Identify any potential safety issues and deal with them before the event, for example, a warning sign by a slippery floor.

The SOFT  UK public liability insurance does not cover events organised by volunteers. An event may, however, be covered by the insurance of the venue you are holding it in – so check this. 
SOFT UK is a member of the NCVO, and their excellent website outlines some of the points you may need to consider. Click here for the NCVO Fundraising Legal Checklist.

There are three types of raffle or lottery that charities are likely to be involved with. The information on the NCVO website relates to England and is guidance only - it does not take the place of legal advice! Click here for NCVO advice on raffles and lotteries. 

Even a small fundraising event needs to be checked for unnecessary risks. Have a careful look round and make sure that any obvious hazards are removed.  

Charity Collections

SOFT UK would like to thank Charnwood Catalogues www.charnwood-catalogue.co.uk for permission to print the information below which is the copyright of Charnwood Trading Limited.  Whilst we hope you find the information below on Charity collections in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland interesting and informative, the contents are for general information purposes only and do not constitute advice. We believe the contents to be true and accurate as at the date of writing but can give no assurances or warranty regarding the accuracy, currency or applicability of any of the contents in relation to specific situations and particular circumstances.You should therefore always seek the advice of an appropriately qualified person where necessary. SOFT UK and Charnwood Trading Limited assume no responsibility for information contained in this Charity Collection information and disclaim all liability in respect of such information.

Charity Collections in England and Wales                                        

You need a permit before you can:

• collect money for charity on the street or in a public place(this includes shopping malls, airports, stations), but you may not need a permit for 'inside a shop'. This is a very grey area and you must check with your local authority for permit advice.
• carry out a house-to-house collection for money or goods, like jumble. "House-to-house includes pubs, offices and places of business as well as residential houses.  

You don't need a permit for a charity collection for the following:

• putting a collecting box on a shop or bar counter
• hold a collection at a garden party, say, or an annual dinner.

If you're in any doubt whether you need a permit, then it's best to check. Remember too that even if you don't need a permit you want people to feel confident about giving money for your charity.  So it makes good sense to follow similar procedures to those required for charity collections when you do need a permit. 

Street Collections

Permits for charity collections - sometimes called licences are issued free of charge. They are usually issued by your local council. In London, however, the Metropolitan Police are responsible for issuing permits. A member of your group has to act as the promoter for a charity collection in a street or public place. The promoter applies for the permit and is responsible for ensuring that the way that the collection is carried out complies with the regulations set by the authority issuing the permit. You can also hold a charity collection in support of a charity whether or not your own group is charitable. But you do need to contact the charity concerned and ask for a letter supporting your charity collection; and to submit this with your application. The arrangements by which you apply for a permit may be different in different places. Local councils, and the Metropolitan Police, may also have their own policies about how often they allow street collections to take place, or whether more than one organisation can hold a collection on the same day; and the detailed regulations may differ slightly as well. You need to contact your own local council, or in London, the Metropolitan Police, for further information.

There will almost certainly be regulations which mean that:

• the promoter has to give written authority to each and every collector - and in a form which they can produce if asked to do so. No-one else may help collect money. You may also want your collectors to wear name badges.
• collectors must be at least 16 years old and must be volunteers i.e.: they cannot be paid.

Regulations about collection boxes (including buckets) usually mean that:

• they must be closed and sealed in such a way that they cannot be opened without breaking the seal
• they must have labels, or printing on the box itself, which shows prominently the name of the charity or fund which is to benefit from the collection
• they have to be numbered consecutively, with a record kept of which boxes or buckets have been allocated to which collectors
• only 2 collectors are usually allowed to stand together - and they must be 25 metres away from the next collectors. They should not walk around or move off the pavement. But these regulations don't apply if your permit is for a collection as part of a carnival or similar procession.
• there are also regulations about not causing annoyance. It's good practice anyway to brief your collectors on how you expect them to behave.

