Fundraising Code of Conduct

Raising Futures Kenya work with many volunteers who choose to fundraise in support of the charity. In order to protect both these volunteers and the charity, we ask that everyone who chooses to fundraise for Raising Futures Kenya commits to abiding by this code of conduct.

Ethical Principles

When fundraising for Raising Futures Kenya you must adhere to the following ethical principles:

  • All requests for funds:

    1. Will be truthful

    2. Will accurately describe the charity’s work

    3. Will accurately describe the intended uses and destinations of the donation and any benefit to the fundraiser. For example, explaining the 50:50 ratio for donation to trip costs if undertaking an international challenge event

    4. Will not encourage unrealistic expectations of what the gift will achieve

  • Spending on fundraising and administration will be kept as low as is cost-effective

  • All requests for funds will respect the dignity and privacy of those who may benefit from the donation and the dignity and privacy of potential donors

  • Fundraisers will make clear that they are an appointed officer fundraising on behalf of the charity

  • Fundraisers will not be over-persistent

  • Fundraisers will disclose any conflicts of interest that may arise

  • Permissions will be obtained when required – for example street collections will only be held if a permit is obtained by the relevant council and licenses will be obtained when need to be obtained for activities such as the public selling of alcohol, food and drink, busking, extended hours in a venue and TV or film screening

  • All money collected in the name of Raising Futures Kenya must be transferred to Raising Futures Kenya straight away.

Keeping Safe and Legal

The following is a list of the key things you need to do to make sure your fundraising safe, legal and successful. This list gives guidance on best practice, but it is not exhaustive and Raising Futures Kenya accepts no liability for third party activities and events.

1. First Aid Required at Events

You need to consider First Aid requirements if you organise an event. You can get advice from a professional medical authority like St John’s Ambulance or Red Cross about what type of First Aid to have at your event. Things to think about include:

  • The number of people

  • Type of event and risk involved

  • Type of people, including their ages

  • Location and type of venue

  • How long the event lasts

  • What is the weather likely to be like

  • How near is it to local medical facilities

  • What experience you have of similar events

  • What welfare and first aid facilities are at the venue

  • Insurance

2. Venue for Events

If you organise an event, you should do a site visit of your venue to do a site plan and to assess risks for the event. If your event involves the public you will need to have Public Liability Insurance – always request guidance from Raising Futures Kenya about insurance prior to the event taking place.

You need to think about:

  • If the venue has public liability insurance which will cover your event

  • Locations of all the fire exits

  • Securing of wires, cables and equipment

  • Mapping out where the entertainment will be

  • If handing out hot drinks, how will this be done safely

3. Weather Implications

If you organise an event outside, you need to think about what would happen in adverse weather conditions to keep everyone safe. Think about:

  • Securing equipment e.g. marquees, gazebos, signs to avoid loss of control in high winds

  • Considerations if having electronic equipment outside e.g. how will it be protected by rain, how will it be moved safely in adverse weather

4. Children at your event

If you organise an event make sure children are properly looked after and have permission to take part from a parent or guardian.

  • Adults looking after children should have carried out appropriate checks. See the Government’s Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) (https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/disclosure-and-barring-service) for information for more guidance.

  • You also need to think about where their activities will be i.e. away from any wires, plugs, hot water facilities, electrics etc.

5. Licences

Some activities require a licence, such as:

  • Alcohol or entertainment, including recorded music

  • Holding a raffle, lottery or auction

  • Doing a public money collection

  • Putting up banners or signs in public areas

  • Flyering in public areas

This list doesn’t cover everything, you should contact your local authority to check which licences you will need.

6. Food hygiene

The Food Standards Agency (http://www.food.gov.uk/science/#.UXbN1qIdZQE) provides guidelines for preparing, handling and cooking food. If you are using a caterer you need to make sure they have a Food Hygiene Certificate and Public Liability Insurance.

7. Public Collections

If you organise and/or take part in public collections you must do the following:

7.1. Always make sure you stay safe whilst collecting by:

Having at least two people present when money is being handled and counted

  • Always collect cash using a secure container displaying Raising Futures Kenya’s logo and charity number

  • When carrying money around take care, use common sense and always use a safe, well-lit route

  • If you are confronted by someone demanding the money, do not put up a fight, hand them the money straight away and then call the police

  • Send the funds to the charity as soon as possible to avoid leaving large amounts of money unprotected

7.2. If you are collecting money in a public place, you must get permission from the relevant authority:

  • To collect in the street you need a licence from the local authority, which will have some rules for your collection

  • Door-to-door collections are illegal without a licence. Again, you need to contact your local authority to apply for one

  • To collect on private property, such as a shopping centre, you need permission from whoever owns the property.

  • Once you have got permission, you must then check and comply with the terms of each public collection you undertake, as these will vary depending on who has given you the permission (for example, different local councils have different rules about street collections).

7.3. All funds donated at public collections must be used exclusively for the charity donation proportion of your fundraising target

7.4. Public collections cannot be used to comprise more than half of the fundraising total 

8. Handling money at events

When handling money at fundraising events:

  • Where possible have two people around when money is being handled and counted

  • Collect cash using a secure container e.g. a sealed container for a collection or a secure cash box for change

  • When carrying money around take care. Always use a safe route and always be with someone and/or carry a personal alarm

  • If you are confronted by someone demanding the money, do not put up a fight, hand them the money straight away and report the matter to the police

  • Send the funds as soon as possible to Dig Deep to avoid leaving large amounts of money unprotected (e.g. in your house)

9. Selecting suppliers

If you use external suppliers for equipment or services at an event, make sure you use a reputable company. Ask to see a copy of their Public Liability Insurance and risk assessment, If anything looks unsafe on the day, do not use the equipment or stop the activity.

10. Risk Assessments

If you organise an event, you need to undertake a risk assessment. This means looking at what could cause you or your participants harm and checking you’ve taken the necessary precautions to prevent this from happening.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) recommends five steps to risk assessment:

Step 1: Identify the Hazards – First you need to work out how people could be harmed

  • Visit  for practical guidance on where hazards may happen and how to control them

  • Walk around the event area and see what could be a risk

  • Ask advice from the manager of the venue or friends/family to see if you’ve missed anything

  • If you’re using any sort of equipment then check instructions for warnings on hazards

Step 2: Decide who might be harmed and how – For each hazard think about who could be harmed and decide how best to manage the risk.

  • Identify different groups of people rather than individuals e.g. suppliers, fundraisers, volunteers, attendees at event

  • Think about how each group may be harmed e.g. volunteers from lifting heavy equipment

  • Remember that some groups have different requirements e.g. children, pregnant women and disabled people

  • Remember to think about the set up and close down of your event as well as the event itself

Step 3: Evaluate risks and decide precautions – Once you’ve spotted your hazards, you need to decide how you’d mitigate them. The law requires that you take reasonable steps to protect people from harm.

Consider how you can remove the hazard completely or otherwise take controls to minimise the risk. Apply the principles below:

  • Eliminate the risk

  • Try a less risky option

  • Isolate the hazard

  • Reduce exposure to the hazard

  • Issue protective equipment

  • Provide welfare facilities

Step 4: Record findings and implement them – Use a risk assessment template and keep it simple. E.g. Hazard: tripping over wires. Control: Move wires to isolated area where people don’t walk.

Checks to be made. You need to show that:

  • You’ve done a thorough check of hazards

  • You’ve considered who hazards could harm

  • You’ve controlled all significant hazards

  • The risk of hazards is now low

Step 5: Review assessment and update if needed – Events may change later in the planning or on the day so you need to make sure you review the risk assessment regularly and make any changes to hazards that you need to.