Fundraising Policy

Al-Waris Foundation depends on public generosity to further its charitable purposes.

The charity is committed to fundraising that is:

Fundraising communications must give donors sufficient accurate information to make informed decisions about giving.

Al-Waris Foundation will not knowingly use misleading claims, fabricated impact information, inappropriate pressure or deceptive fundraising practices.

This policy establishes Al-Waris Foundation's approach to:

This policy applies to fundraising undertaken by:

It applies to fundraising through:

The Board of Trustees retains ultimate responsibility for Al-Waris Foundation's fundraising.

Trustees should ensure that:

Operational fundraising responsibilities may be delegated to authorised persons.

Al-Waris Foundation will seek to conduct fundraising consistently with applicable:

Current regulatory requirements should be checked where necessary rather than relying solely on this policy.

Fundraising communications must not knowingly contain false or materially misleading information.

This includes information concerning:

Al-Waris Foundation must not fabricate:

Where figures are estimates, projections or targets, they should be presented accordingly.

Material claims should have a reasonable evidential basis.

For example, the charity should not claim:

Al-Waris Foundation may maintain permanent or long-term fundraising Causes representing broad areas of charitable work.

Examples may include:

A Cause may remain available over an extended period and need not have a fixed fundraising target.

Appeals are normally more specific or time-limited fundraising initiatives.

Where appropriate, an Appeal may sit beneath a broader Cause.

For example:

Cause: Emergency and Disaster Relief Appeal: A specific humanitarian emergency.

This structure enables donors to support either:

Where appropriate, completed or fulfilled Appeals may remain publicly visible as part of the charity's historical record.

They should be clearly distinguished from active fundraising opportunities.

A completed Appeal must not be presented in a way that misleadingly suggests donations are still being accepted for it if that is not the case.

A Project represents actual charitable implementation or work rather than merely a fundraising category.

Projects may include:

The website and fundraising systems should maintain a meaningful distinction between:

Where a donor selects a specific:

the charity's donation records should preserve that selection.

The checkout process should not silently convert a specific donor selection into an unrestricted donation.

Where Al-Waris Foundation permits direct donations to a Cause, donors may support that broader area of work without selecting a particular Appeal.

The charity should clearly explain the nature of the Cause and how funds may be applied within it.

Where a donor selects a specific Appeal, funds must be handled according to the fundraising wording and any resulting restriction.

Appeal descriptions should therefore be drafted carefully.

Where fundraising wording creates a legally restricted fund, Al-Waris Foundation must use the funds according to that restriction.

Restricted funds must be appropriately identifiable within financial records.

See the Financial Controls and Reserves Policy.

Donors may be given an option to support Al-Waris Foundation generally.

Unrestricted donations may be used for any lawful purpose within the charity's objects.

This may include:

Where a donation option is described as:

the wording should make clear that trustees may apply the funds across the charity's lawful activities according to need.

An Appeal may have a fundraising target where appropriate.

Targets must not be fabricated.

Where a target represents an estimated project cost, this should be reasonably supported by:

Where the website displays an amount raised, the amount should be derived from reliable financial or donation records.

It should not be manually invented merely to make a fundraising page appear active.

The calculation should be consistent and auditable.

Where the charity publicly reports the total amount donated toward a Cause, it may include:

where this treatment is clearly defined and consistently applied.

The underlying records should remain capable of distinguishing the original donor designation.

Progress indicators must be based on genuine recorded data.

The charity must not artificially increase progress bars, donor counts or amounts raised to create urgency or social proof.

Project costs may change because of:

Where a displayed figure is an estimate, it should not be represented as a guaranteed exact cost.

Al-Waris Foundation may offer unit-based giving for suitable programmes.

Examples may include:

The displayed unit price should have a reasonable basis.

Donors may be allowed to fund multiple units.

The donation system should calculate the total accurately.

Where the cost of delivery later varies, funds must be handled consistently with the applicable fundraising wording.

Where appropriate, donors may be allowed to contribute an amount toward a project unit rather than funding the complete unit.

The interface should distinguish clearly between:

Where a water installation is advertised at a particular cost, the amount should reflect a reasonable expected project cost or clearly be identified as an indicative amount.

Site conditions may determine whether a project requires:

The charity should not imply that every location can receive an identical installation at an identical actual cost where this is not true.

