Charities Board Welcome and The Rules

MSE_Martin · 10 April 2006 at 12:58PM

Welcome to the MoneySavingExpert Charity Board

The aim of this is to do anything and everything to help charities, so that collectively others can benefit too.

Already by using this site charities are being helped as there's a substantial charities fund. Also do read the 'Charity Giving' and 'Feed The Starving At No Cost To You' articles. [MSE FORUM TEAM INSERT, 16/02/22: These articles have since been archived.]

I decided to start this board as a place where people looking for sponsorship or posting to help charities can do so. Previously these links were banned, but I understand the popularity. However I dont want this to be open to abuse.

To be on this board posts must obey the following rules:

1. Any links must benefit a UK registered charity. The details of the charity number and link to the website must be given.

2. Any sponsorship links must go via the legitimate online charity sponsorship sources such as Justgiving. Direct soliciting for money or sponsorship by any other method isn't permitted as it would be open to abuse.

3. Absolutely no links for personal gain may be posted..... even if the money will be split with a charity..... or even if you 'promise to give all the cash to charity'. There is no way to prove this so it will be deleted.

4. No soliciting for money for any individual will be permitted.

5. We will err on the side of caution, the last thing we want is someone scamming people here.

Now I don't want to sound draconian. This should work well, but it's to benefit genuine, legitimate, mainstream charities. Anything that deviates won't be permitted, it's simply too open to abuse.

Martin

Savvy_Sue · 10 April 2006 at 5:48PM

Tip-Top idea, Martin, and thanks. I'm always delighted at reading how generous many MSEs are. And even though I've never, AFAIK, met any of you, I always talk about "my MSE friends" when I'm boring DH with snippets of useful info gleaned from the boards.

Just one query over the rules for this board:

MSE_Martin wrote:

1. Any links must benefit a UK registered charity. The details of the charity number and link to the website must be given.

Not all registered charities have a website. The one I work for doesn't, for example, and it's a conscious decision rather than a failure to engage with the technology.

Would you be prepared to settle for the charity number and the charity's postal address and telephone number or email address if there is no website? The registered charity number does enable you to 'check up on' the charity's legitimacy via the Charity Commission website.

Apologies if I should have asked this question by PM rather than publicly - feel free to delete if you don't want a raging debate started!

defender_of_the_weak · 10 April 2006 at 7:04PM

Martin

We give away our fee to charity if we win less than £500 for people who use us to complain about their financial institution. This is all on our website with details how to donate the fee to ensure it reaches the charity chosen. How can I tell people about this or provide links without 'scamming'

MSE_Martin · 11 April 2006 at 10:51AM

With regards not having a website, yes your solution is very acceptible, the aim of that rule is to make it easier to check the 'legitimacy' if there's no website the other basic details will be fine.

Defender of the week. I'm sorry yours is a product that is not defined for charity but does it as a by product, thus this isn't the right board for it. Sorry. The right place is within the referrers board.

martin

cancercharitytour · 12 April 2006 at 12:52PM

Thank you for your time in setting up this charity forum - I am well convinced that the use of the web has a great future for charities, especially the smaller lesser known ones. However, as you mention vigilence is needed to prevent scams and misuse. Since setting up my site last year we have received unwelcome Email from some very unscrupulous people.
I will use the forum for my own charity project.

uberzoldat · 13 April 2006 at 6:24PM

What an excellent addition to the forums.

I have a question, what about somewhere like a privately run animal sanctuary, where any money received is guaranteed to go to the running of the place? Would that be something I could talk about here or would it be 'scamming'?

Thanks ever so much for any response.

soolin · 13 April 2006 at 6:28PM

uberzoldat wrote:

What an excellent addition to the forums.

I have a question, what about somewhere like a privately run animal sanctuary, where any money received is guaranteed to go to the running of the place? Would that be something I could talk about here or would it be 'scamming'?

Thanks ever so much for any response.

Obviously Martin has the final say, but if the animal sanctuary is not a registered charity then I don't think this is the right board for it. If it is a registered charity, then it doesn't matter how small it is it will be welcome.

If you are not currently operating as a charity have you thought about looking at the rules to see if you can become one, as that will give you many advantages and access to many other possible sources of funding.

Soo

uberzoldat · 13 April 2006 at 6:34PM

Thanks, I thought that would probably be the case.

I have nothing to do with the running of the sanctuary, I just ahve a standing order to support it every month. Maybe I should mention to them about becoming a charity.

I will have to do some research on it beforehand though. Thanks again.

MSE_Martin · 14 April 2006 at 11:33AM

Hi

I definitely wouldn't call it scamming, sounds like its a great thing. However it wouldn't be placed on the boards. The problem is (and i hasten to add i am by no means saying its this case) if a charity isn't registered and doesn't check out and the link the correct one, then someone could try to be conning people. There simply aren't the resources to legit check every link so the rules have been simplified.

Definitely worth talking to the animal sanctury people about becoming a charity, it isn't too difficult

martin

Savvy_Sue · 14 April 2006 at 2:51PM

I do agree with Martin on this one (would I dare disagree? :rotfl:) - while there are many excellent Not for Profit (NFP) organisations out there it is far harder to check their credentials than it is with ANY registered charity, however small it is. As I said, we don't have a website, but our accounts are available online via the Charity Commission website.

And while being a registered charity does not completely rule out the possibility of abuse, the necessity for having

a) a constitution or governing document which sets out the charity's aims, and

b) a group of trustees who must always act in accordance with those aims and the best interests of the charity

does make it harder to go 'off the rails'. As long as the trustees do their job, that is!

There may be reasons why a group decides NOT to go down the registered charity route, and I believe the Charities Commission does encourage you to check whether there's an existing charity whose aims meet your own, BUT there are many advantages, not least the ability to ask for donations to be Gift Aided!

wanna-be-mortgage-free_2 · 18 April 2006 at 8:23PM

Hi
I'm running the Cancer Research UK 5k Race for Life in Stormont Estate, Belfast on 4th June. Can I post the link here if anyone would like to sponsor me? The link goes directly to the webpage that Cancer Research gave me and any money donated goes directly to Cancer Research through their online secure sponsorship. Nothing comes through me at all. I just want to check it's ok to post the link.
Ta

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