If your charity makes an appeal for a specific purpose or purposes, you must use the donations only for that purpose or purposes.
However, you may receive more donations than you need. For example:
an appeal to refurbish a community café might raise more than needed for the refurbishment; that is, the café is refurbished and there is money left over
an appeal to buy equipment for a playground might raise more than needed – all the equipment has been bought and there is money left over
If this happens, you have donations given for a particular purpose, but you cannot use them for this.
Look at your appeal wording. It may allow you to spend the donations on your charity’s other projects.
If not, you will need to follow the required process set out below to decide a new purpose for the donations, so that you can use them.
Donations to an appeal are usually money, but can be property of any kind. For example, goods.
More detailed information and guidance can be found here
Derby Community Accountancy Service 