Street Collections
Whisper’s street collections are eligible for a 25% top up from the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme (GASDS), provided the rules about documentation are followed.
Foreign currency
Section titled “Foreign currency”Foreign currency is quite often received in street collections, particularly in holiday seasons when people have been travelling. Whisper has a charity page at leftovercurrency.com who can accept foreign coins and notes by post.
Whisper used to use the Fourex ATMs but they are no longer trading.
Street collections in the Metropolitan Police area
Section titled “Street collections in the Metropolitan Police area”Charity must be registered with the Fundraising Regulator, all collectors must have a DBS certificate which should be available for free provided the collectors are not being paid (except for expenses).
Collections at London Tube stations
Section titled “Collections at London Tube stations”Canary Wharf and Stratford stations are the most popular for charity collections, and they normally need to be booked at least 6 months in advance. Whisper once raised £800 in a day at Canary Wharf. Any station in Zone 1 is also sought after. During the week, the best time to collect is usually the evening rush hour. Collectors must be volunteers.
https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/corporate-and-social-responsibility/charities
There’s a requirement that the volunteer collectors must have DBS clearance which can be waived at TfL’s discretion, on the condition that a representative of the charity collects the money at the end of the collection shift. To arrange this, e-mail them to ask for an exemption and they will send you a letter to be presented to the station staff. In our experience, even the requirement for collection by a representative of the charity may be waived.
Appointments to collect at tube stations can be made online here: http://tflcharitiessupport.weebly.com An empty appointment calendar is released once a year on 1 September, so bookings for desirable stations should be made on that date or soon after. Philip Wilson has a booking account on the TfL system; Whisper is only allowed one account, so bookings must be made through Philip’s account.
TfL’s full terms and conditions are lul_charities-terms-and-conditions_2.1.pdf.
Collections at National Rail stations
Section titled “Collections at National Rail stations”Collections at national rail stations require a minimum of 8 weeks’ advance notice.
Contactless donations
Section titled “Contactless donations”We have a GoodBox terminal which can accept contactless card donations; these qualify as a cash equivalent for GASDS.