FUNDRAISING POLICY & REGULATIONS
There are some general rules that all fundraisers need to follow, such as making sure that all money raised goes to the cause it was raised for, and also some specific ones that are relevant for particular forms of fundraising such as public collections or running a raffle. The“Code of Fundraising Practice” (effective October 2019) brings together all of these rules,both legal requirements and best practice standards, and can be viewed or downloaded HERE
Anyone who is considering fundraising for the Group is strongly encouraged to familiarise themselves with these rules, and to find out which might apply to their preferred form of fundraising.
HOW TO DONATE
Here are just some of the ways in which you can generate funds for the RVH Liver Support Group.
These include: –
- “JustGiving” – a versatile way of raising funds from your friends, colleagues and family. Further general information on how to use the portal can be found HERE
- Legacy donations ‘in memoriam’ following a bereavement
- Donations in lieu of flowers
- Cash donations
- “AmazonSmile”- This is a fairly new and easy way to automatically make a donation whilst making a personal purchase on your Amazon account. You will need to “link” our charity to your Amazon account. Further information on how to do this can be found HERE
- “Wedding Favour” – a fun way to raise funds for the Group. This is where the Bride and Groom in a wedding party make a contribution on behalf of those at each table. Have a look at the little card used for this; Wedding Favour Card (Front) Wedding Favour Card (Inside)
- Raffles
- Quizzes
- Marathons
- Dinners
- Collection boxes
If invited, a member of the Liver Support Group Committee will always be happy to attend fundraising events for cheque handovers, and to speak about the various ways in which the Group supports those with liver conditions in Northern Ireland. Being a small Committee without the resources to arrange our own fundraising, we are always very appreciative of all of the efforts that fundraisers undertake in organising and running events on our behalf.
This is a method of tax relief used by many charities. The scheme allows charities to claim back 25% of the tax already paid on all eligible donations made by a UK taxpayer (a taxpayer who has paid at least the same amount as the Gift Aid amount in the same tax year as the donation). Gift Aid can also be claimed on donations made via Just Giving. It is highly recommended that all personal donations are subject to “Gift Aid” thereby increasing donations received by 25%. There is no additional cost to the donor. Further information on this can be found HERE. A Charity Gift Aid declaration form needs to be completed and this gives the Liver Support Group permission to claim the Gift Aid amount. A digital version of this form is included in this communication entitled “Charity Gift Aid Declaration”. Some types of fundraising won’t be eligible for Gift Aid e.g. funds raised from cake sales,auctions and sale of tickets. More information can be found HERE
In order to help prospective fundraisers to decide on which option may be best we have formulated new “fundraiser packs” which explain in more detail the options available. These are :-
1) JustGiving Pack – the best option for a supporter wanting to run events attracting lots of individual backers, e.g. running a marathon, choosing donations instead of anniversary or birthday presents, doing a series of separate events over a period of time. Where possible fundraisers are encouraged to use JustGiving, since the admin of their fundraising is handled by JustGiving, who also collect Gift Aid on applicable donations. Further information is available HERE
2) Gift Aided Donation Pack – to be used where a supporter wishes to make a single donation, or a series of donations to the Support Group, and is a tax payer. Gift Aid can be claimed on the donation(s) at a rate of 25p per £1.00 donated. The supporter should complete and return the Gift Aid Declaration form contained within the Pack, and this must be sent to the Support Group Treasurer before Gift Aid can be claimed from HMRC. Monthly standing order donations can also be made to the Support Group and Gift Aid claimed each year. This type of ongoing giving may be suitable for some potential supporters. Further information is available HERE
3) Sponsorship Pack – For those instances where fundraising by multiple people can’t be facilitated by using JustGiving, e.g. where backers of the event may not have online access to JustGiving. The Pack contains a double sided sponsorship form which can be printed by the fundraiser if required. At the end of the event, the form must be returned to the Support Group Treasurer to allow a claim for Gift Aid to be made. The accompanying monies raised can be credited to the Support Group account after giving the fundraiser the relative account details. Further information is available HERE
The Support Group Committee ensures that all donations are put to the best possible use. The efforts of each and every supporter is much appreciated. Below is a flavour of how some of the money has been spent in the recent past. Our key aim is to help adult and children with any liver condition in any way we can and therefore in allocating funds we always apply strict and fair criteria.
Why Donate?
Our focus is on spending our money to benefit liver patients throughout Northern Ireland in any way that we can.
In the past, we have donated much needed equipment to assist the Liver Team with their work with patients.
Some of the items we have funded this year are:
- Wall mounted monitors
- A biometric impedance testing device
- Ambulatory blood pressure monitors
- Portable videoconferencing equipment, linking to King’s.
- Vein viewers (pictured here)
We also contribute to the Education Fund which enables staff to receive important training.
Making a Difference
One of the core stated objectives of the Group is ‘To support by means of financial assistance … persons suffering from any liver condition through research or the provision of equipment or facilities’. We have been able to supply many different items, large and small, which would otherwise not have been possible to acquire through the Health Trust.
Our biggest donation to date has been the Fibroscan equipment, used to help early detection of liver fibrosis, purchased in 2008 and upgraded in 2014. The machine is still in very regular use, and prevents patients from having to undergo more invasive tests in many cases.
Recent additions such as a Vein Viewer to help the nursing staff more easily detect a patient’s good veins when taking blood samples, a Moto-med device to help bedridden patients to maintain good muscle tone, and a paracentesis trainer to help junior doctors train how to safely perform fluid drains on liver patients, show the range of equipment we have been able to provide for the benefit of all liver patients in the Regional Liver Unit.
In total, since the Group was formed in 1998, over £230,000 has been spent purchasing hospital equipment and contributing to the hospital’s education fund for specific medical training. And to date £165,000 has been paid in the form of grants to patients travelling outside Northern Ireland for essential assessments, procedures and transplants.