CRunCH - Your Sponsorship Pledge

Frequently asked

The Public Ballot for the TCS London Marathon takes place online immediately after each Marathon; it is always massively over-subscribed (typically by a factor of 20 to 1). If you entered the 2022 Ballot, you will receive your result in February. If you are reading this after hearing that you have been successful, click on Own Place above. If you are awaiting your result, you are advised to follow the twin-track approach of applying simultaneously for a Golden Bond place (see below). If you get a place in the Ballot, and have also been offered a Golden Bond place, you will still run for the charity but will no longer be under the obligations of the Pledge you have signed up to (and the charity will then be able to offer your Bond place to another runner - hence the importance of letting us know if you do get a Ballot place). If you are not successful, or did not enter at all, your only route into the event will be via a Golden Bond place.

Officially, a Golden Bond is a package of five guaranteed places bought by a charity from the Marathon. Some charities own just one Bond while others own multiples and will field much larger teams on Race Day. Charities on the CRunCH site range in size from five runners to around 80.

Most charities offer places to UK runners only, but there are exceptions. Our advice to non-UK runners is to choose the charity that most appeals to you and we will let you know if they are prepared to consider your application. If they are not, we will advise on others you can approach. In some cases, charities insist on full pre-payment of the Pledge.

A fee charged by most charities (usually £50) that covers some up-front expenses and is a sign of your commitment to the charity. Check with your charity for exact conditions – they are usually on the Pledge Form.

No, but you are usually allowed to count the fee towards your sponsorship pledge. Where this is not the case, it will be stated clearly on the Pledge Form. Most charities will not ask you to pay a new fee if you drop out and then re-register for the next year's Marathon. Again, full details will be on the Pledge Form.

If your charity is VAT-registered, it has to charge VAT on the registration fee alone. VAT does not impact on the rest of your sponsorship in any way. If the fee is allowed to count towards your total it will be the net figure (eg £50) with the VAT element (£10 while VAT is set at 20%) being taken by the taxman. Runners for charities that are VAT-registered cannot pay their registration fees via an e-giving page; if VAT is not involved, then you will be asked to pay your reg fee via your e-giving page.

Gift Aid (GA) is a facility for charities to reclaim the tax paid by your sponsors from the Government (specifically HM Revenue and Customs - HMRC). GA is currently worth an additional 25% on top of the basic donation. Anyone sponsoring you who is a UK-resident taxpayer is encouraged to tick the GA box on the charity's e-giving site or to tick the column on your sponsor form and then to provide a full UK address including postcode.

Overseas residents who do not pay UK tax; UK residents who do not pay tax; companies. Even if a sponsor is a UK taxpayer, they will not qualify if they do not provide a UK address including postcode. This is why there is an important section on your sponsor forms asking you and your sponsors to ensure the form is filled in carefully at the time you sign up a sponsor. Research shows that typically less than 25% of the money raised on sponsor forms is Gift Aided. This means charities are potentially losing out on millions of pounds on offer from the taxman! By contrast more than three quarters of the money collected on e-giving sites qualifies for GA.

No, it is illegal to claim Gift Aid if the money does not come from your personal taxed money. You will be asked to declare the source of the money when making the payment via e-giving. Likewise, if using a sponsor form and sending a personal cheque, you need to make it clear if the money is a collection rather than your own donation.

No. GA is specifically excluded from your Pledge total as you are undertaking to raise a defined total before both expenses (e.g. cost of the place and of administration including charges levied by e-giving sites and credit card companies) and the bonus of GA. GA is not confirmed by HMRC until after you have submitted your money.

No. Your reg fee is payment for a service (your acceptance on the team) and that is why, if paying your reg fee via an e-giving site, you must NOT tick the GA box when paying. However, if you make a further donation towards your Pledge total, you can elect for GA.

Street collections are not allowed under charity law unless the charity concerned has sought specific permission from the relevant local authority. However, there is nothing to stop you organising entirely private collections among friends, family and colleagues, and you may be able to get a tin or box for this purpose from your charity (please contact them direct). The rules for collection on private property – e.g. within a supermarket – are different: in that case you simply need the owners’ permission.

Again, you will need to contact your charity direct. Each charity has its own policy on how - and by whom - it will allow its letterhead to be used.

Please see the link in YOUR SPACE (this will appear when you have been accepted on to the team) which explains how to deal with “offline” money.

Raffles involving the general public have to be officially licensed - which is a procedure that has to be organised by the charity. However there is nothing in law to stop you running an entirely private raffle among people you know - e.g. colleagues at work. For more information, contact your charity.

We give you our guarantee that this information will be used only in accordance with the Data Protection Act and we will not share your details with any third party without your express permission. See also our Privacy Policy.