BARK Appeal Restricted Fund terms

In the interests of transparency and openness this, possibly rather bland entry is to let everyone know what the BARK Appeal means and how the money will be used.


The BARK Appeal is a Restricted Fund.

This means that the money raised from whatever means that is designated by the fundraiser or donor is put into a separate bank account solely for the purposes of the BARK Appeal.


Now, the little tricky bit - what fundraisers and donors need to know

Fundraisers and donors need to advise the charity prior to funds being received of their intention that the money should be used for the BARK Appeal.

For fundraisers, that is people or groups who plan an event of any description in order to obtain donations, sponsorship or other forms of income need to inform the charity at the time they advise us of their intention to do an event (of any kind) that the funds must go to the BARK Appeal. If this is not done at this time it will result in the funds being assigned to the general charitable funds (see below)- and once this happens it is difficult if not impossible for those funds to be reassigned. Therefore it is vital that fundraisers inform the charity at the time they advise us of their event that they intend the funds to go to the BARK Appeal. Additionally any and all publicity, including Just Giving pages must clearly advise potential supporters that the funds are going to the BARK Appeal and not to the general charitable activities of the charity.

Likewise donors who donate a sum of money to the charity must clearly state if their intention is for the donation is to go to the BARK Appeal at the time of the donation. Again, if this is not done at this time the donation will be assigned to the general charitable funds (see below) of the charity.


General charitable funds 

This means the funds to cover the day to day costs of kennels, veterinary expenses, and other charitable costs which could include (though not necessarily right now) advertising, community-based neutering scheme, telephone and internet charges, stationary, wages, vehicles, etc.


Now what will the fund actually spend the money on?

The BARK Appeal is to be used for all the necessary associated costs of acquiring, developing, building or whatever manner appropriate to obtain a rescue centre. This may include but is not limited to

• purchase of land
• surveying fees
• architect fees
• all construction materials
• all related construction labour
• landscaping
• kennels
• reception and support buildings
• installation of utility services
• opening day event including publicity

Additional the fund will deduct those fundraising costs directly associated with raising those funds. For example, a donation of £10 to PayPal may incur a charge of 70 pence. This charge is deducted from the donation before it is received. The fund will record the whole £10 donation, and then a deduction for the 70 pence. Other examples may include advertising for events, production costs for items that can be sold to raise funds, and service charges to PayPal, Just Giving, MissionFish, Charities Trust, etc. This list goes on, but to date, of the amount raised thus far less than 5% has been deducted for expenses, and almost all are direct fundraising service charges by the likes of PayPal, Just Giving and MissionFish. 

Finally, there may be the opportunity to engage a professional fundraiser in the future who may be paid either by salary or by performance in raising large sums of money, possibly via complex trust applications, and in this case again these costs would be deducted from the fund. The charity has no current plans to employ a professional fundraiser for this purpose.

Any funds remaining after the rescue centre is completed will be used to cover the substantial costs of managing the day to day costs of the centre until they are extinguished, though we would expect that this balance would be small as we would look to move quickly once the necessary budget total is reached.



When will the fund be complete?

The original target of £500,000 was on the basis of some basic calculations of an amount required to obtain a rescue. This was undertaken in spring 2011. With inflation and increased commodity prices it is logical to assume this figure will be considerably higher by the time the charity is in a position to build a centre.


Likewise the charity needs sufficient stable day to day funds to manage the costs of operating a rescue centre and this will likely require a number of additional charity shops. Therefore both the BARK Appeal fundraising and our ability to open additional charity shops work hand in hand, and when are in place the charity will be ready to commence the work of developing a rescue centre.

Finally, in the event that the fund raises more money that the final cost of acquiring a rescue centre, the balance remaining shall be used for the day to day running costs of the rescue centre, which itself will become the single largest charitable expense, until such time as those funds are extinguished.


If you have any questions about the BARK Appeal please contact me at jonathan@happystaffierescue.org.uk