Policy

Fundraising Policy

Heart Research UK is committed to fundraising in an honest, transparent and ethical way. We rely on the generosity of our supporters, receiving no statutory funding, to enable our lifesaving research, education programmes and our work in communities. Our supporters are the lifeblood of the charity, and as such we treat them fairly, respectfully and with immense gratitude for all they do to take on heart diseases.

Fundraising standards  

We hold ourselves to high standards and as such we :  

  • Comply with the law as it applies to charities and fundraising 
  • Fundraise in accordance with the Code of Fundraising Practice which makes sure that all fundraising is legal, open, honest and accountable 
  • Are a member of the Fundraising Regulator and will display the Fundraising Regulator badge on fundraising materials to show that we are committed to good practice 
  • Have a clear and transparent complaints procedure in case any member of the public has concerns about how we go about raising money. We will monitor and record the number of complaints we receive each year and report this to the Fundraising Regulator as required.

Respecting our supporters  

We will always treat our supporters with respect for their rights and privacy and as such :   

  • We will act in line with all relevant legislation around personal data, including the GDPR 
  • We will never sell data to third parties 
  • We will make it easy for you to tell us how you want us to communicate with you, including how to opt out from future communications. If you do not want to be contacted in a particular way we will respect that, and will work with the Telephone, Mail and Fundraising Preference services to ensure that you do not hear from us in ways you do not wish to 
  • We will not put pressure on you to make any gift, and if you choose not to make a gift or wish to stop giving, we will respect your decision 
  • We have a policy in place for dealing with supporters who may be vulnerable 
  • We will always provide easy ways for you to contact us 
  • We will make it clear how you can contact us if you have a concern or a complaint using our complaints policy. If we make a mistake, we will apologise and do everything we can to put it right as quickly as possible. If we cannot resolve your complaint, we will accept the authority of the Fundraising Regulator to make a final adjudication

Working with third parties 

In the course of our fundraising activity we may sometimes work with third parties. When this happens we will :  

  •  Monitor the third parties to ensure that they comply with the Code of Fundraising Practice as it relates to their activity 
  • Work closely with the third party so that they behave in the same way we would with respect to how we treat our supporters. We will provide training, monitor their work, and will take action quickly if they do not meet the high standards we have set 
  • Be clear and transparent about the fact that a third party is working on our behalf 

 Working in partnership  

To achieve our goals, we will sometimes work in partnership with other organisations. We have a clear policy around the approach we take to these partnerships and the due diligence we undertake before we enter into any partnership agreement.   

Gambling  

Heart Research UK is committed to ensure that information about gambling responsibly and how to access support and information about problem gambling is readily available to our supporters. 

 Accepting and refusing gifts  

Financial support from individuals and companies is vital to us achieving our goals and as such we welcome gifts from and partnerships with a number of individuals and organisations. In exceptional circumstances, however, it may be necessary for us to refuse an offer of financial support if accepting it would go against our aims and objectives, compromise our independence, or threaten our reputation.   

In deciding to accept or refuse a gift, we will refer to the following external guidance :   

In line with the Charity Commission guidance, donations over £25,000 where Heart Research UK cannot identify the donor are reported to the Charity Commission as a Serious Incident. The Charity Commission is clear, however, the charities are free to accept anonymous donations where there are no suspicious circumstances.  

 We will follow the principle of “know your donor” to ensure that support is not received that may be linked to, or the proceeds of, criminal activity.   

Heart Research UK is happy to accept donations which are restricted to a specific area of our work, and will account for income and expenditure recognising restricted funds. However, we may refuse donations with restrictions that cannot be met, but will always seek to communicate with the donor (or the executor of a Will in the case of a legacy donation), taking advice from the Charity Commission if appropriate.  

 Spending your donations wisely 

 We are grateful for every single donation, and promise to spend your donations wisely. It is important to us to be open and transparent about where your money goes :  

  •  Our annual accounts are provided to the Charity Commission each year, and detail our income and expenditure for the previous financial year 
  • We are able to explain our fundraising costs and demonstrate how they are in the best interests of the cause 
  • We do what we say we are going to do with donations we receive, and provide updates to supporters who opt in to our communications about the work their donations have made happen

Further information 

 You can view our Privacy Policy, which is regularly reviewed and updated if necessary, here.  

 

You can contact us with any questions by calling us on 0113 234 7474, emailing info@heartresearch.org.uk or writing to us at the following address :   

Heart Research UK
Suite 12D 
Joseph’s Well
Leeds
LS3 1AB 

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