Obligations for organisers of small-scale money collections

Make a small-scale money collection notice to a police department before starting the collection. The police department will process the notice and give the collection a small-scale money collection number. You can launch the collection once you get the small-scale money collection number.

You can as well launch your collection without a small-scale money collection number, if the police department has not given you the number after 5 working days have passed. Running small-scale money collections without a small-scale money collection number is not recommended, however, as the number lets the public know that your money collection complies with the rules.

Remember that organisers of small-scale money collections always have certain obligations both during and after the campaign. Everyone has the responsibility, that their own actions follow the law. The organiser of the small-scale money collection has a responsibility to find out about the issues concerning themselves. Familiarise with the information on this website. 

Obligation to provide information 

Organisers of small-scale money collections have an obligation to provide certain information when asking for donations. The following information must always be communicated to the public clearly and understandably:

• Identity of the organiser
• Cause for which funds are being raised (primary and secondary purpose for which the funds raised will be used)
• Small-scale money collection number
• Contact details for the organiser (address, email address and telephone number)

Obligation to stop a money collection in time

The maximum amount of money that can be raised through each small-scale money collection is EUR 10,000. It is the organiser’s responsibility to keep track of the amount raised. This means actively reviewing the progress of the money collection at regular intervals. Both the amount deposited into bank accounts and the amount donated in cash into collection boxes, for example, need to be monitored. 

Think about how you can keep track of money, the intervals at which you will review the progress of the campaign and how you can stop the campaign if you reach the ceiling prematurely before you launch your money collection. Small-scale money collections must be stopped immediately once the 10,000-euro ceiling is reached, and the police must be notified if a money collection is ended prematurely. 

It is also worth remembering that you must stop your money collection on the end date specified for the campaign in your small-scale money collection notice even if you have not raised EUR 10,000 by that date. 

Make sure to let the public know that your money collection has ended. This means, for example, removing all collection boxes, leaflets, flyers and other written advertisements from places where they can be seen by the public and taking down any online appeals and account information from your website. If your money collection was a one-off campaign and you opened a bank account specifically for that purpose, you must close the account as soon as the funds raised have been spent. 

You should think about how you will wind up the campaign well before the end of your money collection. Failing to stop a money collection in time can constitute a money collection violation.

What if our money collection is more successful than we anticipated?

Your small-scale money collection notice must specify, among other things, how much money you expect to raise. There is no obligation to end a money collection early if you end up raising more money than you estimated in your notice, as long as your target was below EUR 10,000.

However, it is worth thinking about stopping your money collection anyway, if your objective was to finance a specific purchase and you have already raised enough. Any funds raised above the amount that you needed must be used for the secondary purpose stated in your small-scale money collection notice.

Sometimes the EUR 10,000 ceiling is exceeded despite the organiser’s best efforts to stop their money collection in time. This can happen, for example, if the campaign has involved distributing flyers to ask for donations. In such cases, members of the public may still be in possession of flyers containing information about the campaign after the money collection has been wound up, and donations may still be coming in. 

If your small-scale money collection ends up generating more than EUR 10,000 despite the campaign’s having been stopped before the ceiling was reached, you should ideally use the excess towards the primary purpose stated in your small-scale money collection notice. If this is not possible, the funds can be used to promote your secondary cause. The entire amount raised must be reported in your accounts.

Accounting for small-scale money collections and use of the funds raised

The funds raised through your small-scale money collection must be used for the primary purpose specified in your small-scale money collection notice. If this is not possible, the funds can be used to promote your secondary cause as follows:

• If you cannot use any of the funds raised for your intended primary purpose, all the funds must be used for your secondary purpose.
• If at least some of the funds raised can be used for your primary purpose, only the funds left over should be used for your secondary purpose. 

Organisers of small-scale money collections have an obligation to account for the funds raised through their campaign. The accounts must be submitted to the local police department within two months of the end of each small-scale money collection. 

The accounts are checked and signed off on by the police. The police may ask organisers to supply more information or correct any mistakes found in their accounts. The police can also order organisers to redo their accounts altogether, if the omissions or mistakes are too serious to rectify.

The National Police Board publishes information about accounts submitted by organisers of small-scale money collections for enforcement purposes.

Accounts of small-scale money collections must contain at least the following information:

• Identity of the organiser
• Start and end dates of the campaign
• Proceeds of the campaign
• Itemisation of expenses incurred by the organiser
• Explanation of how the funds raised have been or will be used
• Please also supply bank statements or other reliable evidence of the use of the money collection account(s). The bank statements should cover the period from the start of the money collection to the date on which the accounts were submitted.

The local police must be notified in writing when the funds raised have been used. If the funds have already been used when the accounts are drawn up, the notice can be included in the accounting report.

Failing to submit accounts constitutes a money collection violation.