this type of lottery, you can't offer any cash prizes. You must also sell the tickets and announce the prize winners during the event. You cannot spend more than £250 on prizes but there are no limits to the value of donated goods, so you can approach companies for prizes.
- If you hold a large raffle that is open to members of the public, it must be registered with the local council. The legal issues surrounding a public raffle are very complex, and you will need to contact your local council.
- We are sorry but we are unable to supply raffle prizes.
- Be aware of your personal safety and try and pair up with someone else to carry cash.
- If you are collecting money at your event, you may need to get permission and a licence so do check with your venue in advance.
- Please don’t collect money door-to-door or on the street as it’s illegal to do so without a licence. If you want to have a collection you will need to contact your local council for permission, or you could collect on private premises with permission of the owner, for example at a supermarket foyer.
- When counting money after your event, ask someone to be present and verify the amount. Any cheques should be made payable to Cardiomyopathy UK rather than to you personally.
- Keep the money donated secure and pay into your bank as soon as possible. Then write a cheque and complete your 'paying in form' in your fundraising pack. You can also download it here.
- Please send all monies to us within three months of your event.
- Please do not send cash in the post as sady it is unlikely to reach us.
If you need any advice and information about organising an event please contact our fundraising team.
