Keeping your Stand Up To Cancer fundraising safe and legal

You may want to seek advice from a professional medical company like St John’s Ambulance or Red Cross if you are holding an event to raise money for us. Things to think about:

• the number of people

• type of event and risk involved

• type of people, including their ages

• location and type of venue

• how long the event lasts

• what is the weather likely to be like

• how near is it to local medical facilities

• what experience you have of similar events

• what welfare and first aid facilities are at the venue.​

If your event involves the public you will need to have Public Liability Insurance. Check with the venue first as they may already have insurance that covers your event.

For some fundraising activity you will require a licence, such as:

• alcohol or entertainment, including recorded music

• holding a raffle, lottery or auction

• doing a public money collection

• putting up banners or signs in public areas.

This list doesn’t cover everything. Please contact your local authority to check which licences you will need.

The Food standards agency provides guidelines for preparing, handling and cooking food. If you are using a caterer you need to make sure they have a Food Hygiene Certificate and Public Liability Insurance.

• to collect money in a public place, you must get permission

• to collect in the street you need a licence from the local authority, which will have some rules for your collection

• door-to-door collections are illegal without a licence. Speak to your local authority to apply for one

• to collect on private property, such as a shopping centre, you need permission from the owners of the property.

Here is some advice for handling money at fundraising events:

• where possible have two people around when money is being handled and counted

• collect cash using a secure container e.g. a sealed container for a collection or a secure cash box for change.

• when carrying money around take care. Always use a safe route and always be with someone and/or carry a personal alarm

• if you are confronted by someone demanding the money, do not put up a fight, hand them the money straight away and report the matter to the police

• put money in the bank as soon as possible.

Make sure children are properly looked after and have permission to take part from a parent or guardian. Adults looking after children should have carried out appropriate checks. See the Government's Disclosure and barring service (DBS) information for more guidance.

If you use external suppliers for equipment or services at your event, make sure you use a reputable company. Ask to see a copy of their Public Liability Insurance and risk assessment. If anything looks unsafe on the day, do not use the equipment or stop the activity.

Doing a risk assessment means looking at what could cause you or your participants harm and checking you’ve taken the necessary precautions to prevent this from happening. It's a good idea to keep a record of the risks for your event.