Introduction

Thank you for being interested in fundraising. The Charity could not continue to donate equipment and run projects which improve patient's experience in Rugby without the support of our fundraisers and donors.

There are many ways in which you can raise funds together with your friends, family or work colleagues and we have put together some ideas and general advice on keeping your fundraising safe and legal.

We hope that you will find this guidance helpful when you start to plan your event.

Please note it is not intended to cover all circumstances so if in doubt seek further information from any relevant authorities.

Here are a few tips on how to make the most of your fundraising event.

  • Try to keep things simple as it usually saves a great deal of time overall and often makes the most money as costs can be kept under control.
  • Make a plan at the beginning outlining who has responsibility for each stage of the fundraising event.  Include timescales so that everyone has a target date to complete their various tasks.
  • Enquire if you or someone you know works for a company which offers to match funds raised through their Community Social Resposnibility Policy (or similar). The policy may have guidelines on what type of event they will support and rules as to who can apply.
  • If possible check forthcoming event calendars so that your event does not clash with other local or nationwide charity events.
  • Set yourself a realistic target – it is far better to exceed your aims than to become de-motivated because you were over ambitious.
  • Make sure you set a budget to ensure your costs are covered and decide whether you are going to meet these or plan to deduct them from the takings and make it clear to your supporters whether you will be donating all the takings or the net proceeds to the Charity

 Have you decided what do you want to do?

Do you want to organise an event or activity of your own or to take part in an event organised by others?

Sometimes it can be easier to take part in an existing event especially if there are time constraints.

We work with the UHCW Charity on a number of sponsored events and details of these and other locally organised events are published from time to time on our Sponsorship Opportunities page 

If you choose to organise your own event you need to decide whether it will be a social occasion for just friends and family or will it be open to the public to take part? Obviously events which are open to the public need a great deal more planning.

Here is a small list of ideas you might like to use or develop to help you with your fundraising.

  • Auctions
  • BBQ
  • Bric a Brac sale
  • Bring and Buy sale
  • Car wash
  • Cheese and wine tasting
  • Coffee/tea morning/afternoon
  • Dinner Party
  • Fun run
  • Guess the weight / name / number
  • Hand made good sales
  • Jumble sale
  • Knitted goods sales 
  • Mile of 1p’s/10p’s/20p’s
  • Quiz
  • Raffle – you will need a licence if either the sale of tickets and the draw does not take place during your event!
  • Sponsored Walk / swim / run

We ask that you do not plan an event which might be deemed to be un-healthy, such as drinking or eating competitions, as these are likely to be contrary to the objects of promoting health in the community.

Where will you do your fundraising?

It is important that consideration is given to where you will do your fundraising.  Things you should think about include

  • The number of people who will take part or be spectators and therefore the venue size,
  • Accessibility by public transport and wheelchair access, parking. 
  • What if any equipment do you need – e.g. does the venue offer use of tables and chairs, toilets and catering facilities. 
  • What additional items would you need to take along? 
  • Do you need separate insurance or is this included within the venue booking costs?

If you plan to hold your event in a public location make sure that you have the permission of the relevant authority e.g. if the event is to be held in a park in Rugby you will need to contact the Council to request permission. Click here to find information about organising events on Rugby Borough land.

Please note that we cannot expand on the fundraising activity that we currently do at the hospital.

When do you want to do this?

Consider when is the best time of year to hold your event especially if it is to be outside.  Would it be best to hold it during the week or at a weekend?  What time of day would be best to get the highest footfall?

Who will your event appeal to? 

How many people would you like to attend your event? Is it a specific group of people? If so, do a sufficient number of people live locally or have easy access to attend your event to make it a success? 

How are your going to promote your event?

How far in advance do you need to notify the people you would like to attend?

Who will take on the role of coordinating the planning and who will be responsible on the day?  Is it possible to have a number of fundraising ideas running alongside one another on the day at the same location in order to appeal to a wider audience?  What materials do you need at the planning stage and on the day?


 We like to keep a diary of forthcoming events so that we can respond to any enquiries and ask that you download this form and then complete and return it to us. This will tell us about your plans and any help you would like from us. 

We will contact you to discuss how we might work together to promote your event and to answer any queries that we can help with. We can also issue you with a letter confirming that you have registered your activity. This can be useful when talking to people you don't know about your fundraising plans.