Completed water projects should normally have an appropriate evidence record containing:

This evidence may support donor reporting.

Where Al-Waris Foundation advertises a food package, the charity should have a reasonable basis for:

Supplier prices may change and reasonable variations may therefore occur.

Emergency fundraising may require rapid publication.

Urgency does not remove the obligation to avoid misleading information.

Where facts remain uncertain, the charity should communicate that uncertainty rather than presenting assumptions as verified facts.

Fundraising materials should, where appropriate, explain what may happen if:

Wording should provide sufficient flexibility while remaining fair and transparent to donors.

Where appropriate, an Appeal may explain that surplus funds or funds that cannot reasonably be applied to the exact intended activity may be used for:

Such wording should be established before donations are accepted where reasonably practicable.

It must not be used retrospectively to disregard an existing restriction.

Al-Waris Foundation may invite donors to make a separate contribution toward the charity's operational costs.

Where this is offered, it must be clearly disclosed.

The donor should be able to understand:

Where an operations contribution is preselected in a checkout interface, it must be:

The donor must not be misled into believing the operations contribution forms part of the selected project amount where it does not.

The charity's financial records should distinguish the operations contribution from any separately restricted charitable allocation where applicable.

The payment processor may process them as a combined payment provided the charity's records preserve the correct accounting treatment.

Al-Waris Foundation may allow donors to identify an intention or classification such as:

The charity must not describe funds as being handled according to a particular religious classification unless its systems and procedures can reasonably support that treatment.

Where Al-Waris Foundation actively accepts and administers Zakat, appropriate governance and allocation procedures should be established before representing donations as Zakat-compliant.

Where Zakat functionality is not active, the charity must not imply otherwise.

Gift Aid must only be claimed where applicable legal requirements are satisfied.

Where Al-Waris Foundation's Gift Aid functionality is disabled or not operational, donors must not be told that Gift Aid will be claimed.

Any future activation should be supported by appropriate declarations, records and HMRC processes.

Donation checkout should provide donors with sufficient information to understand:

The interface should minimise accidental donations or unintended selections.

Al-Waris Foundation may permit donations without requiring a donor account.

The charity should collect only personal information reasonably necessary for purposes including:

Donors may be permitted to remain anonymous publicly.

Public anonymity does not necessarily mean that the charity or payment provider will hold no identifying information.

The distinction should be maintained where relevant.

Where donor accounts are available, account creation should not be unnecessarily required merely to make a donation unless there is a legitimate reason.

Account functionality may provide:

Before starting a recurring donation, the donor should be able to understand:

Recurring donations should not be created accidentally through unclear interface design.

Al-Waris Foundation may use regulated payment providers to process donations.

Payment systems should be configured with appropriate:

See the Financial Controls and Reserves Policy.

Where payment-processing fees apply, accounting records should distinguish appropriately between:

where required.

Fundraising materials should not make inaccurate claims that 100% of a donation reaches a specific project where fees or other permitted deductions make that statement misleading.

Donors should receive appropriate confirmation or receipt information for online donations where practicable.

Receipts should accurately reflect:

A charitable donation is not necessarily refundable simply because a donor changes their mind.

However, refunds may be appropriate where:

Refund decisions should be documented where material.

Payment disputes and chargebacks should be handled through appropriate financial procedures.

A disputed or reversed transaction must not continue to be reported as successfully received income.

Street and public collections must comply with applicable licensing or permission requirements.

Collection arrangements should address:

Where appropriate or required, authorised collectors should carry suitable Al-Waris Foundation identification.

Identification should not falsely imply:

Collectors must:

Collectors must not use intimidation or guilt to obtain donations.

Cash collections should follow the Financial Controls and Reserves Policy.

Material cash counts should involve two people where reasonably practicable.

Collection proceeds must be reconciled and banked appropriately.

Collectors must not remove money from collection containers to pay themselves or reimburse expenses.

Any legitimate expenses should be handled separately through the Expenses Policy.

Events should be appropriately planned.

Considerations may include:

A person or organisation fundraising in Al-Waris Foundation's name must have appropriate authority where required.

The charity should understand:

Where the charity becomes aware of potentially fraudulent or misleading fundraising using its identity, it should consider:

Where Al-Waris Foundation enters arrangements with commercial participators or professional fundraisers, applicable legal and regulatory requirements must be considered.

