Pakistan Floods – Advice about safely donating money

Date published: 17 August 2010

Police in Lancashire have issued advice to people wishing to donate money to help with the relief effort for the victims of the flooding in Pakistan.

The Constabulary is aware that many of Lancashire's communities have been affected and saddened by the scale of this human tragedy.

There are members of the community in Lancashire who have relatives in the affected areas and obviously they and their friends and families will be particularly desperate to help in any way that they can.

Together with the wider community it is likely that they will donate money locally through face to face collections. A massive and prompt response is clearly needed but Lancashire Constabulary want people donating money to make informed decisions on how best to ensure that the aid they give reaches those most in need. With that in mind, we would urge people to be aware of the points below:-

The safest way to transfer money internationally is through international banks and the safest way to donate large sums of cash is to do so through organisations set up by humanitarian aid groups that operate under international banners e.g. the Disasters Emergency Committee, Red Cross and so on.

- Community and other groups are raising funds locally but we would advise that they should operate under the Charity Commission regulations and guidance. This is intended to safeguard both the collection and delivery of funds to the intended recipients but also offers protection to those people actually carrying out any fundraising from potential allegations

- Any individual making a donation does so at their own discretion but the Constabulary needs to ensure that those carrying out fundraising are aware of the guidance and legal requirements relating to that activity and those donating know what safeguards they should look for.

International Aid Appeals have already been launched on the following websites: www.dec.org.uk, www.RedCross.org.uk/pakistanfloods, www.savethechildren.org.uk, www.Oxfam.org.uk/Pakistan, www.worldvision.org.uk, www.unicef.org.uk/donate_pakistan

The following factors are identified by the Charities Commission as best practice:

Transparency: Be transparent in who your money is being donated to. Please ensure that it is not given to any organisations who may be involved in terrorist or any criminal activity. Be mindful that legitimate charities can be used by those types of organisations to convey money to others overseas.

Accountability: Be accountable. Ensure receipts are taken for every penny donated as your organisation is accountable for any money distributed. Please ensure money taken overseas can be accounted for easily which demonstrates a degree of organisation by the charity.

Take Responsibility: Please inform the Foreign & Commonwealth Office if you intend to take money overseas as part of a charity. Be mindful that some areas have been identified as areas of danger and risk to overseas visitors carrying large sums of cash. Utilise the FCO website to make you aware of any such risks before travelling.

Personal Safety: Taking money through border controls can potentially attract attention by immigration and customs officials and can cause unnecessary delays in travel, and in some circumstances even resulting in money being confiscated. Travellers can reduce the risk by having letters of recommendation from Charity Organisers or sponsors supporting their cause and accounting for the amount of cash.

Cash Declarations

You need to declare cash if you are carrying 10,000 euros or more (or the equivalent value in other currencies) and you are:
- entering the UK from a country outside the EU
- leaving the UK to travel directly to a country outside the EU

Full details can be found at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/customs/arriving/declaring-cash.htm or call 0845 0109 000

Other useful websites: www.foc.gov.uk , www.hmrc.gov.uk , www.charity-commission.gov.uk