frequently
asked questions

Appealing to parents, the school community, and local businesses is a fantastic and increasingly popular way to raise the funds needed for those ongoing projects and “nice to haves” that make school such an enjoyable place to work and learn - especially when current budgets may only stretch just enough to cover the education provision. Unsurprisingly though, fundraising can quickly become a time-consuming and costly process.

DonateMySchool - as the UK’s first and only dedicated crowdfunding platform for state schools - is making it simple for schools like yours to fund one-off inspirational projects such as a stunning new IT suite or collect regular donations for things like school trips and classroom equipment.

We take out all the hard work for you, including:

• We provide a full suite of tools to help spread the word of your campaign
• A dedicated campaign webpage including photos and even a video
• Easy, one-click social media sharing including Facebook and Twitter
• A bespoke double sided campaign leaflet to print off and distribute
• Real-time tracking and reporting on your campaign’s progress
• We even collect Gift Aid on your behalf - which can boost qualifying donations by 25%.

Of course, designing a webpage to spread the word about a fundraising campaign is relatively straightforward. However, working with DonateMySchool offers many advantages, saving you and your colleagues significant time and money.

Using our highly automated platform, DonateMySchool provides a comprehensive end-to-end service for your fundraising campaign:

• To meet Inland Revenue guidelines on fraud prevention, the ID of every donator should be verified so that you know where your money is coming from. When an individual registers on our platform, we do this automatically for you - and at no additional cost.
• You are provided with a suite of tools and media for your campaign. You can provide details of your school and its fundraising campaign; upload suitable images, and even a video so that you can tell your audience how funds will be used.
• We provide all the tools that you need to spread the word about your fundraising campaign:
  • We give you a bespoke campaign webpage with a unique URL so that your audience can find details of your fundraise easily.
  • Each campaign page includes a PDF leaflet that can easily be printed off and distributed with no additional work.
  • And we also give you a simple one click button to spread the news of your campaign on all the main social media platforms, including Facebook and Twitter.
• We provide a payment gateway from one of the UK’s leading providers, Sagepay, so that everyone can make donations safely, and securely.
• If you want to collect regular donations your community can simply tick a box and we do the rest - no need for to set up cumbersome Standing Orders or costly Direct Debits.
• For your assurance, all donations are held in our ring-fenced client bank account at Barclays, in accordance with FCA guidelines.
• DonateMySchool submits reports to the Inland Revenue and collects Gift Aid on your behalf - you don’t need to do anything.

What is more, your campaign on DonateMySchool.com DonateMySchool.com could be up and running in a matter of just a few minutes - leaving you free to deliver an outstanding learning experience.

Whilst your school or PTA does not have to be a registered charity, if it is we can collect Gift Aid on your behalf that could boost donations by 25%.

Yes. We make it simple for you to register on our secure website and your campaign could be live in a matter of minutes.

There are two parts to the registration process and we require information for each:

1. The individual who completes the registration on behalf of the school.

DonateMySchool will undertake a simple check to verify the ID of the person registering the campaign on behalf of the school in accordance with government and FCA requirements. We do NOT carry out a credit check, and no entry will be recorded on your credit file. We do not access any personal data or information – we simply check that you are who you say you are. In order to complete this simple check, we ask you to provide:

• Your full name
• Your home address
• Your date of birth
2. The school on behalf of which you are registering a campaign.

InvestMySchool requires some information in order to undertake requisite due diligence:

• The type of organisation that you are registering on behalf of e.g. a school or academy, a Multi-Academy Trust, or a PTA or Friends association
• The school name, address and website
• If a Multi-Academy Trust is selected then the details of that Trust, including name and address
• If a PTA or friends association is selected then the name of that association
• The Registered Charity number, if applicable
• The company number (for example, for an Academy) if registered at Companies House.

Our secure platform makes it easy for you to upload your school’s logo, photos and appeal text to create a great looking webpage for your fundraising campaign. You can even provide a video to tell your audience about your school’s campaign.

You will need to provide:

1. A campaign name
2. The fundraising goal
3. To populate your campaign detail, the more information you can provide to tell your story, the better. This should include:
• A description of your campaign and how the money will be used – up to 2,500 characters
• Images – a main image, school logo, and a gallery of (for example) project images
• An optional link to a campaign video uploaded to Youtube. This is optional and if you choose not to provide a video you can still launch your campaign – or choose to add it later!

Anyone! The more people that you tell about your campaign, the more likely you are to reach your target, and faster. Tell them how much you are looking to raise, and how the funds will be used and how they can contribute.

This useful mindmap could help you to idenitfy the breadth and depth of the school community to reach out to:

DonateMySchool provides you with all the tools to reach out to your school’s community as you choose. Your school will have its own webpage with a unique URL. We also provide you with a two-sided A5 PDF leaflet that can be printed and distributed by hand or post. Each campaign page has social media buttons that make it easy for anyone to tell their own network about the fundraising campaign or their donation with just one click.