It is important that you consider both the Health and Safety and Legal requirements when holding your own fundraising event.  You will have full responsibility for the event and if you need insurance you will need to organise this yourself. The Charity cannot accept any liability.

Here are some guidelines which you may need to consider to make sure your event is a huge success.  We advise you take time to read through them. 

The list is not exhaustive and you may need to consider other things depending upon the type of event you are organising.

In alphabetical order:

Alcohol and Public Entertainment Licenses

It is important that you contact your local authority, the police and other relevant parties if you wish to sell alcohol, play live/recorded music, organise a dance, show a film or performance of a play or hold any type of sporting event or entertainment of a similar nature.  You may find that the venue you are planning to use already has a license or you may need to apply for a temporary entertainment notice (TEN) license from your local council. More information about Rugby Borough Council application process can be found on this link  or by contacting the Public Health and Licensing Team on 01788 533884 or by This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Children

Anyone under the age of 18 years needs to be supervised at all times and they should not be given a role which requires them to collect money from strangers.  It is also vitally important that the appropriate checks are made of the people volunteering/helping at your event, if it involves children or vulnerable people.  Please check with your local authority.

Collections

Collections fall into two categories Public and Private and the legal requirements differ as follows:

Collections in Public places 

These are governed by strict legal requirements and must be licensed by the Local Authority. You also need to have a letter of authority from the Charity. You may also find that if you wish to raise funds in certain public places you will also need to arrange public liability insurance.  Again, it is important that you check such requirements in plenty of time before the event.

Please do not carry out house to house collections as these are already organised by the Charity.  If you would like to become involved in this type of fundraising we are always looking for new volunteers and would love to hear from you. 

We also organise collections at local supermarkets and again we would love to hear from you if you are able to provide a few hours from time to time to help out. 

We have a small team who look after a number of collection boxes situated throughout the town and local villages. Please let us know if you are aware of any new places we can place a box and/or if you are interested in joining the team.

To find our more about this topic please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or telephone 01788 663754 with your details.

Collections in Private places

For these you do not need the permission of the local authority.  However, you do, of course, need the permission of the owner of the premises! 

Contracts

You may be asked to sign a contract when booking a venue or for services to be provided at your event. It is important to remember that although you will be raising funds for the Charity you will be doing so in your own name and not as a representative of the Charity.  Therefore, any contracts you are asked to sign must be done so in your own name.  The Charity cannot accept any liability for any contracts you sign.

Data Protection

It is important that if you keep any electronic or paper records of the people involved in your fundraising event then these records must comply with the Data Protection Act.  For example you should only note relevant personal information and then only retain it for an appropriate length of time. You should not pass the information onto any third party without the permission of the people concerned. More information can be found at the Information Commissioner’s Office website. 

Fees and charges

For Rugby Borough Council fees and charges click here

First Aid

Hopefully you will not need to use any first aid services but you need to make sure that you have adequate cover, especially if you are organising a larger event.  You can find useful information on the British Red Cross and St. John Ambulance websites.

Food Hygiene

It is extremely important that relevant guidelines are followed if any food is prepared, served or offered for sale. 

Advice is available from the Rugby Borough Council Public Health and Licensing Team by phone on 01788 533851 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.them at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Health and Safety Risk Assessments

The Charity cannot accept liability for any loss, damage or injury suffered by yourself or anyone else as a result of taking part in a fundraising event you organise.  It is important that any fundraising event you organise is risk-assessed to find, reduce and control the risk to all those taking part and members of the public who may attend.

You can find helpful guidance on how undertake a risk assessment on the Health & Safety Executive website. This tends to be for larger events. Alternatively, advice for Rugby residents is available from the Rugby Borough Council Public Health and Licensing Team on 01788 533882 or by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Insurance

As mentioned in other sections it is crucial that any event venue or equipment is covered by appropriate insurance.  However, you may also need to consider arranging Public Liability cover which will protect you against claims made by third parties for injury or property damage as a result of negligence.  If the event is a private one then this may not be necessary.  Please check your household insurance or with your Local Authority as appropriate.

Photographs 

The Charity only publishes photographs of people which have been taken by our volunteer photographers or members of the committee with the consent of those who appear in the photos.

Fundraisers should exercise similar consideration especially when taking photographs of children where it is especially important to gain the consent of parents.

Raffles, Lotteries and Prize Draws 

The Charity organises a Christmas Raffle each year and would welcome help in selling tickets. 

