The Students’ Union provides support for your sports club and society charitable fundraising events and activities.
If you are a charity looking for volunteers to support your event or charity please check out the UWE Volunteering pages.
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Awesome! Fundraising is a great way to help good causes (even if that’s your own society or degree show), gain new skills and can be a great excuse to hold brilliant student events.
Have a look at some of the following FAQs for ideas and inspiration. Then, if you’re hoping to run an event, fill out an Event Booking Form and select that your event will be a fundraising event, and ensure you complete a Risk Assessment that reflects this.
Here are a few examples of events that students have held in the past and ones that we can support you in organising, feel free to borrow/adapt any of them. But it doesn’t stop there… use your imagination, the list is endless!
Yes! Any student can book a fundraising stall for free.
To request the space email thestudentsunion@uwe.ac.uk, and let us know the date and time you’d like the stall, what you’ll be doing at the stall and who any money taken will be going to.
We’ll get back to you to let you know if it’s available, so please wait until you hear from us before you spend time preparing, as the stall often gets booked up.
There are sometimes spaces available at the Frenchay Farmers’ Market, which is held once a month during term time. To request a farmers’ market stall space please email thestudentsunion@uwe.ac.uk at least 3 weeks in advance. We’ll get back to you to let you know whether there’s space.
Stalls are also available on other campuses, please pop into the SU office there or email union@uwe.ac.uk to enquire about booking one there.
Yes you can! Here’s what you need to know first:
Cake sales are very popular on campus, but there can be cake sale overload and they’re not always the best way to raise funds. Consider the time and money that you have to put in against the money you’re likely to make. Have you thought about a raffle, game, tombola, craft sale instead? Or come and see us for more ideas. If you really do want to do a cake sale, what could you add to it to make it interesting or different?
When you ‘sell’ cakes on campus to raise funds you can only ask for a suggested donation, and must make this clear on any signs or whenever people ask. This is to comply with the law, so technically someone could choose to donate 1p for a cake if that’s all they thought it was worth. Don’t worry though, most people are far more generous when they know it’s for charity!
This is sometimes a tricky one as we have to respect health and safety guidelines and can’t compete directly with the food outlets on campus. Please contact us at thestudentsunion@uwe.ac.uk to discuss this one.
Yes, there are certain rules and regulations that you have to comply with by law, but we can help you with these. Usually, if you’re selling tickets and drawing the winners within the same day and in one place, and as long as you don’t spend more than £250 on prizes, then you should not need a license.
Everyone must pay the same price for a ticket, no one gets a special offer or a free go.
If you are planning on a longer sell time, drawing the winners on a separate day, selling raffle tickets in various locations or online, or are planning to have very high-value prizes you may need a license from the local council. This usually costs £40 and takes a few weeks to arrive. We may be able to help you apply for this.
As long as you comply with these rules it’s ok to raffle alcohol but it must be in its original sealed container and the person who comes to collect the prize must be over 18 and must show you a valid ID.
Please let us know if you are planning to hold a raffle on campus or run one with your society/club/network.
You’ll need a collection permit from Bristol City Council (if you’re hoping to collect in open public space) or from the owners if you’re hoping to collect on College Green, in the Galleries or in Cabot Circus, as these are privately owned. If you’re an SU club/soc/network we can apply for on your behalf, or help you apply. Permits need to be applied for at least a month in advance, but often even further ahead in order to get a slot, especially near Christmas.
Once you’ve obtained a permit there are specific rules you must follow including where and how you can collect, how to count the money and information that you must send the council following your collection. These will be stated when you receive your permit.
You’ll need to carry sealed collection buckets, which we can lend you. For your safety and security, and to avoid any accusations of missing money, please keep the collection buckets sealed after your collection and make an appointment to come to The Students' Union at U-Block, Frenchay Campus to count the money and pay it in.
You can collect in certain areas on campus, but please email us at thestudentsunion@uwe.ac.uk to get permission at least two weeks in advance as we’ll need to check with the relevant areas on your behalf. You’ll need to carry sealed collection buckets, which we can lend you. For your safety and security, and to avoid any accusations of missing money, please keep the collection buckets sealed after your collection and make an appointment to come to The Students' Union at U-Block, Frenchay Campus to count the money and pay it in.
These can all be great places to hold really profitable collections. You’ll need permission from the owner of the venue, so get in touch with them as far in advance as possible. Ask them for written permission which you should take with you on your collection. You’ll need to carry sealed collection buckets, which we can lend you. For your safety and security, and to avoid any accusations of missing money, please keep the collection buckets sealed after your collection and make an appointment to The Students' Union at U-Block, Frenchay Campus to count the money and pay it in.
You can borrow fundraising pots and buckets from us if you are a club, network, society or charity group at The Students' Union at UWE and sometimes we can lend them out to individuals too, depending on demand. Please email thestudentsunion@uwe.ac.uk at least 2 weeks in advance, stating how many you require and on what dates. Please note that we have a limited amount and so can’t always guarantee that they’ll be available. For your safety and security, and to avoid any accusations of missing money, please keep the collection buckets sealed following your collection and make an appointment to come to The Students' Union at U-Block to count the money and pay it in.
Any charity funds raised on campus or by any Students' Union club, society or charity group must be paid into the UWE RAG account. From there we will pay them to the charity that you have chosen. For your safety and security, and to avoid any accusations of missing money, please keep the collection buckets sealed following your collection and make an appointment to come to The Students' Union at U-Block to count the money and pay it in.
Yes, if The Students' Union Bar is available it can often be a good place to hold a fundraiser, providing you work with the Fundraising and Community Officer to give the bar team enough notice and information, and to ensure that the event runs safely and smoothly.
If you are interested in holding an event at the Bar then please contact us at thestudentsunion@uwe.ac.uk and we can arrange a meeting with the Bar and Events Managers to discuss this further.
This depends on what kind of event you’d like to do and where you have in mind, so drop us a line at thestudentsunion@uwe.ac.uk and we’ll let you know whether it will be possible, or we’ll help you contact the relevant people to ask permission.
If you’re fundraising for a charity, check out their web pages for help, advice and ideas, or you may be able to contact their fundraising department who may provide ideas and support. Whatever cause you’re fundraising for, these pages have some cool ideas:
Macmillan Fundraising Ideas
Barnardos Fundraising Guide