Donations, sponsorship and fundraising policy

1 . Background

BISA must ensure that by undertaking fundraising activities (including the acceptance of donations) it upholds all legal, statutory and regulatory requirements placed upon it as a registered Charity.

This policy should be read in conjunction with our:

2. Requirements

BISA will only accept funds if they meet the following requirements:

a. Benefit: there are strong grounds to believe that receipt of the donation by BISA will result in a benefit to BISA and enable BISA to fulfil its charitable objectives.

b. Integrity: receipt of the donation will not damage to BISA’s reputation or integrity, or be likely to result in any loss of income.

c. Independence: donations do not compromise BISA’s status as an independent entity.

d. Influence: there is no attempt to deliberately influence BISA’s operations, and all funding operates within BISA’s anti-bribery and compliance policies and procedures.

e. Legality: the donation is wholly legal under all applicable laws.

f. Codes of Practice: acceptance of donations must comply with the Fundraising Regulator Code ((https://www.fundraisingregulator.org.uk/code ) of Fundraising Practice and Fundraising Promise (https://www.fundraisingregulator.org.uk/more-from-us/resources/fundrais…

 

g. Standards: the donations must meet, and be able to accord with, all relevant regulations and standards (including BISA’s Anti-money laundering requirements).

3. Process

The Executive Committee shall take overall responsibility for decisions relating to whether a potential donation or sponsorship is accepted or refused, and acceptance is to be granted in accordance with paragraph five (Authority to proceed).

The Executive Committee must be able to demonstrate that accepting such donations is in the best interests of the charity, and therefore they must not be influenced by personal interests, or derive any personal benefit from funding received.

BISA considers potential donations and sponsorships individually and does not maintain a specific list of exclusions, however in order to establish whether it would be in the best interest of BISA to accept donations and sponsorships, the following guiding factors will be taken into consideration. They must:

  • support BISA’s charitable objectives;
  • not risk causing damage to BISA’s integrity or reputation if accepted; and
  • not influence BISA’s charitable decisions.

Donations should be refused where:

  • BISA suspects that donations have been made to facilitate money laundering or other criminal activity;
  • they are made by donors whose activities appear to be in direct conflict with BISA’s objectives; or
  • the offer is made dependant on the fulfilment of certain conditions placed upon BISA, which are contrary to BISA’s objectives.

Where there is concern in relation to the above guiding factors, and in accordance with the Code of Fundraising Practice (see above) applicable to all charitable institutions, we will undertake due diligence to establish the legitimacy of the donation or sponsorship.

Should the circumstances of any donor or sponsor change during the relationship with BISA, the Association shall reconsider the donation or sponsorship against these guiding factors.

Where a decision is ultimately made to refuse or accept a donation or sponsorship, a record of the decision and the reason for it, will be kept.

4. Process for managing corporate sponsorship

Before sponsorship can be secured, the following steps must be undertaken:

a. Research: any business approached should be researched to ensure a best fit in line with BISA’s values, ethos and charitable objectives.

b. Valuation: benefits to be offered by a sponsor must be valued to ensure proposals are fair and reasonable.

c. Benefits: all crediting and branding permitted must be agreed by the BISA Executive Committee.

d. Contracting: all sponsorship must be the subject of a formal written agreement.

e. Review: sponsorships should be reviewed at least annually to consider whether the partnership represents best value for BISA.

5. Authority to proceed

All donations and sponsorship are subject to the following approval process:

  • In the first instance, details of any donation and / or sponsorship shall be presented to the BISA Governance sub-committee
  • The Governance sub-committee shall consider the donation and / or sponsorship in light of this policy (in particular sections 2, 3 and 4 above), with a view to providing their approval of the donation and / or sponsorship
  • Where approval is provided, the Executive Committee shall review the approved donation and/or sponsorship, with a view to authorising BISA’s acceptance of the donation and/or sponsorship

6. Purpose of donations

Where funds are received for a specific initiative or purpose, potential donors should be advised that if funds received exceed the amount needed, any excess may be directed to BISA’s core activities unless the donor requests otherwise.

7. Gift aid

  • Where appropriate, BISA will allow taxpayers to increase the value of their donation via the UK Government’s Gift Aid scheme. In each case, BISA will ensure that it receives a Gift Aid declaration from the donor confirming that they paid the same amount or more in Income Tax or Capital Gains Tax in that tax year; and
  • agree to Gift Aid being claimed.

BISA will keep a record of such declarations for six years after the accounting period to which they relate.

8. Monitoring and reviewing this policy

This policy will be reviewed annually by the BISA Executive Committee. Responsibility for the Policy lies with the Director who is answerable to the BISA Chair. The Director, in turn, can delegate oversight and implementation to an appropriate BISA staff member or trustee.

9. Change and review history

  • Implemented 2021
  • Reviewed Nov 2022

Share this page