There will be changes in the law on charity collections in Scotland once the relevant parts of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 come into effect  but this is not expected immediately. Currently, charity collections are governed by Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1972 (section 119) and the Public Charitable Collections (Scotland) Regulations 1984.

 Charity Collections in Scotland

You need a permit for public charitable collections - collections of money held in a public place, or carried out by visits from place to place:

• a public place is anywhere to which the public have unrestricted access. This does not just mean the street - but also doorways and entrances to supermarkets and pubs, for example, and access common to a group of houses or flats, like courtyards or passageways
• visits from place to place include house-to-house collections, pub collections, and collections from business premises
• a permit is not needed for collections which take place entirely on private premises - like within a supermarket. But if you are going to collect in several shops, even in a privately owned shopping centre, then this could be regarded as visiting from place to place for which you would need a permit.

Nor is a permit needed for:

• a collection box kept on the counter of a shop, or bar, for example, or in any other fixed position without collectors present
• collections held during public meetings
• collecting goods for charity shops, say, or jumble sales.

If you're in any doubt whether you need a permit, then it's best to check. Remember too that even if you don't need a permit you want people to feel confident about giving money for your charity.  So it makes good sense to follow similar procedures to those required for public charitable collections.

Permits

Collections can be for the benefit of charitable, benevolent or philanthropic purposes - and it is not therefore compulsory to be a registered charity to hold a collection. In most cases you will need to apply to your local council for a permit - and which is free of charge. You must apply for a permit at least a month before your collection is due to take place. But it is worth contacting your local council well in advance as there may be other collections planned for the same day - and to find out about the application procedures, and any special policies they may have. A member of your group has to act as the organiser of the collection, and is responsible for complying with all the regulations, or for ensuring that someone appointed as agent does so. Charities which operate throughout Scotland can apply to the Secretary of State for exemption from local council permits but usually still have to inform each local council of their plans to hold a collection.

Regulations

no-one under 14 years old can be a collector in a street collection; or under 16 for a collection by visits from place to place. Collectors must be fit and proper persons. Every collector has to be issued with a certificate of authority signed by the organiser (or agent) and also by the collector which includes:

• the organiser's name and address, and the agent's, if there is one
• the collector's name and addresst
• the name of the organisation or fund for which the collection is being made
• the area, and the period of time, in which the collector is authorised to collect
• every collector also has to wear a badge with the name of the organisation or fund which is to benefit from the collection

If you are using collection boxes or buckets, these must:
be closed and sealed so that they cannot be opened without breaking the seal
have labels - or printing on the box itself - which shows prominently the name of the organisation or fund benefitting from the collection
be numbered consecutively - and you must keep a record of which boxes have been allocated to which collectors

You can  use specially printed envelopes for collections and which the person giving must be able to seal after making their contribution. You must keep a record of how many are issued to each collector.

Accounting for the money collected:  There are detailed regulations which in brief mean that:

• collectors must return all boxes, buckets or envelopes unopened to the organiser or agent
• the organiser (or agent) has to open these one-by-one in the presence of another person, and record the amount on a list against the number of each collection box or bucket; or the number of envelopes returned by the collector and the total amount of money in them. (Alternatively, the collection boxes, buckets or envelopes may be taken unopened to the bank - and counted and recorded there.) 
• the organiser has to submit accounts within one month to the authority which issued the permit and make a summary available for public inspection, possibly in a local newspaper.

The local council can attach conditions to your permit - and different councils may have different policies about the times that collections can take place, for example, or the type of collection boxes you can use. You need to check.

Charity Collections in Northern Ireland

You need a permit before you can:
collect money for charity on the street or in a public place.
carry out a house-to-house collection for money or goods like jumble.

You don't need a permit for a collection box on the counter at a shop or garage, or a pub, or at an office reception desk. But you do of course need permission from the proprietor. You don't need a permit to hold a charity collection on private land  though again you need the owner's permission. You also need to make sure that where you're planning to hold the collection doesn't fall within the definition of either 'street' or 'public place'. You might be able to hold a collection without a permit inside a supermarket but the shop doorway would be considered a public place.  Shopping centres, stations and airports are now considered to be public areas, so you will need a permit. If you're in any doubt whether you need a permit, then it's best to check. Remember too that even if you don't need a permit you want people to feel confident about giving money for your charity.  So it makes good sense to follow similar procedures to those required for charity collections when you do need a permit.

