Fundraising information for donors: what to publish on your school website
If your school or PTA asks the public for donations, your website needs to say which charity benefits and how to complain about fundraising.
Check this on my websiteWho it applies to
- Published on
- Every school and trust website
- School type
- Academies and maintained schools
- School stage
- All stages, from early years to sixth form
- Only applies to
- Charitable institutions that fundraise from the public (PTAs, trusts); not scored by default
- Does not apply to
- No school types are excluded
When it's due
Keep it up to date
There's no fixed date. Update it whenever something changes.
What's needed
Publish a fundraising complaints procedure on the donations or fundraising page on your website, and explain which charity benefits and how, how staff and volunteers can raise concerns, and who any donor data is shared with.
What it must contain
4 parts- Sets out a clear, public procedure for complaining about fundraisingMust: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.
- Explains how the charity benefits from the fundraisingMust: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.
- Sets out how staff and volunteers can raise concerns about fundraising practiceMust: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.
- Names who donor data is shared with, if it's shared with a third partyShould: Recommended in official guidance, such as the DfE's. Not a legal requirement in itself.
What the official sources say
Set out in 2 official sources:
Code of Fundraising Practice: responsibilities of those who govern charitable institutions
You must have a clear and publicly available fundraising complaints procedure which fundraisers can explain to existing or potential donors.
Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.§ 2.3.1
You must have a clear, published procedure explaining how staff and volunteers can report any concerns they have about your fundraising practice. You must make sure the procedure includes: – the type of issues that can be raised and the process for doing so; – how the person raising a concern will be protected from victimisation and harassment; – what you will do when you receive a concern; and – how to report concerns to us or the Scottish Fundraising Adjudication Panel if it is not possible to consider or deal with them appropriately within your charitable institution.
Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.§ 2.3.3
Show 2 more from this source
They explain how the charitable institution will benefit from the fundraising activity.
Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.§ 2.5 (introduction)
If you share personal data for fundraising or direct-marketing purposes, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) expects you to tell the person concerned the name of any third party you are sharing their personal data with.
Expected: Inspectors expect to see it, though it isn't a legal requirement.§ 2.1.5
Code of Fundraising Practice: behaviour when fundraising
Your fundraising must be legal, open, honest and respectful.
Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.§ 1.1.1
Your fundraising must not mislead existing or potential donors. This includes by: – leaving out information; – giving inaccurate or unclear information; or – exaggerating details.
Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.§ 1.2.1
Questions schools ask
Do schools have to publish fundraising information?
Academies and maintained schools must. It only applies to charitable institutions that fundraise from the public (PTAs, trusts); not scored by default.
What do we need to tell donors on our website?
Sets out a clear, public procedure for complaining about fundraising; Explains how the charity benefits from the fundraising; Sets out how staff and volunteers can raise concerns about fundraising practice; Names who donor data is shared with, if it's shared with a third party.
When do we need to update our fundraising information?
Keep it up to date. There's no fixed date. Update it whenever something changes.
Where does the requirement for the fundraising information for donors come from?
It is set out in Code of Fundraising Practice: responsibilities of those who govern charitable institutions and Code of Fundraising Practice: behaviour when fundraising.
Recent changes to the official guidance
The official sources for this requirement don't publish dated change notes. We check them for changes ourselves.
We last checked these sources on 21 September 2026.
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Official sources last checked 21 September 2026 · register version 1.0.4