Keep it legal

Games like raffles, sweepstakes and charity lotteries can all be great ways to put a little fun in your fundraising. They’re also some of the most regulated areas of fundraising. Read below for all the essential info!

The safest and easiest way to hold a raffle is to hold an incidental raffle. This means a raffle that is held at another fundraising event. For this type of raffle, you can use “cloakroom” style tickets. There are some rules which you must adhere to:

What you must do:

• Only sell tickets at the event – anyone at the event can purchase a ticket.
• Only take £100 maximum out of the profits of the draw to cover costs and prizes.
• Hold the draw at the event itself.

What you must not do:

• Sell tickets before the event, or to people not attending the event.
• Apply Gift Aid to the money – legally, buying a ticket does not count as a donation.
• Rollovers are not permitted.

For more information on raffles, you can visit the Gambling Commission website.

For full information on holding your own raffle, tombola, sweepstake or free prize draw, download our guide:

Collecting money for St Barnabas House? Great! We just need to make you aware of the following…

Public collections

• You must have a licence from your local authority to collect funds in public places. You can apply for this on behalf of the charity, or we can do it for you. Some areas have a very limited number of licences to issue, so it’s best to ask us first.
• Collections have a minimum 28 day application timeline to process and each council will have different rules and regulations. Please contact your local authority to find out more.
• If you are collecting on private property you will need written permission from the landowner or manager.

If you hold a collection for St Barnabas House without a licence or proper permission, it may result in the charity losing future opportunities to collect donations in these places.

Collecting tins

Collecting tins or buckets will need to be supplied by St Barnabas House with security seals, so please get in touch with the Fundraising Team, who will be happy to supply you with what you need. You can return the full tins and buckets for our finance volunteers to count.

Collecting door-to-door

You are not allowed to collect funds by going door-to-door, even if you know them. The Fundraising Regulator has strict guidelines on who is able to carry out this type of fundraising. Only our authorised Lottery canvassers are able to do so on behalf of St Barnabas House.

For more information, please visit the Institute of Fundraising website

Please note that we can’t accept any responsibility for accident, injury, loss or damage as a result of your event. We therefore strongly recommend that you check that you have adequate insurance and that you take all reasonable steps to ensure the safety of all concerned. You will also need to check any third-party supplier’s public liability insurance.

You can download one of our risk assessment templates to help you recognise the potential risks and hazards that your event may bring, and how you can minimise them.

To find more advice about health and safety, please visit the Institute of Fundraising website.

Download the risk assessment documents:

• Stalls outside
• Stalls inside
• Holding a collection