Frequently Asked Questions

I’ve forgotten my username and/or password

Your username will be your email address, please follow this link if you have forgotten your password

My event is no longer accepting donations

If your page is no longer showing the option to make a donation it will be because your page has now closed. Your page will close at 23:59:59 on the date you select it to.

Can I re-open an event?

Sorry - once a page has been closed it cannot be reopened.

I can’t upload my image onto my profile/event

Your banner image should be a minimum of 1600px x 800px in JPEG format

If you’re having issues please contact us on support@sponsorme.org or 01512865129.

When will my funds pay out?

Currently Charities Trust makes fundraising payments to charities once a month, around the 15th of each month.

Please note, this this is not a bulk donation that pays once the page has closed but that it is paid across in stages during the life of the event, until the event has finally closed.

My link is not working

Please contact us on support@sponsorme.org or 01512865129.

How do I create a Sponsor Me event?

Once you have created an account you will be able to create an event from within your profile. Select ‘Create Event’ and you will be able to:

1. Add the name and date of your event.

2. Add a closing date for your fundraising - please note, after this date no donations will be accepted. Please note your page will close at 23:59:59 on the date of selection. Once your page has closed you cannot reopen it.

3. Choose whether this is a private event, and add the location if you wish

4. Add your target fundraising amount, if you wish.

5. Set what charities you are going to raise money for. You can choose up to six charities. Use the search option to find the charity/ies that you want to support. Please note that once you have started fundraising you cannot change your charity selections.

6. Choose how the money you raise will be divided between your chosen charities - this is shown as a percentage and must add up to100% split of your funds.

7. Add an image - this image will be shown at the top of your fundraising page. If you do not select your own image, a standard image will appear.

8. Add a description about your event - what are you doing and why? This will help to engage with your donors and encourage them to donate.

How do I edit my Sponsor Me event?

Follow these easy steps to edit your Sponsor Me event:

1. Once you have logged in, go to ’Events’.

2. Select the event that you wish to edit.

3. Press the 'Edit ' button. This will take you through to the option of editing any of the information you have added.

4. Make your changes.

5. Press the 'Update Event' button at the bottom of your page.

Please note that once you have started fundraising and received a donation you cannot change your charity selections.

Can I create a Sponsor Me event to raise funds for more than one charity?

You can split your money between up to six charities - the split must add up to 100% of the donations you receive. This is all done in your event set up process. You can change the split or the charities using the edit function, but only before you start receiving donations. Please note that once you have started fundraising and received a donation you cannot change your charity selections.

Can my Sponsor Me event be used in conjunction with colleagues?

Sponsor Me gives you the option of creating a team event, so as the creator of a team event you can invite other team members via email. They can choose to accept their place in your team.

Team members share the event page and the fundraising target, meaning that you can set bigger targets and raise more funds for your chosen charity/ies. Please see ‘creating and editing a team page’.

How do I add a photo to my Sponsor Me event?

You can add an image during the setup of your page, described above- please note that a size limitation applies for uploading images.

You can also change your image at any time through the 'Edit ' function of 'Event'.

Can I add a fundraising summary to my Sponsor Me page?

When adding an amount to the ‘Event target’ during the event creation process, there’s a tick box which, if ticked will make a totaliser appear on the page showing the percentage funds raised towards your target.

If you prefer, you can also leave this tick box unticked so instead you will just be able to see how much you have raised so far.

How do I edit a comment that a donor has left on my Sponsor Me event?

Please contact us on support@sponsorme.org or 01512865129.

Can I change the charity I am supporting?

Before your fundraising commences you can change your charity by following the instructions for editing your page (listed above).

Please note that once you have started fundraising and received a donation to your page you cannot change your charity selections.

If you are supporting more than one charity you must allocate the percentage split of funds at the start of your fundraising and you cannot amend this later.

What if I cannot find the charity I want to support?

If you cannot find your chosen charity, you can complete a ‘Request Charity Not Listed’ form within your Sponsor Me event and they will be added to our database once they have been validated.

You will need to know:

• Charity name

• The Charity Commission / OSCR / HMRC registration number

• Charity address, including website and email

We can make payments to any UK based registered charity or recognised good cause such as schools and churches if they have registered with the HMRC, which makes them eligible to receive tax effective donations.

