Fundraising FAQs
Thank you for choosing to fundraise in support of UNICEF!
Fundraisers like you play a crucial part in our work for children around the world, so we want to do whatever we can to support you.
Below you’ll find some of the most commonly asked questions we get about fundraising. If you still have a question or can’t find the information on our website, please do get in touch.
General questions about fundraising
Thank you for your interest in raising money for UNICEF. The first step to fundraising is choosing your idea. Whether you’re looking for a sporty challenge, want to put your skills or hobbies to use, or just bring everyone together for a bit of fun, there’s something for everyone. Check out our fundraising ideas page for inspiration.
Please make sure to review and agree to our volunteer fundraiser terms and conditions before fundraising.
As long as your event is legal, supports child rights and is safe to yourself and others, you can do absolutely anything you like to fundraise. People fundraise in truly creative and wonderful ways – the wackier the better! Any idea is a good one, big or small. Every penny raised helps us make a difference to the lives of children around the world.
Yes of course, we’d love for you to fundraise but please make sure your parent/guardian reviews and accepts our volunteer fundraiser terms and conditions and takes responsibility for ensuring your fundraising is safe and legal.
When you fundraise for us, you’re doing so as a supporter of UNICEF UK, raising money for UNICEF’s work for children around the world. This means you should say you’re fundraising ‘in support of’ UNICEF.
The easiest way to raise money and promote your fundraiser is by setting up a JustGiving page. Simply head to justgiving.com/unicef to get started. Read our JustGiving page guide to success.
If you need any help with your page, check out JustGiving’s help section.
The easiest way to fundraise for a special occasion is to create a JustGiving page – you can personalise your page and it’s a quick and easy way for loved ones to donate.
The UNICEF name and logo is not able to be reproduced or copied and we’re unable to grant permission for the logo to be used. Please use our templated fundraising materials to promote your fundraising.
Simply add /qrcode at the end of your unique JustGiving page link and your QR code will appear. Screenshot this on your phone or computer to make sure you always have it to hand. Add the QR code to our editable fundraising posters, and print and add to local notice boards, village halls, coffee shops etc. People can then scan the code and donate securely to your page.
Holding a charity bucket collection is an easy way to raise funds to support our work. Please follow our guidelines to keep your fundraising safe and legal. Please note that we do not permit street or door-to-door collections (face-to-face fundraising).
We do not send out collection tins or buckets, however we can send you a collection bucket label for you to print at home and use on your own bucket. This helps us reduce costs and is kinder to the environment. Please contact us to request a label, including your name, address and information about your collection. Please allow 2 weeks for us to respond to your request.
A letter of authorisation outlines that we are aware of, and support, your fundraising. You may need a letter like this if you plan to collect on private property or organise a static collection.
To get one of these letters you need to contact us and tell us your name, address and what you are doing to fundraise. Once we have reviewed and approved your activity, we will email you a letter and collection label for you to print at home. Please allow 2 weeks for us to respond to your request.
We encourage fundraisers to source their own prizes for raffles and auctions. Unfortunately, we are unable to support your efforts in obtaining these prizes. If you would like to secure raffle or auction prizes, you can approach local businesses or organisations asking them to donate items.
Please read our legal guidelines when holding a raffle or auction as well as guidance from the Gambling Commission | How to run a lottery or fundraiser
Please see our downloadable graphics to use on your fundraising page.
Schools can get involved in any area of UNICEF fundraising. You can hold your own event, or get involved with campaigning.
UNICEF ensures more of the world’s children are vaccinated, educated and protected than any other organisation, however we’re not running a specific fundraising appeal for vaccinations this year, including the Get a Jab, Give a Jab initiative.
We’d still love for you to fundraise to support our vital work for children everywhere. Head to our fundraising hub for everything you need to get started.
Questions about organising an event
Please check out our full suite of downloadable fundraising materials which you can print at home. Unfortunately, we are unable to supply physical stock items to support your event.
If you’re unable to use these materials or have a more specific request, please contact us and we’ll do our best to help.
T-shirts and breathable sports vests are available. We provide one t-shirt/vest per fundraising event. For additional t-shirts/vests, we ask that fundraisers make a donation of £7.00 per item. If you would like to place an order for additional t-shirts/vests please contact us via phone on 0300 330 5580.
When you’re organising a fundraising event of any kind it’s important to identify potential risks so that everyone involved stays healthy and safe. It’s good practice to complete a risk assessment form – this will help you identify and deal with any risks to people taking part in your event. Also please be aware that if you are holding a large-scale event in a public place you may need to get public liability insurance for your event.
Please visit our guidance on health and safety and how to keep your fundraising legal.
