Policy on Funding Allocation

Suicide or Survive
Policy for Evaluating/ Deciding on Allocation of Funds

Purpose

As a charity engaging in fundraising activities, receiving donations from the public and applying for grant aid/ funding from private and public sources is our policy to ensure that those funds are allocated appropriately in order to develop and deliver our services to the public.

We do this in order to:

• Ensure high levels of accountability and transparency in the use of funds provided to us
• Provide clarity and assurances to our funders/ prospective funders about Suicide or Survive and how we work

Policy

It is our policy to develop a strategic plan for the organisation every three years. This plan details the activities the organisation will engage in, the timeline for these activities and the budget required to run the organisation and its services. Funding to support the strategic plan is sought from a variety of sources including fundraising activities, private donations, grant aid/ funding from private/ public sources.

Where funds are being raised/ sought for a particular purpose it is our policy to communicate this clearly to those we are seeking funding from. Funds raised for a particular purpose will be used for that purpose alone and will not be reallocated.

Where funds received for a particular purpose exceed the amount of funding required for that purpose this will be communicated immediately to the relevant funder(s)/ donor(s). The excess funding will either be returned to the funder/ donor or will be reallocated and used for another purpose following discussion with and written approval from the relevant funder(s)/ donor(s). Returns and/ or reallocation of funding will be reflected in the bi-monthly financial reports provided to the Board by the CEO and the annual accounts prepared by the organisation.

Where the organisation has been unable to spend funding received for a specific purpose in any given year due to unforeseen circumstances this will be immediately communicated to the relevant funder(s)/ donor(s). The remaining funding will either be returned to the funder/ donor or will be carried over and used for the purpose for which it was intended in the following year after discussion with and written approval from the relevant funder(s)/ donor(s). Returns and/ or the carrying over of funding will be reflected in the minutes of Board meetings, bi-monthly financial reports to the Board by the CEO and the annual accounts prepared by the organisation.

Where funds/ donations have been raised/ received for unspecified purposes they will be allocated to a specific purpose by agreement with the Board and in line with the strategic plans of the organisation. The purpose for which such funds were allocated will, where possible, be communicated to the relevant funders/ donors and will be reflected in the minutes of Board meetings, bi-monthly financial reports to the Board by the CEO and the annual accounts prepared by the organisation.

Where the unspecified funding received in any given year exceeds the amount required to develop and run the services provided by the organisation in that year it will be carried over to the following year and allocated to specific purposes in that year by agreement with the Board. All funding carried over will be detailed in the annual accounts prepared by the organisation.

Where there is a shortfall in the funding required for a particular purpose unspecified funding will be allocated to make up the shortfall by agreement with the Board. Decisions made recording the allocation of such funding will be recorded in the minutes of Board meetings and will be reported in the bi-monthly financial reports to the Board made by the CEO. Where no/ insufficient unspecified funding is available and a shortfall exists, additional fundraising activities will be undertaken to ensure that the service/ project for which the funding was allocated can be continued/ completed. This will be detailed in the minutes of Board meetings, the bi-monthly financial reports made to the Board by the CEO, and the annual report of the organisations accounts.

Information on our fundraising activities is available in our fundraising calendar which can be found on our website www.suicideorsurvive.ie

We welcome feedback on our performance via the contact points provided below. See our Public Feedback and Complaints Policy and Procedure www.suicideorsurvive.ie

You can write to:

Aisling Farrell, CEO, Suicide or Survive, 151, 156 Thomas St, Usher’s Island, Dublin, D08 PY5E.  Telephone: 1890 577577 or 01 272 2158. Email: info@suicideorsurvive.ie.

Our opening hours are 9 am to 5 pm Monday to Friday.

To view the full Guidelines for Charitable Organisations on Fundraising from the Public please click on the following link:

https://www.charitiesinstituteireland.ie/guidelines-for-charitable-organisations-fundraising-from-the-public/