Charity fundraising event proof of income and outgoing's

messycess81

Hi,

This is my first post so I hope it all makes sense.

We are currently working on becoming a small charity and have almost reached £5000 to achieve charity status.

Recently there was an event held to raise money for 4 seperate charities / funds. Ours being one of them.

The event made well over £9000 and the 4 charities have yet to recieve any money and the amounts quoted appear to be miniscule compared to the total income.

I fully understand that this event would have cost a fair bit to arrange and get organised, However with a rough and very conservative estimate of costs to arrange such an event, it seems to leave a huge shortfall from what is being offered to the 4 charities.

My question is this, would We be within our rights to ask for a breakdown of all monies raised and the cost of outgoings ie receipts etc.

As our charity was used to advertise the event and many people attended simply for us, We feel We could quite rightly ask for this information.

The event organiser after being asked for such information now seems to think the money offered is a kind "gesture".

As We do not have charity status at the moment I just wonder where We stand in all this.

Dont get me wrong We appreciate any money raised for us but the numbers just dont seem to tally up.

Thanks for reading any advice is greatly appreciated.

debonair

The simple answer is, registered or unregistered charity, you stand nowhere on this unless you had an agreement in writing beforehand, which I assume from your post you did not.
As a new organization you have just learned a very important lesson. People who offer to fund raise are not always what they seem.
Never allow anyone to use your organizations name without the written permission of the trustees or your fund raising coordinator (or whom ever the trustees have designated responsibilty for fund raising to)
When someone approaches you with a fund raising proposal, always get their offer in writing. They should include any costs they intend to keep as 'expenses'. eg say someone wants to do a sky dive for you and raises £500. They give you a cheque for £150. Confused? It turns out they paid £350 to the company that provides the dive.Your charity just paid for them to have a good time! Did they state on the sponser form that donors were paying the cost of the dive before any money would go to the charity? Why didn't you know? Because you didn't ask!!!
You need to consider every aspect before agreeing - no good asking questions after the event, it's too late!
If the event you refer to raised £9000 and you expected a quarter of the takings you may well be disappointed, some people are ruthless in their exploitation of charities. I encountered one collecting in a supermarket. They took their wages and 'admin' costs and 'promised' to give £300 every month to a certain type of charity that I happen to know rarely paid wages and ran with volunteers and were desperate for money. People could have donated directly to the charities themselves and the money would have been better spent.
Charity fund raising is a cut throat business these days and has very little to do with 'good causes'. Many of the larger charities are in reality big businesses and big employers. The Charity Commission is in reality a branch of HMRC that ensures that donations are legally tax free. They are not interested in investigating dodgy setups although it is in your interest to register as it means you can collect gift aid on your donations.
Your organization has been stung. Take whatever money is offered from these people and put it down to experience, learn and don't get caught out again. (ripped off!) Remember, get it in writing, consider all aspects of the offer before agreeing.
As a trustee and charity founder myself, I've been where you are now and know how tough it is..........don't lose heart, remembering why you started your charity will keep you going, every success makes the effort worthwhile......but you must grow a very thick skin, and be very protective of your good name as you build a reputation...... Good luck!

messycess81

Ok thanks for the info. I have recently found out tht ALL the money raised has been spent by the event organiser!

We are absolutely livid about this as you would probably expect.

After taking your advise we have searched for and found documents of the event being advertised using our charity name as well as the other 3.

Surely this can now be classed as fraud or something? We dont want to rush into it and will take our time considering our options but any more help or advice as to where we go next will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again.

debonair

It's only fraud if it can be proven that the law has been broken. A lot depends on what was agreed before the event. Who contacted who, originally? Did you agree the use of your name? Do you know the organizer personally? Has he done this kind of thing before? Is there a history of non payment to other charities? Did you get anything in writing?

messycess81

Hi,

Yes we know the event organiser, he contacted us and we agreed he could use our charity, the event was splashed all over a certain social media website, posters and tickets clearly state charity event, i dont think he has set up an event like this before.

People taking part in the event have waived their fees and told him to put it into the charity fund. These people will not be happy!

We are thinking of going to local newspapers but not sure how legal that would be.

Thanks.

debonair

Going to the press needs careful consideration. Legally as long as you are truthful there's nothing to stop you telling your side of things, but if you believe there's no money left then you really have nothing to gain in doing so.
Your reputation could suffer, as you rely on donors and you may give the public the impression that you have allowed yourself to duped. It really doesn't take much to put people off donating especially as you are a new charity starting out. The guy may well want to give his version of events and could have plausible answers that could make you look bad. A lot would depend on how the story is put across by the press and how that is done is out of your control. Large (rich) charities have press offices for a reason.
You would have to weigh up whether it's worth the risk. If there's no money left then it probably isn't. The people that gave their services for free and the other charities may not have had an agreement in writing either so would be in the same position as you. Have you discussed with them if they intend any action?
Sure, you are angry and understandably so, but you must do whatever is best for your charity. Have a meeting with your trustees to discuss your next move but make sure you all put the interests of the charity before any personal feelings. Only take action against this guy if your charity can gain from it. Revenge would make you feel better in the short term but beware of damaging your charities reputation in the long term.

Savvy_Sue

You'll probably be told the event was more expensive to stage than anticipated etc. If you do decide to publicise this, work with the other groups involved.