We can’t accept any responsibility for your event or anyone who participates in it and your event will not be covered by our insurance if anything goes wrong.
For guidance on the behavioural standards required of all fundraisers, please see: Behaviour when fundraising | Fundraising Regulator
Questions about challenge events
We’re not currently offering charity places for 2023 challenge events. Please keep an eye on our challenge page for updates about our 2024 challenge offering.
If you’ve secured your own place in a challenge event and would like to fundraise for us – welcome to #TeamUNICEF! Please contact us to let us know about your place. We’ll then send you a UNICEF t-shirt/breathable vest in the post and send you fundraising tips and advice via email to help you raise as much as you can for children.
For additional shirts/vests, we ask that fundraisers make a donation of £7.00 per shirt. If you would like to order t-shirts please contact us via phone on 0300 330 5580 so we can arrange for this to be processed.
Questions about how we can support your fundraising
We’re unable to promote individual fundraising events but can offer advice on how to promote your fundraising event.
UNICEF works in more than 190 countries responding to emergencies and building long-term resilience. We save children’s lives with vaccines, clean water, and therapeutic food. We protect children from violence, exploitation, and abuse. We empower children through quality education. And we seek to create a safe and sustainable world where children can live, learn and grow. Discover more about what we do.
Please visit our About Us page. You can also visit our YouTube account where you’ll find videos about our work. If you would like more information about fundraising you can visit the fundraising area of our website.
Our staff aim to spend as much time as possible helping children, so unfortunately are unable to attend your fundraising event. However, we can help you by providing a statement that you can read aloud, thanking everyone for their hard work and explaining how the money and donations will be spent. To receive a statement, please get in touch.
UNICEF ambassadors are high-profile people who support our work. As high-profile people, our ambassadors have huge demands on their time and many commitments. Therefore, it is not possible for any ambassador to attend fundraising events.
Absolutely! Take a look at our YouTube channel where you will find lots of short films to help you highlight and promote our work and your fundraising. We’re unable to send hard copies of these videos through the post.
Questions about collecting and sending in money
If you’re taking part in a sponsored event such as a walk, run or cycle, the best way to get people to donate money is to set up an online JustGiving fundraising page. It’s really easy to set up and the funds come directly to us. You can then send a link to your page to all your family and friends.
We accept donations in cash, by cheque or BACS (bank transfer). Find out how to send your money in. If you set up an online fundraising page to raise money, then you don’t need to do anything further. The funds from your page will come directly to us.
Once your donation has reached us, it could take a few weeks for us to process it. When it has been processed, we will send you a thank you letter. This letter acts as a receipt of your donation.
If you have a question about your donation, please get in touch.
If you’ve set up a page via JustGiving or Enthuse, the funds will automatically come directly to us. If you’ve set up a page via Go Fund Me or Crowdfunder, funds will only automatically come directly to us if you’ve selected ‘UNICEF UK’ as your chosen charity otherwise you will need to get in touch to let us know about your fundraising page so we can discuss how to send your funds in.
As a registered charity, we can claim back an extra 25p on every £1 donated to us in Gift Aid. If your supporters/sponsors are UK tax payers, please encourage them to tick the Gift Aid box when they donate, either using your sponsorship form or online fundraising page. This will increase their donation to us by an extra 25% at no extra cost to them.
Please note – we’re unable to claim Gift Aid on donations made in return for tickets (raffles, events and auctions).
Questions about how money is spent
UNICEF is the leading organisation working for children. We ensure more of the world’s children are vaccinated, educated and protected than any other organisation. We’ve done more to influence laws and policies to help protect children than anyone else. From a life-saving vaccine to school books in a rural village classroom, the money you raise could protect a child from dangers like disease and abuse, and help them grow up safe and healthy.
UNICEF receives no money from the UN budget, so we rely entirely on charitable donations like yours to fund our vital work to protect children, transform their lives and build a better world for all children, everywhere.
It doesn’t matter how much you raise £10 or £100 every single penny helps children around the world.
We aim to reach the children who need the most help and who are the hardest to reach, like children who live in remote areas or ethnic communities, and so we really encourage your donations to be ‘unrestricted’. This means that you are not restricting what project or country your fundraising and donations are spent on. It also helps our work to be more efficient by reducing our administration costs, making your money and donations reach more children.
Unrestricted funding also helps us to respond quickly, wherever and whenever disaster strikes. Children are always hardest hit by emergencies, losing their lives, parents, homes and schools, and so it is vital that we help them as soon as possible.
If you’d like to fundraise for a specific emergency appeal, the easiest way to do this to set up an online fundraising page. Find out more about how to fundraise in emergencies.