Acceptance and Refusal of Donations Policy

This policy statement is a public guide to The Little Princess Trust’s (LPT) approach to accepting or refusing donations and gifts of all kinds and from all donors.

We have developed this policy in accordance with guidance from the Charity Commission, Fundraising Regulator and the Institute of Fundraising

Acceptance of Donations

We rely solely on the generosity of our supporters to carry out our mission to provide hair and hope to children and young people. Donations from our supporters enable us to provide wigs to those who need them and fund kinder, more effective treatments for childhood cancers.

We accept donations, both financial and non-financial contributions, on a good faith basis. That is there is a presumption that a donation is acceptable, unless there is evidence to the contrary.

Guiding Principles

LPT is committed to making decisions that are in the best interest of the charity, but first and foremost, in the interest of the children and young people we serve. When deciding whether to refuse a donation, we will only do so if accepting it would be more detrimental to the charity being able to achieve its objectives than rejecting it. When making this decision we will undertake a careful analysis of the risks of accepting a donation and then decide whether to accept or refuse it. This will be decided on a case-by-case basis and in line with Charity Commission guidance.

The benefits of accepting a donation will be evaluated against relevant factors, these will include the potential for:

Harm to LPT's relationship with its beneficiaries, supporters or partners.
Damage to the reputation of LPT particularly amongst its beneficiaries or supporters, but also with its other funders, stakeholders, employees, and volunteers.
Creation of an unacceptable conflict between LPT's purposes and the donation.

Where it is considered a strong possibility that acceptance of the donation or support might negatively impact one or more of these factors and this risk is considered to outweigh the benefit of the donation, the donation will be refused.

When We Must Refuse a Donation

In accordance with Charity Commission guidance, LPT will refuse donations in the following circumstances:

The donation comes from an illegal source or with an illegal condition.
Where we know or have good reason to believe that a supporter lacks capacity to make a decision to donate or is in a vulnerable circumstance which means they may not be able to make an informed decision.
The donation would bring unacceptable burdens that outweigh its benefit to LPT.
Where the donation involves an unacceptable private benefit to an individual or organisation.
Accepting or keeping the donation would result in a valid legal claim or risk of claim against LPT.

Returning Donations

LPT will not normally return a gift which has been accepted in good faith and in compliance with this policy. Exceptionally, subsequent events or the subsequent availability of additional information may give rise to the need to review a previous decision to accept a gift.