Finance and Fundraising

Guidance for local group, regions and nations on all things financial.

Intro to Fundraising

Fundraising is a crucial activity in Extinction Rebellion. Without it we cannot make the impact and progress that we need to towards achieving our three demands and building the movement to act on the climate and ecological crisis.

Why does XR need money?

Extinction Rebellion UK spends around £1m a year on its basic activities, which include:

The more funds we have the more effective we can be in the face of the climate and biodiversity crises. Money helps us work towards achieving our three demands and building this movement of movements.

Should you raise money for XRUK? Your Region/Nation? Or your Local Group?

Regions and Nations ask XR UK for the level of funding that they need and then hopefully there is enough available to meet those needs.

There are pros and cons to each option:

What does the XRUK fundraising team do?

As well as the team that works on UK-Wide fundraising for XR, many Regions, Nations, and Local Groups have their own fundraising people or teams. This book should help you to feel more confident in developing these skills!

How to get involved with the XRUK fundraising team

If you have fundraising, data processing or admin experience of any kind, or fundraising is just something that you would like to help with, then please do apply for a Fundraising role (tick the 'Fundraising' box on the left hand menu to see just Fundraising roles.

You can contact us on our Mattermost reception or by emailing fundraising@rebellion.earth

Managing your finances

Managing your finances

Applying for a bank account

Unfortunately, it is now very hard to set up a bank account in the name of Extinction Rebellion, simply because most banks refuse to accept us. In the past, groups have set up accounts with Triodos Bank, but unfortunately Triodos is not accepting any new accounts. This could change, so it is worth checking their website.

However, there are ways around this problem, which you can learn about below, and in:
Information on how to operate without a bank account.

If you already have a bank account

It can useful having a bank account for fundraising, particularly if you want to create Chuffed fundraisers, or use card/contactless payment devices, for example.

It is really important to make sure that the wider group (eg. your Local Group, or Community Group) knows about the account, who is managing it and who the signatories are.

Ideally, a summary of the finances should be easily accessible to the group it belongs to, even if that is just a verbal report from time to time, or showing others in the group the bank statements. Keeping everything transparent is helpful because it is then less likely misunderstandings will happen and also adds credibility and conviction for fundraising outreach conversations with the public. If you can tell a member of the public who wants to donate the kinds of things the group tends to need money for, they will be much more likely to donate!

If the account is managed online, then the person managing the account can be a completely different person to the signatories.

Credit Unions and Community Banking

These may be a way of setting up a bank account for your local group. Find out more about this here.

Using your Region/Nation bank account

Your Region or Nation might be able to process your local group income and expenditure and keep a separate note of your balance. This method is used successfully by a few regions/nations already, but it does depend on the Region or Nation having a bank account, and having somebody on the regional team prepared to do the extra admin involved.

Sharing bank accounts with another LG

A nearby local group that already has a bank account may be happy to allow another local group to use the bank account as well. The same admin burden mentioned above could be an issue, but generally there are not many transactions for local groups, so this sharing is a practical solution if the goodwill and capacity is there to make it work.

Individual or joint bank account

An individual with online current account may find it very straightforward to add an online savings account; this could be used exclusively for XR funds. Or an individual may have a dormant bank account that could be used for their XR group.

The newer online/app based banks are another option. These can be more straighforward to set up a bank account for an individual and maybe for a climate community group.

This arrangement is not ideal, however, in that the responsibility rests with one person to look after the group’s funds.

Obviously, it is also a risk because if that person steps back from XR the group would need to ensure that the funds are passed back to XR. But many groups do work this way.

One way of mitigating the risk of a person stepping away and the group losing access to the account is for two long term members (who are not a couple!) to set up a joint account together and use this to manage to group's money. Therefore if one person steps back you will not lose access to the money (and could then transfer it to a different joint account with a different pair of people named.)

Managing your finances

Money management without a bank account

There are other options if you are finding it hard to apply for a bank account, or would like to manage your money in different ways.

The Social Change Nest

A Fiscal Host, or Sponsor, is a legal entity that offers themselves up to hold funds for another group, manage the legal/financial side of things, and empower the group to get on with their work.

