Charity fundraising policies are under the spotlight as never before. Local charities, including Chestnut Tree House, have to fundraise to survive and this includes directly asking people for money. We get so little government funding that sadly we cannot rely on unprompted kind donations, events run by our fantastic supporters and generous gifts in Wills. It is always our goal to inspire people to support our hospice – just as we exist to support local adults and their families.

We are very fortunate to have so many generous donors and volunteers who support Chestnut Tree House.

We thought readers might like to hear about some of our own fundraising policies. These are some of the areas we are asked about most frequently:

• We never share any details of our supporters (we never have and we never will).
• We don’t swap donor lists with other charities.
• All our communications with supporters clearly offer the opportunity to easily opt out of future contact.
• We do not use the telephone to ‘cold call’ and we have never done so.
• If we plan to telephone a supporter and ask for donations, we will send a pre-call letter offering the chance to opt out of telephone calls.
• We are especially careful and sensitive when engaging with vulnerable people, the elderly or those affected by illness.
• We are registered with the Fundraising Regulator and ‘Our Fundraising Promise’ to donors is found here.

Please contact us if you have a question about these issues. If you wish to stop or adjust the frequency or type of communications you receive from Chestnut Tree House, please contact us.

If you would like to question, comment upon or complain about any aspect of our fundraising activity, please contact us.

It currently costs well over £4.6m each year to provide all the care services provided by Chestnut Tree House. Therefore, we have very high income targets because we need to raise the funds to continue providing the best quality of life for children, young people and their families. We really care about our supporters and as with all charities, we could not do what we do without your support – thank you from everyone at Chestnut Tree House.