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Keeping it legal

The first rule of fundraising is to have a great time, but there are a few others you need to bear in mind too. Here’s how to keep everything above board.

On this page you'll find guidance about:

Health and safety

  • We can’t take any responsibility for your activity, so we recommend doing your own risk assessment.
  • All solo challenges (a walk, run, cycle, swim or drive), anything involving food and drink and any in-person event involving members of the public need a risk assessment. This is important even if your event is happening somewhere you know really well, like your workplace or a local café.
  • If you’re selling food at your event, get in touch with your local council for advice.

Children and young people

  • If you’re under 16, we’ll need your parent or guardian to register on your behalf.
  • If you’ll have children at your event, make sure you have permission for them to take part, and an adult looking after them.
  • Background checks must be carried out on any adults who may be looking after children unsupervised.

Competitions, prize draws, raffles and lotteries

  • These are all great for raising money, but there are important rules about how lotteries, draws and raffles can be run.
  • You might need to apply for a licence to hold a raffle or lottery at your event.
  • Find out more from the Gambling Commission.
  • You can’t sell tickets to anyone under 16.
  • Online raffles, lotteries and prize draws are also subject to rules and regulations. Your local council can give you more guidance.

Licences and insurance

  • If you’re holding an in-person event involving the public, you’ll need Public Liability Insurance. We can’t accept any responsibility for your event, and it won’t be covered by Mind’s insurance.
  • Make sure you’ve got any licences you need from your local authority. For example:
    • A gambling licence for certain raffles or prize draws
    • A public entertainment licence to put on entertainment (like music, dancing or a film screening) at a venue that doesn’t already have a licence
    • A licence to sell alcohol
    • A licence to collect money in a public place.

Using Mind’s brand

  • Make sure you only use Mind-branded fundraising materials (like posters, collection boxes, or banners) for fundraising that you’ve already registered with us. Please don’t use them for any other activities without letting us know first.
  • Please refer to your activity as ‘in aid of Mind’ rather than ‘on Mind’s behalf’, as you’re an independent supporter.
  • If you’d like to use Mind’s logo to help advertise your fundraising, please get in touch with us first. We’ve got some important house rules around how our logo can be used, so make sure to contact us before putting it on your fundraising materials, website or social media.
  • Double check you’re using the national Mind brand and not your local Mind’s. Each local Mind is a separate charity which does their own fundraising with a different logo and charity number. Find out more about local Minds.

Collecting money

If you’re going to collect money, get in touch with us first. We’ll take you through the basics and send you collection tins and seals. The key things to remember are:

  • You have to be 18 in London or 16 everywhere else to collect money.
  • Anyone under the age of 18 wishing to collect donations in public (for example with a bucket collection or contactless machine) must be accompanied by an adult at all times.
  • If you’re planning a collection on private property (like a shop or train station) you need permission from the owner.
  • You need permission from your local council or the police to collection donations on the street or other public property.
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