DonateMySchool provides your school with all the tools required to spread the message:

• A dedicated campaign webpage with a unique URL
• Instant one-click sharing across all the major social media platforms
• A bespoke double-sided A5 leaflet to print off and share

Each school will have its own methods of communicating with its community and it is important that every means available is used. For example:

• A weekly newsletter - whether that is a hard copy or email
• A dedicated email, either direct or via a popular communication service such as ParentPay or ParentMail
• Print the A5 leaflet and distribute via pupils, or post. There are plenty of online printing services. We have found www.Instantprint.co.uk to be competitive and fast.
• A PTA or Friends association can be a useful conduit to spread the word too.
• A telephone campaign to reach former pupils using a service provider such as www.teleraise.com.
• The local press – especially if you are seeking funds from the public, or local businesses
• Rotary Clubs and Round Table groups, and the local Chamber of Commerce
• Social media is especially useful – we provide the tools for your community to easily share the news of your campaign across all of the popular social media platforms - and even their donation should they choose to.

The more often the campaign is shared, the more likely the school will reach its target quicker.

DonateMySchool provides your school with all the tools required to spread the message:

• A dedicated campaign webpage with a unique URL
• Instant one-click social media sharing
• A bespoke double sided A5 leaflet to print off

Each school will have its own methods of communicating with its community and it is important that every means available is used. For example:

• A weekly newsletter - whether that is a hard copy or email
• A dedicated email, either direct or via a popular communication service such as ParentPay or ParentMail
• Print the A5 leaflet and distribute via pupils e.g. in their Book Bags. There are plenty of online printing services. We have found www.instantprint.co.uk to be competitive and fast.
• PTA or Friends associations can be a useful conduit to spread the word too.

Of course, you may wish to seek donations to your campaign from the wider community. The local press, and social media groups are useful, and it may even be worth reaching out to the local Chamber of Commerce, and Rotary or Round Table groups.

The more often the campaign is shared, then the more likely the school will reach its target quicker.

Yes, InvestMySchool provides a Q&A forum, where they can ask questions. All questions and answers are visible to all users of InvestMySchool.

A prompt response is both courteous and positive.

Your school can choose to run a campaign to accept regular donations from its community. Donators simply insert the amount that they would like to regularly donate and confirm that they would like to make a monthly donation. Their bankcard is then debited by that amount each month. If they want to change the amount that they donate, or stop donations, then they can make those changes online.

If you or your PTA are a registered charity and can supply your charity and HMRC reference number, then we can collect any Gift Aid on your behalf. This can then be paid, along with any donations, directly in to your nominated bank account.

Yes, HMRC allows agents, nominees and collection agents to make repayment claims on your behalf.

Agents, nominees and collection agents can only claim for your charity or CASC if you’ve informed HMRC that they’re authorised to represent you.

You’ll need to tell HMRC that an individual or organisation is authorised to make a claim on your behalf by completing form ChV1. Save the application form (ChV1) on your computer and complete it on screen. Include the agent’s details in the ‘Changes to the nominee and collection agency details’ section. Then print it, sign it and send it to the address on the form.

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DonateMySchool charges a competitive marketing fee of 3.0% of all donations plus any Gift Aid received through our platform. Unlike some other donation platforms, there are no additional charges for legal or bank fees.

Regular donations for on-going campaigns plus any Gift Aid are paid every month directly in to your nominated bank account. Where donations are being received for a specific project then funds will be transferred when the campaign is fully pledged.

Yes. We make it possible for you to keep track of all individual donations and how much is being raised. We are unable to provide individual donator names.

Yes. It is a requirement that charity trustees take reasonable steps to identify and verify those who make donations. DonateMySchool always verifies the identity of donators before receiving donations on your behalf.

DonateMySchool can extend your campaign term – simply advise us of your extended deadline. Alternatively, you can choose to draw down any funds raised. Please note that by registering a crowdfunding campaign on DonateMySchool, the school has made a contractual commitment to ensure that all donations provided to the school’s crowdfunding campaign will be used for the purposes set out on the crowdfunding page and other campaign material.

Yes. For example, if your campaign is funded quicker than expected and that there may be an opportunity to raise donations beyond your original target, then just let us know and we can update your campaign page accordingly. Your campaign webpage and material must clearly explain how any funds raised in excess of your original target will be used.

By registering a crowdfunding campaign on DonateMySchool, the school has made a contractual commitment to ensure that all donations provided to the school’s crowdfunding campaign will be used for the purposes set out on the crowdfunding page and other campaign material. If you choose to accept donations beyond your original campaign target then your campaign webpage and material must clearly explain how any excess funds raised will be used.

Yes. We take our responsibility seriously and fully commit to the Fundraising Promise and the Codes of Fundraising Practice.

Karadoo Finance Limited, the owner and operator of DonateMySchool, is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 777371).