What obligations does a money collection permit bring?

Below you will find a list about the main things to remember when arranging a money collection.

Notification of a change in circumstances

Make a written notification to the Police Board of any relevant changes related to the organisation or purpose of the money collection.

A change notification must be made, for example, if there is a change of person in the organisation’s administration that affects the money collection. In practice, this means that the Police Board must be informed of the name, personal identity number and position of all persons exercising decision-making power in money collection matters (member of the board, person with access to accounts, etc.).

Please note that notification must be made within one month of the change.

Annual report

Send the annual report to the Police Board on your own initiative by the correct deadline. The annual reports report on the funds raised through money collection and their use. The notification must be made within six months of the end of each financial year.

In the annual report, provide at least the following information:

• permit information and contact details of the permit holder
• total return from the money collection (all gratuitous donations raised through public appeal) during the financial year
• itemized costs related to the arrangements of the money collection, deducted from the total proceeds
• as informative a statement as possible on the use of net proceeds from the money collection 
• attached financial statements (including income statement and balance sheet) with appendices
• auditor's statement on the money collection if the association has an auditor. The statement shall establish the correspondence between the income and expenses of the money collection declared in the annual report and the accounts of the holder of the permit.

Make an annual report even if no money collection has been arranged or donations have been received.

Annual plan

Also remember the annual plan. The annual plan shall be drawn up for the financial year following the submission of the annual report and shall set out the money collection planned for that financial year.

Submit the annual plan no later than two months before the start of the annual financial year following the submission of the annual report. However, you do not have to wait until the deadline, but if you wish, you can submit an annual plan, for example, in connection with the annual report.

Provide at least the following information in the annual plan:

• planned money collection and the purposes for which it is collected
• preliminary return expectations for planned money collection and estimates of money collection costs

Make an annual plan even when money collection is not planned. In this case, you can state in the annual plan, for example, that no money collection is planned for the coming financial year.

Duty to inform the public

Please note that at least the following information must always be provided to the public when organizing a money collection:

• organizer of the money collection and contact information
• purpose of the funds
• permit number

The obligation to provide the above-mentioned information is provided for separately in the Money Collection Act.

Provide this information to the public whenever you solicit donations, regardless of the collection method you use on your own initiative (brochures, newspaper ads, TV commercials, websites, etc.). Therefore, no one who is asked for a donation, should have to look for this information.

Obligation to ensure compliance with the law

Also, keep in mind that everyone is responsible for the legality of their activities, and many other factors must be considered in money collection activities in addition to the obligations raised above.

Failure to comply with the obligations associated with the permit may give the authority cause to intervene in the way you organize the money collection. If the omissions are serious or repeated, the National Police Board may prohibit the collection and use of funds. If the incorrect procedure or omissions are still not remedied, the permit may be revoked altogether. For example, failure to file an annual report or a change notification may also be an activity punishable as a money collection violation.

We encourage you to familiarize yourself with the instructions provided on these pages when planning your collection activities!