Good practice guidelines for fundraising

Fundraising can be a lot of fun, and is also a great way to involve people. It can also contribute to our reputation by explaining what our organisation does and where people’s money goes. We want everyone who fundraises for us to feel confident that they are acting in line with the law and with best practice to protect their own reputation.

We have set out some simple guidelines to help protect you when you are fundraising and to ensure that you reflect our values and principles in all that you do. There is more advice on difference aspects of fundraising in our fundraising resources.

Please follow these simple guidelines:

Be clear and truthful

You need to ensure that any materials, like leaflets or a webpage, that you use to support your fundraising are not misleading, for example because you have left information out or misrepresented what will happen to the money you raise.

Honour your promises to the people who support you

When you raise money for a specific purpose, it has to be used for that purpose, so, for example, if you are raising money for more than one charity, or not all of their donation will go to us, you need to let donors know that.

Treat people fairly and with respect

We believe that fundraising should always be a positive experience, so always treat people fairly and with respect and take care never to pressurise anyone into giving.

Handle donations safely and securely

Think carefully about how you will handle funds, to ensure that they are protected and your donors can be confident that they will reach us as planned. You can make a direct donation to us here.

Thank you for following our guidelines and good luck with your fundraising.

IN THIS SECTION

THOMAS AQUILINA

STEPHEN LAWRENCE DAY FELLOW, LONDN SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE

The London School of Architecture has appointed Thomas Aquilina as its inaugural Stephen Lawrence Day Foundation Fellow through the generous donation of the Foundation in September 2021 under the instigation of founding LSA Vice-Chair Elsie Owusu OBE and the RIBA, marking another significant step in the LSA’s commitment to widening access and participation in architectural education.

Through this Fellowship, Thomas is committed to researching means of tackling of historic and current underrepresentation of black and other racialised groups in the architecture profession. A tutor in Critical Practice and Design History at the LSA, Thomas is a registered architect and educator dedicated to building communities of radical thought and progressive practice. He is a co-director of the New Architecture Writers programme and a co-founder of the publishing collective Afterparti. Thomas is also investigating local understandings of spatial justice in London as a Design Researcher in Residence at the Design Museum. As a past recipient of the Stephen Lawrence Architecture bursary, Thomas’ trajectory in architecture is one indebted to Stephen’s legacy. Under the fellowship, Thomas looks to:

Lead conversations at the LSA around curriculum reform, in particular in relation to decoloniality, decarbonisation and destandardisation.
Work on delivering on the strategic priorities contained in the LSA’s ambitious Access and Participation Plan, which seeks to increase the number of Black and Asian students in its cohorts, and students from low-income and low-participation backgrounds.
Cultivate and nurture relationships with local schools, devising an ambitious ‘Part 0’ outreach programme.
Serve as a visible role model and mentor within to the school to underrepresented racialised groups.

The LSA once again wishes to express its gratitude to the RIBA, Elsie Owusu and the vision of Baroness Lawrence for enabling such pioneering research and action at the LSA and subsequently the wider architectural community.

LSA Stephen Lawrence Foundation Fellow, Thomas Aquilina, said:
“At this exciting time of new directorship for The LSA, I want to support the work of building an architecture school that is attune to the value of equitable and radical perspectives.”

Baroness Doreen Lawrence said:
“I am pleased to see that the LSA has appointed Thomas Aquilina to lead on this ambitious plan in researching decoloniality in architecture. For too long access to the profession of architecture was limited and challenging for those from underrepresented groups, this will be a great asset in widening participation for all.”

London School of Architecture Head of School and CEO, Dr Neal Shasore, said:
“It is fantastic that, thanks to this donation, we have been able to offer this new Fellowship. In an intensely competitive field, Thomas’s vision of what we could achieve was truly inspiring. I am looking forward to working closely with him over the coming year, ensuring the LSA leads the conversation around decoloniality and architectural education.”