Street Collections 

Permits for charity collections are issued by the Police Service of Northern Ireland. You should apply to your local station. It is your committee which applies for the permit and you must have a committee of at least three members. You are the promoters of the collection and joint responsible for ensuring that the way that the collection is carried out complies with all regulations. You will be asked to give information about your group when you apply for a permit as well as your aims, the application form asks what percentage of the proceeds of the collection will go to the charity or fund you are supporting. You need to apply for a permit well in advance of when you plan to hold your collection especially if that's close to Christmas or other popular times of year for holding collections. At a minimum, you must apply no later than the first day of the month before the month in which you want you your collection to take place.

Collectors

the promoter has to give written authority to each and every collector - and in a form which they can produce if asked to do so. No-one else may help collect money. You may also want your collectors to wear name badges.
collectors must be at least 16 years old and must be volunteers i.e.: they cannot be paid.

Collection boxes

they must be closed and sealed in such a way that they cannot be opened without breaking the seal.
they must have labels - or printing on the box itself - which shows prominently the name of the charity or fund which is to benefit from the collection
they have to be numbered consecutively, with a record kept of which boxes have been allocated to which collectors

Only 2 collectors are usually allowed to stand together - and they must be 30 yards away from the next collectors. They should not walk around or move off the pavement. Apart from guide dogs, no dogs (or other animals) can accompany collectors. There are also regulations about not causing annoyance. It's good practice anyway to brief your collectors on how you expect them to behave.

Accounting for the money collected

collectors have to return all collection boxes unopened to the promoters
the collection boxes have to be opened one-by-one in the presence of one of the promoters and two other people. Apart from counting the money, you should record the amount on a list against the number of each collection box, and each record must be signed (certified) by all those present.
a statement of the amount raised has to be published in a local newspaper  which can be done by writing a letter for the "Letters to the Editor" section. You must include details of the amount collected, any expenses, and the net amount raised for your charity as well as details of when the collection took place and which charity it supported.
you have to complete a returns form and submit it to the Police Service of Northern Ireland within two months. This has to include a detailed statement of account, which has been audited either by your organisation's auditor or another "responsible person" not connected with your organisation, or the collection. You also include a copy of your entry in the local newspaper.

House-to-house collections

The law about house-to-house collections includes collections for jumble or other property door-to-door, as well as collections of money. If you are holding a house-to-house collection in your own community, then you need to apply for a licence from the Police Service of Northern Ireland. You apply to the local police station in which the collection is to be made. Charities intending to carry out house-to-house collections throughout Northern Ireland can apply to the Charities Branch in the Northern Ireland Department for Social Development for an exemption order instead.

Accounting for the money collected

There are detailed regulations which usually mean that:
collectors have to return all collection boxes (and buckets) unopened to the promoter
the promoter has to open collection boxes one-by-one in the presence of another person, and record the amount on a list against the number of each collection box, and each record must be signed (certified) by them both. Alternatively, the collection boxes may be taken unopened to the bank - and counted and recorded there.
the promoter has to submit a certified statement within one month to the authority which issued the permit - setting out the total raised, the amounts in each box, and a list of all collectors. That statement may also have to be certified by a qualified accountant, though some authorities relax this regulation for smaller collections
a statement of the amount raised may also have to be published in a local newspaper. 

House-to-house collections

The law about house-to-house collections includes collections for jumble, and selling goods or raffle tickets door-to-door as well as collections for money. If a permit is required, then the regulations are similar to those for street collections - but with the important difference that there are prescribed certificates of authority and badges for collectors, issued by HM Stationery Office once a permit has been given. For collections in a small local area, it may be possible to be granted a certificate from the police instead of a permit - but you do need to check.