Working with Applicants

Advocates should always assure the Applicants of the importance of confidentiality and the secure storage of their data and any records relating to them.

It will usually be necessary to meet with applicants at least twice, on making the request and when the donation is received.

Be realistic, and try to manage the expectations of the Applicants:

• Explain that a donation is not guaranteed, and is dependent upon the generosity of Acts 435 donors.

• Explain to the Applicant the appropriate/realistic timescale before they receive any money. While we seek to see our requests met as soon as possible, it can take some time for the requested amount to be raised. Payment transfers are usually made within 48 hours of a request being met in full.

Where possible, it would be our best advice that (unless being referred by a known professional) applicants are asked to meet the Advocate in person. Asking an applicant to physically come in and meet with the Advocate helps ensure only those serious about making an Acts 435 application come and take the time to explain their need.

In order to ensure a ‘safe environment’ for both parties, you should consider the following:

• Issues of security and health and safety are paramount and must be prioritised. If in any doubt at all about personal safety, alternative arrangements should be made to meet with the Applicant.

• Best practice suggests that if there is a one-to-one meeting there should be a third person a short distance away, but remember also that confidentiality needs to be maintained.

• Meetings should ideally take place in a neutral venue – e.g. an office or church hall.

• Applicants should not generally be invited into the Advocate’s home.

• Extra care is needed when ensuring a safe environment for vulnerable people.

• Minors (ie. under 18) should only be allowed to apply with parental or guardian consent. The only exception to this is for 16 and 17 year olds who no longer live at home and therefore are managing their own finances.

• The safest and most effective system should be decided locally by the partners involved.

• Where there is some doubt about the legitimacy of an applicant’s need and he/she is not that well known to the Advocate, a home visit could be a good way to confirm this if Advocate resources permit.

Once a request is fully funded, arrangements will be made to pay it into the local church/charity’s nominated bank account. Partners may choose to open a separate bank account to segregate this money from their working account, but this is not a requirement of Acts 435.

All of our payment transfers are made using the lead Advocate’s name as the reference. As a small team we don’t have the capacity to change the reference for each individual payment to reflect the R number(s) or applicant name(s), as we transfer thousands of pounds in every batch transfer across multiple organisations, many of whom are receiving funds for multiple requests in one transaction.

The Advocate who posted the request will receive an automated confirmation email to detail which request(s) the funds relate to. We will also send a copy of this email to your treasurer/ finance team, if an email address has been provided at the point of signing up with Acts 435. Where there are multiple Advocates for one partner organisation we will use the name of the first or most active Advocate as the reference for all payments. If you wish us to use a specific reference for ALL payments to your organisation then please do let us know as soon as possible.

The partner organisation needs to consider, at the local level, how the item/ help is going to reach the Applicant when (if) the funds are raised. Some things to consider:

• It is our policy that Partners should not transfer the funds directly to an Applicant. Doing so makes it difficult to guarantee that the funds will be used as intended, which is our key concern- Acts 435 donors choose to give to a specific individual and a specific need, and it is our duty to ensure that their wishes are honoured. We need to have confidence that the funds are used for the specific item or need as detailed in the original request.

• Ideally, the Advocate or the Referrer Church/ Charity would meet the need on the Applicant's behalf, to ensure that money is used for the intended purpose e.g. paying electricity/ gas bills, paying the supplier directly or buying the specific item. This is by far the best way to minimise fraud and to have confidence in the funds being used as expected.

• Where it is difficult to pay for the specified need (such as a request for help with food), the Advocate may consider purchasing a voucher for a specific retailer/ supplier and giving this to the Applicant. This does not guarantee that the specific item requested will be bought, but gives reasonable assurance that this will be the case, whilst giving the Applicant the dignity of choice.

• An Advocate, in agreement with their organisation, may choose to provide the help to an individual in urgent need before the active request has been met in full. This is permitted, but the partner organisation will bear the risk of no donation coming in for that request (i.e. if £80 is given to an applicant and then the request is posted, but only £20 is raised by Acts 435 donors, the partner organisation will only be reimbursed £20 and will need to bear the remaining £60 as a cost.)

Sometimes support is raised for an individual who is then unable to receive this, often due to moving on from the area or being impossible to contact, or they may simply no longer need the item. You will find our Reallocations Policy in Appendix 3 which sets out what you should do if this happens.

If you wish to change the use of funds, but still in aid of the original Applicant, then please simply email the team on admin@acts435.org.uk to authorise this.

Once the Applicant has received the requested help, where at all possible they should be asked to sign a copy of the Applicant Form to confirm this. Where this is not possible, Advocates should ensure that they retain another form of evidence that the funds have been used as intended (such as receipts or payment confirmation). This paper trail is important for audit purposes as it will become your proof that an individual applicant has received the money that was sent to your organisation. A copy of this form should be kept locally by the Partner church or charity, or a copy can be uploaded to the system using the "File Library" function within each request.

The Advocate must then complete the online tracking of payment with the date the money or item was given to the Applicant, through the Partner Dashboard.

Advocates are also asked to provide thank you messages for the donors who gave to the request. Guidance on writing thank you messages is available in section 5 of this handbook, "Tips When Writing Thank You Messages". Both this, and the payment tracking step, are essential parts of electronically completing requests.

At the end of the financial year of Acts 435 (31 July) Advocates will be required to complete a financial return to confirm funds have all been spent on beneficiaries and details of any funds still being held by the church or charity.

Advocates should ensure that all personal data is kept secure, safe and used only for the purpose it was obtained (whether held on computer or other medium).

It is not necessary that the Advocate has his or her own computer and internet access, only that they have access in a safe and secure environment.

It should be explained to Applicants that the information is being taken as part of Acts 435’s audit trail and will not be used for any other purpose.

Express consent must be given by the Applicant before the Advocate can share information in their request about sensitive data – for example, prison history, physical or mental health, religious beliefs and racial origin. The consent does not need to be obtained in writing.