Keep It Safe

You must:

• consider issues of equal access for all, even if an event is being targeted at a specific group of people
• make sure the venue meets the legal requirements on health and safety
• make sure the venue or location is fit for purpose, taking note of any restrictions
• be able to justify any environmental effect the event might have

Risk assessments are a checklist when you’re planning your event, to record the potential for things to go wrong and what you can do to stop that happening.

Some venues or insurers may ask to see a risk assessment.

Health and safety arrangements (e.g. medical cover and evacuation arrangements) need to be appropriate for the event.

You should also check the maximum safe capacity for your event venue and if it has facilities for safely evacuating people with mobility issues.

The regulations state that you must:

• have in place any insurance policies required by law
• make sure you have enough third-party public-liability cover in place
• consider whether you should take out any other insurance cover (don’t assume that you’ll be covered by the insurance for a venue, such as a community centre)

It’s important to point out here that your event will NOT be covered by Gold Geese Public Liability Insurance.

There are a number of companies that offer insurance for charity events. You can find these on search engines or on some comparison websites.

Any advertisement, poster or flyer for an event for Gold Geese has to state that we are a registered charity. You can do this by including our name and registered charity details on any materials that you produce in this format.

These are:

• Registered Charity England and Wales No 1182332
• Permission for someone to take part in an event

You must get any permission you need by law, for a person to be involved in an event, in writing before the event. This includes, where relevant, accepting legal terms and conditions and to protect health and safety. You should also consider the need for permission from a responsible adult for any events where the participants are under the age of 18.

You must make sure people taking part are aware in advance of any fundraising targets they’re expected to meet.

Keep safe when handling money by following these guidelines:

• Do not leave unsecured cash unattended
• Count your money raised in a secure place not in the open
• Wherever possible, ensure all cash collected in counted and recorded by two unrelated people
• Ensure cash donations are collected in sealed containers/ collecting tins
• Open collecting tins yourself with another person unrelated to you
• Bank the money from collections as soon as possible by sending it to Gold Geese in the full amount without taking fees/expenses. You can bank money into your personal account and send a bank transfer or cheque to Gold Geese

If your event includes any form of raffle, lottery, prize competition or free draw for charitable purposes you need to follow any gambling regulations that may apply.

At any fundraising event you may be collecting personal data. Examples of this include:

• capturing information on a registration form for a challenge event
• recording people’s details on sponsorship
• having someone’s name and phone number on the back of a cloakroom ticket for a raffle

This is all personal data and as such has to be treated very carefully in line with a number of separate regulations.

As a charity we take the protection and processing of people’s data very seriously. Check out our privacy policy.

As a fundraiser you may deal with personal data. Only collect data you need, do not share this data and only keep the data for as long as you need it.

Things to keep in mind:

• Only collect data you need
• Store data safely by keeping hardcopies in a cupboard and password protecting electronic copies
• Destroy data you don’t need
• Remove data upon request or in case of data of deceased individuals

Protecting personal data ensures people can trust fundraisers to use their data legally, fairly and responsibly.