9.Online fundraising platforms
Donation pages can be on a charitable institution’s own website or on an online fundraising platform (for example, on another organisation’s website). If a charitable institution’s own website directs donors to an online fundraising platform that charges fees (including payment transaction fees) for each donation, they should make sure those fees, and how they are charged, are clear.
Money raised through online fundraising platforms may go:
- direct to a charitable institution;
- to a fundraiser (or fundraisers) to pass on to a registered charitable institution; or
- to a beneficiary who is not a charitable institution.
Some online fundraising platforms fall within the definition of a professional fundraiser or commercial participator. Section 6 Fundraising partnerships explains the standards they must follow.
This section sets out the standards we expect from online fundraising platforms to make sure fundraising is responsible, clear about fees and in line with the code.
As well as the standards below, online fundraising platforms should see the following sections of the code.
- For more standards on processing donations, see section 3 Processing donations.
- For more standards on the relationship between charitable institutions and those carrying out fundraising activities through online fundraising platforms, see section 4 Volunteers and section 10 Events.
9.1 Responsibilities of online fundraising platforms
In this section, ‘you’ means an online fundraising platform.
General standards
You must take all reasonable steps to make sure charitable fundraising on your platform is carried out responsibly. This includes:
- keeping up to date with the code and guidance that we provide;
- following relevant guidance for fundraising platforms;
- removing inappropriate charitable fundraising campaigns; and
- responding appropriately to reasonable requests from charitable institutions.
You must provide users with an easy-to‑access link to our guidance for those setting up a fundraising page before they can accept donations on your platform. Users must agree to keep to relevant sections of the code as a condition of using your platform.
If necessary, this will allow you to suspend a user if their page breaks the code.
Fees for hosting a fundraising campaign
Most fundraising tools and platforms will charge a fee, either to the charitable institution or the donor, as part of their business model. Whether this is a fixed amount for each donation, a percentage of the donation or Gift Aid, a subscription by the charity, or an additional payment by the donor, information about these fees and how they are calculated must be clear and easy to find.
If you charge fees for hosting a fundraising campaign, you must make sure the following information is clearly visible to donors before you ask for their financial details.
- How your fee will be calculated (for example, as a percentage of the Gift Aid on the donation, or as a fixed charge for each donation).
- How much you will receive from their donation. (If you don’t know the exact amount at the time of donation, give an example that shows how much you receive on a representative donation of, for example, £10.)
- How your fee can be amended or removed, if this is possible. If the fee can be removed, you must offer a straightforward way for users to do this.
You need to meet all legal requirements that apply to you as an online fundraising platform. These include, but are not limited to, the following.
Data protection: In the UK, The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the lead regulator for data protection. It can provide the most up‑to‑date information on how to keep to the following.
- Data Protection Act 2018
- The UK General Data Protection Regulations (UK GDPR)
- The Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR)
Financial services laws and regulations: The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is responsible for financial services laws and regulations and provides guidance about this