Donation Returns Policy
Returning Donations
We will return donations in the following circumstances, within one month of discovering or being informed that:
- a donor was in a vulnerable circumstance which may have had an impact on his/her decision to donate or how much to donate;
- a donation or grant was given under an agreement to restrict spending to a particular area and that spending is no longer going ahead or has ceased before all the funds have been used, in which case we will return the unspent funds.
We will consider returning donations in the following circumstances:
- when a donation in excess of £100 was made in error and we were informed within 7 days;
- if the trustees feel that there is a moral obligation to return the donation and the advice of the Charity Commission has been sought.
Donations will not usually be returned in any circumstances if the donation date was more than 6 months before the issue was discovered or we were informed.
Delaying Donations
The trustees or executive staff may delay acceptance of a donation, for example to suggest a more tax-efficient way to give. It is understood that there is a risk that the donor may decide not to give when acceptance has been delayed.
Refusing Donations
The trustees or executive staff may decide to refuse a donation
- if impossible restrictions have been placed on how the donation can be used;
- where advice has been sought from the Charity Commission and it has advised us to refuse the donation.
A careful minute of the decision and the reasons for it must be kept, and all reasonable effort will be made to explain the reasons to the donor affected.
If a donation is suspected to be an attempt at bribery, coercion or other illegal activity, the trustees or executive staff will report the situation to the Charity Commission and seek advice.
Other relevant policies
Changes to this policy
Any changes we may make to this policy in the future will be posted on our website and, where appropriate, we may notify you by email.