Appropriate written agreements should be used where required.

Professional advice should be obtained where necessary.

Fundraising expenditure should be reasonable and properly recorded.

The charity should be able to distinguish between:

Where the charity lawfully uses paid fundraising personnel, the arrangement should be:

Payment should not be concealed by removing money directly from uncounted collection proceeds.

Fundraising must take particular care where a person may be vulnerable because of circumstances such as:

The charity must not exploit vulnerability to obtain donations.

Where there is a reasonable concern that a person does not understand:

the fundraiser should not pressure them to proceed.

Al-Waris Foundation prohibits unreasonable pressure.

Fundraisers must not:

Fundraising involving children requires particular care.

Children should not be placed in unsafe circumstances or pressured into fundraising activity.

Any applicable safeguarding, licensing or supervision requirements must be considered.

Beneficiary stories may be used to explain the charity's work where appropriate.

Stories must not be:

Fundraising images must comply with the Photography, Video and Beneficiary Consent Policy.

The charity should avoid imagery that:

AI-generated illustrations may be used for:

provided they are not misleadingly represented as genuine evidence of real beneficiaries or completed charity projects.

AI-generated imagery must never be used to fabricate evidence of charitable delivery.

A real photograph from one project must not be presented in a way that falsely suggests it depicts:

Context should remain accurate.

Fundraising through social media must comply with the same standards as fundraising elsewhere.

Short-form content must not sacrifice factual accuracy merely to increase engagement.

Where creators or influencers fundraise for Al-Waris Foundation, appropriate arrangements should establish:

Official donation links should direct donors to approved Al-Waris Foundation fundraising channels.

The charity should take reasonable precautions against:

QR codes used for fundraising should be checked before publication and periodically where appropriate.

They should direct to the intended charity-controlled or approved fundraising destination.

Personal information collected through fundraising must be processed according to the Data Protection and UK GDPR Policy.

The charity should not collect unnecessary donor information.

Making a donation does not automatically mean a donor has agreed to all forms of future marketing.

Marketing communications must have an appropriate lawful basis and comply with applicable electronic communications requirements.

Where newsletter subscription is optional, it should be presented separately and clearly.

A donor should not be required to receive marketing merely to make an ordinary donation unless a lawful and transparent reason applies.

Fundraising pages using non-essential analytics or advertising technologies should comply with applicable consent requirements.

Analytics consent should not be confused with consent to make a donation.

Donor information should not be publicly disclosed without an appropriate basis.

Public donor recognition should respect:

Fundraising complaints should be handled under the Complaints Policy.

Complaints should be:

Suspected misconduct may include:

Serious concerns should be escalated promptly.

Suspected fundraising fraud should be handled under the Anti-Fraud, Bribery and Corruption Policy.

Relevant evidence should be preserved.

A significant fundraising failure may require consideration under the Serious Incident Reporting Policy.

Examples may include:

Where a restricted Appeal cannot proceed as planned, trustees should determine the appropriate lawful treatment of the funds.

The charity must not simply reclassify restricted donations as unrestricted because the original project became inconvenient.

Professional advice or Charity Commission authority may be required in some circumstances.

The charity should retain proportionate records concerning:

Where practicable, the charity's website and donation systems should maintain sufficient information to identify:

Material changes should remain appropriately auditable.

New fundraising content should be subject to appropriate review before publication.

The level of review should reflect:

Draft, preview and publication controls may be used within the charity's content-management system.

When an Appeal is closed, the charity should:

A fulfilled Appeal may remain visible for transparency.

Where practicable, donors should receive or have access to meaningful updates concerning projects they supported.

Updates should distinguish between:

Al-Waris Foundation aims to provide meaningful transparency concerning its charitable work.

Public information may include:

Transparency must be balanced against:

Fundraising performance may be reviewed using legitimate information such as:

Performance metrics must not override ethical fundraising standards.

People undertaking fundraising should receive proportionate guidance concerning:

Volunteer fundraisers must understand:

Volunteer status does not remove the charity's responsibility to maintain appropriate oversight.

Al-Waris Foundation may monitor fundraising activities to ensure compliance.

Monitoring may include:

Breaches may result in:

This policy should be read alongside:

This policy will be reviewed:

Version: 2.0 Status: Approved Approved by: Board of Trustees Approval date: 25/08/2026 Next scheduled review: 24/08/2027