Acceptance and Refusal of Donations Policy

1. Introduction 
   • As with any charity, raising money is crucial (in our case in order to support free legal advice), so we endeavour not to return donations. However, there will often be other considerations that are more important.  The monetary value of a donation may not be worth the cost and potential loss of public trust and confidence in the charity, or a detrimental impact to the reputation of the charity.  It may also conflict with the ethics and values of the charity leading to a negative impact or loss of support in the future. 
   • Accordingly, this policy seeks to ensure that the best interests of the charity (and those we support) are always prioritised. It sets out guidelines for accepting and refusing donations (both monetary and otherwise).  In doing so, the policy necessarily relies on matters of judgement.  In order to guide us in exercising that judgement we have adopted a set of standards outlined in this policy. 
   • By outlining our guiding principles for the acceptance and refusal of donations and/or for entering into corporate partnership agreements, our aim is to ensure that all donations to the charity serve to reinforce our objectives.
   • The policy also seeks to ensure that all donations are properly received, recorded and administered using appropriate internal controls, and comply with relevant external regulations.
   • The policy applies to all solicited and unsolicited donations to the charity whether from individuals, trusts, foundations, companies, community groups or government agencies in the UK and overseas. Donations cover financial and non-financial contributions of any kind including partnering arrangements, whether actual or prospective. 
   • By its nature, the policy will not cover every possible situation and should therefore be considered non-exhaustive. In such circumstances, the charity will follow the spirit of the principles set out in this policy in making any determination.
2. General reasons for declining donations or similar opportunities
   • As a charity, we have a duty not to decline donations which would help us achieve our charitable objectives without good reasons for doing so.
   • When making a determination, we will consider the extent to which a potential partner has taken positive steps to mitigate or resolve past issues of concern which we have drawn to their attention.
   • Where a donation is offered with conditional terms, we will decline if meeting those terms would be detrimental to our charitable purposes, would incur material additional expense, or where it would not be possible or commercially practicable to meet those terms.
   • In some cases, we must decline donations due to legal or regulatory obligations – or return donations where we consider that keeping them would not comply with the charity’s objectives or other commitments.

• Donations are not accepted from supporters who appear to us to lack legal capacity to make informed decisions regarding their contributions. In the event of discovering after acceptance that a supporter or funder did not have such capacity to make a decision to donate, we will take every reasonable step to return it. 
• Within those general considerations we will generally decline to accept donations in the following circumstances:
  • Donations which are considered to be high risk.
  • Donations from specific industries or activities which conflict with our charitable objectives.

These categories are addressed below. 

3. Donations which are considered to be high risk
   • We will generally consider refusing donations in the following circumstances:
     • Donations made anonymously: donations over £500.00 made anonymously or by third parties on behalf of a donor who wishes to remain anonymous, where the giving person or vehicle also cannot be verified.
     • Unusual circumstances: any donation with unusual conditions, payment methods or currency, or unsolicited large gifts or other suspicious activity which cannot be satisfactorily investigated and verified.  In this respect suspicious donations totalling £25,000 or over need to be reported to the Charity Commission as a serious incident.  These will be flagged on the day of receipt, so it can be decided if the donation requires reviewing. 
     • Court action: if we become aware that a Court has recently taken action against a donor in the civil or criminal courts, and this action has resulted in the donor having a criminal record or being found in any court to have acted dishonestly (including recklessly).  All such instances will be judged on a case-by-case basis. 
     • Where we have reasonable grounds for believing that:
       • the donor individual or organisation holds and/or is publicly associated with views or activities incompatible with our objectives as a charity or the viability or efficacy of our fundraising activities;
       • the donation may be an attempted scam or to launder money or evade tax or is in some other way illegal or unlawful (for the avoidance of doubt when considering our approach to money laundering we will work within the relevant regulatory and statutory guidance included in the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, The Terrorism Act 2000, The Money Laundering Regulations 2007, and The Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 and all applicable sanctions laws and regulations);
       • there may be some unacceptable private benefit linked to the donation, such as obligation on the charity to purchase goods or services from the specified donor.

4. Donations from specific industries or activities which conflict with our charitable objectives
   • We will generally not accept donations, support or offers of any arrangements (including corporate sponsorship, match giving for any employee or like financial support) from any of the following businesses:
     • Adult entertainment operations: meaning any enterprise to which the public, patrons or members are invited or admitted and where “adult entertainment” as that expression as commonly understood is a regular and substantial portion of the business.
     • Arms manufacturers or sellers: any organisation or individual where we are reasonably aware that their core business is the manufacture or sale of arms and/or ammunitions or where their public profile is associated with such activities. 
     • Gambling or betting agencies: meaning any organisation or individual engaged in activities defined as gambling under the Gambling Act 2005 or any organisation or individual who facilitates such activities. 
     • High interest lenders or payday lenders: any organisation or individual involved in the provision of loans with an annual percentage rate or APR over 36% and/or which is involved in the provision of lending to customers at such rates and/or on the agreement that the loan will be repaid when the borrower next receives a regular wage or salary. 
     • Tobacco industries: due to the proven link between tobacco use and disease (particularly of the heart), any organisation or individual that manufactures tobacco products and/or which is commonly considered to be part of the tobacco industry. 
     • Businesses directly supporting (including financially, logistically and representationally) legally determined crimes against humanity: any organisation or individual where we are reasonably aware that they have provided practical or other support, whether financial, organisational, reputational or otherwise, to any other organisation, person or entity which has been legally determined by a recognised Court or Tribunal to have committed a crime against humanity. 
     • Businesses or individuals in relation to which the Charity Commission has recommended that charities such as ours should not engage or be associated with.
   • For the avoidance of doubt, we would generally treat any subsidiary or parent company or company under the common control of any such business listed in paragraph 4.1 above, as well as any philanthropic foundation or other organisation closely linked with any such businesses, in the same way as we would treat those businesses themselves.
   • Notwithstanding the above policies, if any employee (not being a director or part of executive management) of any such company, business or organisation wishes to support and donate to the charity from personal efforts, including participating in the London Legal Walk or other events, and in their personal capacity, then this will be acceptable provided they agree not in the course of doing so to take any steps to publicise or draw attention to their employment or employer. This reflects the balance that we draw between protecting the charity from loss and/or reputational harm whilst potentially engaging in discrimination of individuals based on the company or business they work for (in a position outside of executive management). 
5. Returning donations
   • Consistent with our charitable objectives, we will endeavour not to return donations from supporters who are not vulnerable and appear to have legal capacity. Our first action will be to try to repurpose the donation with the donor’s permission.  However, if returning the money becomes necessary, in accordance with our policies, then we will adopt the following process:
     • We will discuss the position as fully as the law and regulation permits with the donor.
     • If necessary, we will seek to agree a media strategy with the donor failing which adopt one of our own, to deal with any potential negative interest.
     • We will document the decision-making processes that have been followed.
     • We will decide who is the appropriate person within the charity to communicate the decision to the donor, and the level of information that we believe is reasonably required to be supplied in the circumstances to support that decision.

6. Responsibility for the policy and implementation of its terms

Ultimate responsibility for this policy and for all decisions relating to the acceptance and refusal of donations rests with the Trustees of the charity.  If there is a suggestion that a donation should be refused, or there is any doubt or question about the acceptance of a donation, this will be referred to the Head of Events and Fundraising who will consult with the charity’s CEO and/or relevant trustees.

Approved by:                 Trustees

Date of approval:           22 November 2023

Date of last review:        12 January 2026

Date of next review:       January 2027