How do I change the date of my event on my Sponsor Me event

In the 'Edit ' function of 'Events’ you will be able to change the date of your event - this must be a date in the future. If you have entered an incompatible date you will not be able to save your edit and will need to enter a correct date before saving. Please note, once your page has closed you cannot change the date.

My event has been cancelled; can I get my donors' money back?

If an event is cancelled or you have pulled out for any reason, we recommend that you update your event to confirm this has been cancelled. This will prevent any further donations to your event.

We would also suggest that you update the summary of your event with an explanation of why your event has been cancelled, and that any money you have received will be given directly to the charity.

Any money already donated to an event will be paid directly to the charity. We cannot refund any donations made to your event since we are holding the donations in trust for the nominated charity.

If your donors wish to receive a refund, they will need to contact the charity directly.

I have finished my event - what do I do next?

Once the closing date for sponsorship for your event has passed it will no longer be able to receive donations and will be automatically shut down.

Any eligible Gift Aid will be processed and claimed, and payments will be made to your charity. The time taken for charities to receive donations will vary depending on whether we hold the charity bank details, which will need verifying for charities new to Charities Trust.

Funds raised using your Sponsor Me event will be paid to the charity automatically in the form of a BACS transfer.

How do I claim Gift Aid?

Charities Trust will claim Gift Aid on all eligible donations and pass the funds to your chosen charities after we have received the claimed funds from HMRC.

The application of Gift Aid will be processed once the event has been closed.

When will my charity receive the donations?

Donations made to your page are passed to charity on a monthly basis using the BACS payments service.

To ensure charities receive their money quickly and they do not have to wait until the end of your event donations to your page are paid out on a monthly basis using the BACS payments service.

Will my charity/charities know the funds have come from my fundraising event?

We provide a monthly charity statement facility where charities can log in and securely download details of the funds we have transferred to them. This will include your details so that they can thank you. The details of your individual sponsors will not be passed to the charities. This is a free service that your chosen charity can use to find your donation.

My charity has not received the funds I have raised.

Please ask your charity to ensure they are looking for a payment from ‘Charities Trust’ this can appear in their account mid-month. We may not have received bank details from your charity. These details must be provided to us on official bank stationery in the name of the organisation with the sort code and account number clearly displayed. This can be sent or scanned into us in the form of a voided cheque or bank statement.

How do I set up a fundraising team event?

You will need to set up your event through the event tab, this is the same process to creating your event (you can find any additional information in Section 3 – creating and editing an event), once you have completed you event you can start to invite team members to set up your fundraising team.

How do I add/remove team members to my event?

Once you have created your event you will be able to add and remove team members to your page:

3. Head to manage events

4. Select the members tab on the page

5. Invite members to your event. You can do this by using the search bar to find a colleague or alternatively add their email and press ‘invite’

6. The additional member will then receive an email to join your event

7. You may receive requests from friends/colleagues to join your event, this will appear in the Approvals tab on your dashboard.

8. To remove a member, go to the members tab on your event, you will see all members have a button coloured blue, please click this to turn it grey and remove the member from your event

How do I find a team page?

To find a team page please go to the search bar and select ‘events’ from the drop-down list. Type in the fundraisers name or name of the event and search. The page will then appear. Select the link to head to the event.

How do I become a team member?

There are two ways to become a team member

1. Receiving an invite – The fundraiser will add you to their event and you will receive an email notifying you that you have been added to the event. You will then need to go to the invitations area on your dashboard and accept the invitation. You will then be a member of the event.

2. You can request to be added to an event – you can request to join an event, please go to the event tab and begin typing in the name of the event you wish to join, when you see this event from the drop down list please select it and click join. The event owner will then confirm or reject your request to join the event.

How much does Sponsor Me cost?

There is no cost associated with setting up a Sponsor Me page, and charities do not pay to be listed in our database.

Our costs are covered by a small administration fee of 4% of funds raised which is deducted before the monies are transferred to charities.

This fee covers all costs of providing the Sponsor Me service including the bank processing charges for credit and debit cards.

Donation Example

*Once the money has been received from the HMRC we will then pay the appropriate charity(ies).

Payments to charities

Our standard practice is to pay charities via Bacs as this is the most cost-effective way to make payments. We do not normally pay charities by cheque due to the high costs of processing. However, where we have been unable to pay a charity by BACS we may issue a cheque but this will be subject to an additional processing charge (currently £2.50 per cheque) which will be deducted from the funds raised.