In the UK, OpenCollective has the “Social Change Nest”. It’s a Community Interest Company that specialises in supporting groups organising for social change. This is a great option for XR Local Groups (although please note that they charge £42 set up fee- paid after you’ve started collecting donations) and charge 5% on donations (not expenses) to cover their administration costs. They also offer trainings, support, access to specialised grants and more.

A short presentation about the benefits of this system.
Read more about The Social Change Nest on their website.

Applying for money from XR or other grants

Applying for money from XR or other grants

Request funding from your Nation/Region

XR Nations and Regions who are represented in The Hive (the biggest circle of XRUK) recieve funding from XRUK on a monthy basis.

This funding is used differently by each Region and Nation (because they are autonomous and self-organising), but most use it for some of the following:

Local Groups can request funding for projects and actions from their Region or Nation. Each Region or Nation is set up slightly differently, but money should be requested through the Local Group Coordinators circle, Anchor circle, or equivalent.
If you are not sure how to contact these circles, please email LGsupport@extinctionrebellion.uk

Most Regions and Nations have limited budgets, and so will have their own policies on what they do or don't fund (this varies depending on the Region or Nation). For example, XR Midlands tend to approve funding requests for Actions or activities that will involve multiple local groups, or are being organised by a Regional team, but don't tend to fund things that are only for one local group (eg. leaflets for a specific local campaign).

Fundraising Methods

Fundraising Methods

Embedding Fundraising in your Outreach & Emails

Fundraising during Outreach

Watch this video showing how to do outreach followed by a fundraising ask.

Then check out the Fundraising Methods pages for ideas on how to fundraise on the street.

You could also download this DONATE QR code which links to XRUK's crodfunder, that you can incorporate into your own posters, fliers etc.

How to ask for donations

Whether you are on the street doing outreach, speaking on a video or writing an email, asking for donations can feel difficult! Here are some words to help you communicate and encourage donations.

Asks in the build-up to large-scale actions

If you're asked 'What does XR UK spend money on?'

'A monthly or one-off donation helps us:

Importance of our Action Network email lists

Our network of Local and Region/Nation email lists all build one big XRUK email list. As well as using it for emails about actions, training and ways to get involved, this list is very important for fundraising.

Regular donors from our XRUK list provide a steady income for the movement and campaigns, particularly leading up to big actions. The emails also bring in money from one-off donations.

The more people there are on our Action Network mailing list, the more successful our future fundraising will be.

It is important for fundraising that local groups are using Action Network (rather than their own systems like Mailchimp or other systems), so that new sign ups are also added to the overall XRUK list. More information about Action Network is here.

Promoting fundraising for your Local/Community Group through your emails

Tips on linking to fundraisers from Action Network emails (see 'Promoting your Chuffed Fundraiser')

Fundraising Methods

Activities and Events just for Fundraising

Activities just for fundraising

You might have people in your group who are up for running fundraising activities outside the usual XR events. the following can be fun and successful ways of raising money and broadening the people we reach out to!

Fundraising Methods

Using donation tins and buckets

You can buy donation tins and buckets online, or make your own. Metal or plastic coffee or hot chocolate containers work well, with a slot in the top and some paper wrapped around and decorated.

If you buy a tin or bucket, it is best to get one with a chain and small carabiner (or add this yourself) so it can be anchored to a table.
These can then be used at all your events and meetings to collect cash.

When counting donations, you might prefer to count the cash in a pair so there are no misunderstandings about the amount collected and who has taken it to bank/to look after.

Lots of people do not carry cash these days so having a QR code printed on the donation tin can be very useful.

You can create one yourself for your own crowdfunder or use this QR code below that directs people to the XRUK crowdfunder:

QR code for printing

Note: Please take care not to use the XR logo (hourglass shape inside a circle) on fundraising kit as its designer has asked that it is not be used for commercial purposes. However we can use the name Extinction Rebellion and graphics other than the hourglass logo.


green donation bucket

Fundraising Methods

Contactless/Card Payments

Contactless/card payment devices are very helpful for fundraising, now that fewer people carry cash. People can make payments easily using their cards or their phone and the contactless/card payment devices are very easy to use.