If you wish to sell tickets at an event and will make the draw as part of the event then you do not need a lottery licence.

However, if you wish to sell tickets over a period of time then you will need a Lottery Licence and there are strict guidelines which you must adhere to.  These are likely to be small lotteries which are licensed by the Council. Click here to download more information from Rugby Borough Council  or from the Gambling Commission. Or contact the Council Public Health and Licensing Team on 01788 533884 or them This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Promoting Your Event:

It is important to make sure that your event is as well publicised as possible. 

Once you have registered your event with us we can discuss ways that we can help you with this.

If you would like to develop you own publicity material then it is important you contact our communications team before using our logos. 

It is important to remember that any literature you produce must also carry the following statements:

‘Raising Funds in aid of The Friends of the Hospital of St. Cross'

Charity registration name: The Friends of the Hospital of St. Cross Charity registration number: 218485

You must clearly explain how much of the money taken will be passed to the Charity. For example:

‘all of the money raised from this event will be donated to The Friends of the Hospital of St. Cross’

‘the profits from this event will be donated to The Friends of the Hospital of St. Cross’

‘the raffle held on the day at this event is in aid of The Friends of the Hospital of St. Cross’

Please remember to make it clear that whilst you are fundraising for the Charity you are not a representative of the Charity unless you are a Trustee of the Charity. 

If you wish, we will endeavour to advertise your event on our website, on social media and within our newsletters and via the local media with whom we have an extremely good working relationship.

However, you may decide that you would prefer to contact the local media yourself to let them know about your event – this is generally best done by email to the relevant editor.


As mentioned above it is crucial that you inform potential supporters about how much of the money you finally raise will be given to the Charity. 

If you plan to take the costs of organising the event from the money raised before making a donation or if you are giving a percentage of the total money raised you should keep a record of the income and expenditure (with receipts).  You must not pay a salary to anyone involved in the fundraising from the income raised.

There are a number of ways in which you can organise to collect and pay us the money that you raise for us.

On-line Fundraising

One of the most popular ways to collect sponsorship is to set up an ‘Online Fundraising Page’ and then send a link to your fundraising page via email and social media to everyone you know and ask your friends to share it with their friends as well. 

The Charity’s preferred fundraising websites are list on this page.

However, if you are taking part in an event organised by the UHCW Charity then it is essential that you only use the sponsorship forms and on-line donation services that they are using for the event. Provided you make it clear in your registration and fundraising page that you are taking part to support of The Friends of St Cross, you can be assured that the funds you raise will come to us.

Sponsorship Forms 

Once you have registered you intention to raise funds for the Charity you can request an official sponsorship form.   The forms carry the information that is legally required and are set out in a way that encourages people to support you and to increase the value of their donation through Gift Aid if they are a tax payer.

Donation Envelopes 

We can provide you with donation envelopes to distribute to family and friends. This gives people all the details they need to make a donation, and enables us to thank them for the gift they make towards your fundraising. 

If they choose to they can increase the value of their donation through Gift Aid, at no extra cost to them - helping you to raise even more so we can care for more people.

To request some envelopes contact our This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by phone on 01788 663754 or by sending an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

When and how to give us the money you have raised 

The money you raise should be paid to the Charity as soon as possible after the event has been held and certainly no later than 4 weeks after the conclusion of the fundraising event or activity.

If your event is of a continuing nature, such as a monthly event, you must let us know when each event will take place and keep separate records for each event and agree with us when you will notify of us of the monies raised and when you will make payments.

If you have set up a Fundraising page then your sponsors will pay their donation directly from their credit or debit card. This means you do not have to collect the money in and we receive monthly payments from the company providing the on-line facility.

You can send the money you have raised to us, by post.  If you do then please do not send cash through the post

Cheques should be made payable to The Friends of St. Cross and should be posted to

The Friends of the Hospital of St. Cross, Brookfield House, Hospital of St Cross, Barby Road, Rugby CV22 5PX.

Please include a note about how the money was raised together with any sponsorship forms or donation envelopes which we will need for our records and to enable us to collect any Gift Aid from HMRC

If you would prefer to pay us in person then you can call in to the Friends Office which is situated in the Octapus Centre at the start of the North Road on the hospital site.  The office is open Monday to Friday 9 – 4.30pm.  The receptionist will be able to provide you with a receipt for any monies donated.