CHARITABLE COLLECTIONS
Do I need permission to collect, money
or articles, from house to house for a charity?
Do I need permission to
collect money in the street for charity?
Do I need a licence for a raffle to raise
money for a charity or a good cause?
Do I need permission to collect, money or articles, from house
to house for a charity?
Yes. A licence is required by anyone collecting money or selling
aricles from door-to-door for charitable purposes and it is an
offence to hold a collection without one.
An applicant may be expected to
provide evidence of their integrity and the bona fide nature of the
charity for whom they are collecting before permission is granted.
This is normally by the applicant consenting to a check of their
antecedents with the local police and providing details of
registration of the parent charity with the Charity Commission.
Where either of these checks are not possible, alternative
provisions may apply on an individual basis.
Do I need permission to collect
money in the street for charity?
Yes. The requirements are
similar to those given above for house- to-house
collections.
A street collection programme is
in operation and the Havant Borough is divided into five areas;
Havant, Waterlooville, Leigh Park, Emsworth
and Hayling Island. This ensures the smooth running of
collections and avoids more than one charity collecting in the
same area on any one day.
Saturdays are very popular
therefore it is advised to contact the Licensing Department early
with proposed dates and areas before submission of an applicaiton
form to avoid disappointment.
Do I need a licence for a raffle to raise money for a charity
or a good cause?
It depends whether the proposed event is considered a lottery
and to whom and where tickets will be sold. A lottery is a
game of chance used to raise money for a club, society or charity
and it is an offence to run one without a licence. Money
raised must be for good causes and not for private or commercial
gain.
If you answer
YES to the following questions, then your proposal
is a lottery (if any of the questions are answered
NO, it is not a lottery and no licence is
necessary).
- Will there be a distribution of a
prize/prizes?
- Will the winner(s) be drawn by
chance and not skill?
- Will the people taking part make a
payment/consideration for a chance to win a/the prize?
For Havant Borough Council's
purposes, there are three sorts of lotteries; a small lottery as an
entertainment event, a private lottery and a society's
lottery. All have different rules to comply with so it is
important to establish whether a licence is required.
- Small Lottery - Cloakroom tickets
sold at an event, eg; dinner dance, disco, fete etc. People
attending must be there for the event and not just for the draw.
Ticket sales and the draw must take place during the event and
proceeds must not be used for private gain. No more than £250 can
be spent on buying prizes and no cash prizes are permitted.
THIS DOES NOT REQUIRE LICENSING.
- Private Lottery -
Tickets sold only to members of an existing club/society
or to persons who either work or reside on the same premises.
Tickets must show the price, name and address of the promoter and
"Sale of tickets is restricted to... (fill in eg; Members of ...
/Employees of ... /Residents of ... ) " and "No prize won in
this lottery shall be paid or delivered by the promoters to an
person other than the person to whom the winning ticket was sold by
them". All proceeds from a work or residence lottery must be
given out as prizes. All proceeds from a club or
society lottery must either be spent on prizes or used for
purposes of that club or society. THIS DOES NOT REQUIRE
LICENSING.
- Society Lottery - Sale of tickets
to the public, therefore controls are more strict and THIS DOES
REQUIRE LICENSING. You must register your society, to do this
there is an application form and fee charged, and submit
a lottery scheme which has been approved at a
meeting of the management committee of your club. Tickets
must show name of club or society, name and address of the
promotor, the date of the draw when the winners will be announced,
price of the ticket (maximum £1.00), the ticket number and the
"Registered with Havant Borough Council". No one under
sixteen may buy or sell tickets and no more than 55% of total
ticket income may be given out as prizes with no more than 35%
of total ticket income being used to pay the expenses of the
lottery. For further information please contact the Licensing
Department, details on our main page.
Link to application
forms for society lotteries>>