House to House Collection
A house to house collection is a means of an appeal to the public, by way of visits from house to house (including pub to pub), to give money or property.
A "house" includes a place of business.
A licence is required from us before any collection can be carried out within the Wigan Borough. Unless an exemption order has been granted by the Cabinet Office.
Street Collections
A street collection is a means of a collection of money or sales of articles in any street or public place for the benefit of charitable or other purpose.
A street includes any highway and public bridge, road, lane, footway, square, court, alley or passage, whether a thoroughfare or not.
A permit is required from us before any collection can be carried out within the Wigan Borough.
Registered Charities
The Charity Commission regulates charities in England and Wales, and is a non-ministerial government department.
If you wish to check if an organisation is a 'registered charity' you can do so by ringing the Charity Commission on 0845 300 0218 or by checking the Register of Charities on the Charity Commission's Website (External link) .
National Exemption Order Scheme
Under current law, the Minister for the Cabinet Office is responsible for the national exemption order scheme for house-to-house collections.
Organisations can generally obtain national exemption orders if they have house-to-house collection licences in at least 70â100 local authority licensing areas for the two preceding years. There are currently 43 national exemption order holders.
A list of the holders of Orders of Exemption can be viewed here. (External Link) (made under Section 3 of the House to House Collections Act 1939)
Where a charity / organisation holds an order of exemption, as a matter of courtesy we ask that you inform the Licensing Section of any planned collections due to take place within the Wigan Borough. We will then record such details on our website so members of the public can be satisfied the collection is bona fide.
Face to Face Fundraising
Face-to-face fundraising, or âF2Fâ as it is known in the fundraising profession is one of the most cost-effective and successful ways for charities to find new donors to support their causes. F2F fundraising is characterised by a fundraiser asking someone to make a regular donation to charity. This is usually done on the street or by visiting households. For more information on this type of fundraising please visit the Public Fundraising Regulatory Association website (External Link)
Further Information
To apply for a licence / permit, or for further information including application forms, guidance notes and details of collections that have already been approved by us, please refer to the menu bar on the left.
* This page was last reviewed by the Licensing Section on 2 August 2011 *
