Fundraising but no charity number

tanyavt · 25 March 2014 at 4:20PM

Help!
We are trying to raise funds for a little boy with muscular dystrophy at our local primary school to buy him items he desperately needs that won't be funded by the authorities (such as a car seat and power chair- wheelchair).
Can anyone advise on how we can set up a justgiving page without a charity number? Or even if that is at all possible. We have already created a website and facebook page but would really like to link to somewhere to make it quick and easy for people to donate.

Thank you so much for any advice you can give me, in advance.
Tanya

Savvy_Sue · 26 March 2014 at 12:15AM

I do not think you can set up a Just Giving page without being a registered charity. It's the simplest way for the charity giving sites to ensure that funds are going where they're supposed to.

louister · 26 March 2014 at 12:32PM

Have you thought of CrowdFunding? A couple of sites you could take a look at are http://www.gofundme.com/ (Uk charity 'Nowzad' use to use this one a lot) and a newer one https://www.indiegogo.com. You don't have to be a reg charity or non profit to use these. There are a few others, just put CrowdFunding UK thru Google search. Good luck x

Sayaka · 26 March 2014 at 5:54PM

It is difficult to use a lot of the online sites without a charity number - and you can't register as a charity until your turnover is £5000 per year.

However you can register with HMRC as a "Charity for Tax Purposes". I have done this for a small charity I run with a turnover of about £3000. Amongst other things, this has allowed us to claim Gift Aid and set up an online system with BTMydonate. (Who, unlike JustGiving, don't take a percentage of the donations)

There is a bit of paperwork involved (eg writing a constitution and having named people as officers like Chair, Treasurer etc) but there's a fair bit of guidance on the HMRC website. It takes about 10 weeks to come through.

If you want something easily set up for people to donate, you could just set up a Paypal account and have people pay into it directly?

rarrarrar · 26 March 2014 at 6:07PM

Has the school got a fund with charitable status ?
If so ask them whether donations can be made to this fund with a "note" attached that they are for "purchase of ######".
Advantages are:
Gift Aid tax benefits.
Some potential donors may be happier donating to a school fund for a specific project than giving money to an ad-hoc group ( no offence meant).
Good Luck..

Jobseeeker · 2 April 2014 at 4:59PM

Sometimes you can go through a registered charity, if you find one that relates to muscular dystrophy. There are also charities in existence that provide wheelchairs for children.

But no you can't use just giving.

Octobergirl · 2 April 2014 at 9:26PM

Have a look at Tree of Hope. It's a national charity which is a vehicle for fundraising for an individual. You get your own page and justgiving link. Money you fundraise is sent to tree of hope but is ring fenced for your child. You can then invoice them for equipment / therapy etc. on the downside you don't get interest on monies saved, but you can claim gift aid. People seem much happier to donate via a legit national charity.

Fundraising but no charity number

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