Obviously you need a bank account to receive the funds taken via these devices.

Organisations like Zettle and SUMUP provide the interface platform between a bank account and the payment device. For this service, they take a fee deducted from your takings. Of course, they also sell you the payment device in the first place too! Some devices that are free up-front end up taking more in the long run via percentage revenues raised by you.

Cheaper devices (some cost as little as £20) do not have SIM cards built in, These need to be paired with the smart mobile phone of the person using the device. That person must have an account set up for them beforehand. If a different person uses it, then that all needs to be done again for the new phone. This is very fiddly and needs dedication! The drawback of these devices is they do not work so well when mobile phone coverage is less than perfect.

Our strong advice is to buy a contactless/card payment device with a SIM card already in.

Which Platform?

SUMUP is straightforward to set up with an online account. Their Solo device, which costs about £90, has a built in SIM so it can be used by anyone, anywhere.

Be aware that you do need to:

Presumably these actions deter criminals from using the platform, but also instill confidence in potential donors.

Other platforms can require a higher level of proof of your reason for collecting payments.

Raise Funds for XR UK with a Contactless/Card Device

If you want us to provide a contactless/card payment device that is set up to direct funds into the XR UK bank account, please contact the fundraising team.

Get in touch through the Mattermost Fundraising Reception channel or email fundraising@rebellion.earth

Fundraising Methods

Creating a crowdfunder

Chuffed is a fantastic way to raise funds, as long as you have a bank account to receive the money.

Setting up a Chuffed fundraiser

Chuffed makes money by taking a cut of the money that is donated. You can either set up the fundraiser so the cut is taken as a percentage of the money donated, or you can set it up so that the donors can decide how much to give Chuffed in addition to their donation to XR (including an option to give nothing at all).

Setting up a Chuffed account and your first fundraiser takes about an hour and Chuffed guide you nicely through the process. If you are nervous about this, then consider doing the set up with someone else supporting.

You will need:

Have all this decided and ready before you start the set up.

Why do you need a Stripe account too?

As part of the setup process, you will be prompted to set up a Stripe account, as well as your Chuffed account. Stripe is a platform that processes payments from debit and credit cards, Paypal, ApplePay GooglePay, etc. Stripe sits invisibly behind Chuffed and manages the process that transfers the money from a donor’s account to your bank account.

This means that if you want to have a Chuffed fundraiser then you also need to set up an account with Stripe. You are prompted to do this as part of the Chuffed account set up process, so it is all made straightforward for you. It is Stripe, not Chuffed who will hold your bank account details, Stripe and Chuffed are separate organisations.

Promoting your Chuffed Fundraiser

QR codes linked to online fundraisers can be a great alternative to a card/contactless device. They enable people who don't carry cash to donate, without the need for the group to have a card/contactless device. Get more info here on creating QR codes to link to your fundraiser.

Here is some guidance if you want to use links or buttons to crowdfunders in Action Network emails.

Regular giving via Chuffed

You can also set up your Chuffed fundraiser to allow people to donate monthly. This can be a lot easier for people to set up than manually creating a Standing Order via their bank. Find out how to set this up here.

Further Support

If you need help with any of this - you can get support from the XRUK Fundraising team - contact us on our Mattermost reception or by emailing fundraising@rebellion.earth

Fundraising Methods

Business cards to order or print

IMG_0879.jpg

Business Cards

Little cards (the size of a business card) with a Sign-up QR code on one side and a Donate QR code on the other are very useful because:

Download artwork for the current XRUK business cards

These cards can be used by anyone for XRUK fundraising.

You can get some of these by contacting the fundraising team or downloading the artwork below and getting your own printed. Of course, you can also create your own artwork and QR codes and make your own cards!

Someone wants to donate, but you have no QR codes or materials...

The DONATE and JOIN OUR MAILING LIST buttons are always at the top of our website when accessed from a phone, so just ask people to search for XR UK if you do not have any cards!

Training and Support

Further support

We can offer bespoke support to groups who need it. Some of the things we've supported groups with in the past include:

If you would like further help with any of the above, or need support with something not covered in these Rebel Toolkit pages, you can contact us here: