How to Organise Charity Fundraising

1) Decide who you’re fundraising for

• You can raise for one of the Union’s three RAG charities, which this year are:

  • Mayor of Hillingdon’s Charitable Trust (SEND Family Support & Hillingdon Stroke Support Group) - https://www.hillingdon.gov.uk/mayorcharity

  • London’s Air Ambulance - https://www.londonsairambulance.org.uk/

  • Union’s Hardship Fund - https://brunelstudents.com/advice/studentmoney/hardship/

• Or choose any UK registered charity.

  • If choosing a non-RAG charity you must provide the charity name and charity number when you submit your event booking.

• You may fundraise for more than one charity (and for your club/society too), but you must clearly state the percentage split for each beneficiary up front.

2) Book the event & tell us it’s charity fundraising

1. Complete the event/venue booking form here, as per the how to guide here:

2. When the form asks “Will you be charity fundraising?” → tick YES.

3. On the form include:

   • Which charity(ies) (name(s) and charity number(s), if not a Union RAG charity).

   • How much you aim to raise (target amount).

   • The names and student numbers of the students who will be actively collecting/raising.

   • Confirm you have read & understood the Union’s charity fundraising sheet.

3) Request collection materials (if needed)

• You can request RAG collection tins and buckets from Student Activities - request this through the charity section of the event/venue booking form.

  • The tins/buckets are branded RAG and may only be used as-is to fundraise for the Union’s three chosen RAG charities.

  • If you are fundraising for other charities, cover up the RAG logo (so donors aren’t misled) and clearly label the tin with the charity name and number.

• Always label collection points with who the money is for and, if multiple beneficiaries, the percentage split.

Legal reminder: Under UK charity law you must state who you’re fundraising for and ensure the money goes to that charity.

4) Run the fundraising activity — best practice

• Make the purpose of the collection very clear to donors (e.g. poster/sign on collection tin/online description).

• Keep a list of the students handling cash and the times they collected.

• Capture receipts for any costs (e.g., event supplies) - these should be paid from function account funds if needed, not taken from donated sums intended for charity, unless you declare this upfront.

• If using online payments (ticketing/donations), ensure the payment method’s description clearly names the charity beneficiary.

5) Collect and deposit the money into the Union’s RAG account

All money raised for charity must be paid into the Union’s RAG account. Ways to pay in include:

• Union card reader (can be booked through the room/event booking form).

• Payment buttons on your club/society webpage or ticket sales for events on the Union website.

• Cash paying in form - pick up the paper form from Union reception and use it to deposit cash.

• Bank transfer into the Union’s RAG account (request bank details from the Student Activities team).

Chair, Treasurer or RAG Officer should record how the money was collected (date, amounts, who handled it).

6) Complete a RAG Payment Form to send the money to the charity

• Once the funds are paid into the Union, the Chair, Treasurer or RAG Officer must complete a RAG Payment Form (paper from the Union reception or the digital version, which can be found here).

• The form requires you to provide: charity name, charity bank details (name, account number, sort code), charity number, and a full description of what event(s) the money was raised from. The form must be signed by a club/society committee member.

• Submit the form either by:

  • Handing the physical form in at Union reception, or

  • Emailing the digital form to student.activities@brunel.ac.uk for authorisation.

(If using the paper form, keep copies of the completed form and proof of depositing the fundraising.)

7) Authorisation & payment

• Student Activities authorise the RAG Payment Form after checking details and signatures.

• Once authorised, it’s passed to the Union’s finance team for payment to the charity. The Student Activities team will confirm when the payment has been passed on.

8) After payment

• Make sure you track your fundraising, keeping a reocrd of all money raised and the final total raised, as this will be required as evidence for your CASES submission and for a club/society Charity of the Year award, if you decide to nominate your club for it.