Fundraising with people in vulnerable circumstances

We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to donate and we recognise that our supporters are individuals with different needs. We do not treat anyone differently based on any of these personal protected characteristics:

• age

• disability

• gender

• gender reassignment

• marital status or civil partnership

• pregnancy and maternity

• race

• religion or belief

• sexual orientation

Complying with regulations and best practice

We follow the Institute of Fundraising’s guidance on treating donors fairly. We also comply with relevant rules and standards in the Fundraising Regulator’s Code of Fundraising Practice.

For information about our general fundraising practices, go to our supporter promise.

Procedures

Institute of Fundraising guidance

Everyone involved in fundraising for the University should read – and act in line with – the Institute of Fundraising’s guidance on treating donors fairly.

Identifying vulnerable people

‘Vulnerable’ refers to adults who cannot, either temporarily or permanently, make an informed decision about donating money to us.

A number of factors can contribute to vulnerability. According to the Institute of Fundraising, these could include: 

• disabilities

• financial status

• learning difficulties

• physical and mental medical conditions

• speaking English as a foreign language

• the influence of alcohol or drugs

• times of stress or anxiety, such as bereavement or redundancy

For more information, go to the Institute of Fundraising’s guidance on treating donors fairly.

Guidance on indicators of vulnerability

We cannot provide a full list of factors or characteristics that indicate vulnerability. We follow the guidance from the Institute of Fundraising. Indications to consider include:

• asking irrelevant and unrelated questions, or displaying signs of forgetfulness

• being unable to read and understand information, and asking for it to be continually repeated

• responding in an irrational way to simple questions

• saying ‘yes’ or ‘no’ at times when it is clear they haven’t understood

• taking a long time to respond, or struggling to respond to simple questions or requests for information

• repeating simple questions such as ‘who are you?’ ‘what charity is it?’ and ‘what do you want?’

• wandering off the subject at hand and making contradictory statements

• saying they are not well or not in the mood to continue

• displaying signs of ill health like breathlessness, or making signs of exasperation or discontent

• giving a statement such as ‘I don’t usually do things like this, my husband, wife, son or daughter takes care of it for me’

• indicating in any way that they are feeling rushed, flustered, or experiencing a stressful situation

• having trouble remembering relevant information, for example that they are already a regular donor or have recently donated

• donating an unexpectedly large gift with no previous relationship. However, this does not always signal vulnerability. We receive many legacy and major gifts from donors with no existing relationship. 

Meeting the needs of vulnerable people

If we suspect that a donor lacks the capacity to make a decision about a donation, we follow this guidance from the regulator’s Code of Fundraising Practice.

“If a fundraiser knows or has reasonable grounds for believing that an individual lacks the capacity to make a decision to donate, a donation must not be taken.”

Refunding donations made in vulnerable circumstances

The regulator’s Code of Fundraising Practice states that “a donation given by someone who lacked capacity at the time of donating must be returned.”

If we receive a donation from a vulnerable person, despite having followed best practice, we’ll return it to the donor. In some cases, we’ll return it to a designated person or family member.