Your Donation. Our Responsibility.
When you donate to One World Relief, you trust us to use your support responsibly, efficiently and in furtherance of our charitable purposes.
These terms explain how we manage donations, programme funds, project costs, Zakat and circumstances where plans or costs change.
100% Project Donations · Donor Intent Respected · Volunteer Led · Trustee Oversight
You Trust Us to Make Responsible Decisions.
A donation is a charitable gift to One World Relief. It is not a purchase of goods or services and does not give the donor control over our operational decisions.
General donations give our trustees flexibility to use funds across One World Relief’s charitable purposes according to need, priorities, normal charitable practice and the reasonable understanding under which the donation was made.
Project, programme or appeal donations are managed for the stated charitable purpose or fund, subject to these Terms and the wording of the relevant appeal.
We listen carefully to donor wishes. The trustees and authorised senior managers are then trusted to make appropriate decisions on behalf of the charity and its donors. The trustees retain ultimate responsibility, while appropriate day-to-day decisions may be delegated to authorised senior managers and field teams.
Project Donations Stay Focused on Project Work.
100% of project donations are allocated to charitable project work.
We fund One World Relief’s general administration and running costs separately through sources including Gift Aid, admin supporters, private donors, corporate support and pro bono support.
Project delivery itself can involve genuine costs such as purchasing, transport, local labour, installation, storage and field delivery. Where possible, we may use separate funds to meet some of these legitimate project costs too — allowing the value delivered through a project to go even further.
We Manage the Variations.
Some projects are offered at a standard donation amount — for example, a water well or food parcel.
The amount shown is a standard contribution to delivering that type of project, not a guarantee that every individual project will cost exactly that amount.
Actual costs can vary because of location, depth, ground conditions, quantities, transport, materials, exchange rates, availability and other local circumstances.
Where appropriate, donations are pooled and ring-fenced within the relevant project or programme fund. Water stays with water. If one water project costs slightly less, the remaining balance can support another eligible water project. If another costs more, we may meet the difference from the same programme fund or other funds available for that purpose.
By donating to a fixed-price project or programme, you authorise One World Relief to manage reasonable cost variations, purchasing arrangements, exchange-rate movements, project specifications and over- or underspends within the stated charitable purpose or programme fund.
This allows us to operate smoothly, negotiate effectively and respond to conditions on the ground while keeping funds working for their intended charitable purpose.
Same Purpose First.
Humanitarian work does not always go exactly to plan. Costs, access, availability and needs can change. A project may become fully funded, delayed, impractical or impossible.
Where funds cannot reasonably be used exactly as first anticipated, and the original appeal terms allow it, we will normally prioritise them in this order:
Same project or purpose → Same programme or fund → Closely related charitable purpose
This gives us practical flexibility while remaining as close as reasonably possible to the purpose for which people gave. Where appropriate and practicable, we may communicate significant changes to donors.
The trustees retain responsibility for deciding how charitable funds should ultimately be applied in accordance with our charitable purposes, applicable restrictions, these Terms and charity law.
A Shortfall Doesn't Automatically Stop the Work.
If a project receives less than expected, we may top it up, adjust the scale, combine eligible funds or deliver an appropriate alternative within the stated purpose.
This allows smaller donations to work together and prevents unnecessary disruption to projects.
Extra Care for an Act of Worship.
Zakat is not treated as an ordinary charitable donation. It is an act of worship governed by specific religious rules concerning intention, agency, eligibility, ownership and distribution.
We therefore administer Zakat separately and with particular caution.
Our procedures have been developed with scholarly guidance and seek, wherever reasonably possible, to fulfil the requirements of the four major Sunni schools of jurisprudence — Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi’i and Hanbali.
This includes consideration of intention, agency, eligible recipients, transfer of ownership, method of distribution, currency and goods, and location of distribution. Zakat is not used for One World Relief’s general administration, and not every charitable activity or beneficiary automatically qualifies for Zakat.
When you give Zakat through One World Relief, you authorise us to administer and distribute it in accordance with our Zakat procedures and authorisation.
Additional Income, Separate from Your Donation.
Gift Aid is additional charitable income claimed from HMRC where an eligible UK taxpayer has made a valid declaration. It is separate from the donor’s original project donation.
Gift Aid may therefore be used flexibly to support One World Relief’s charitable work, project delivery, administration, compliance and other legitimate costs.
Help Us Identify Your Donation.
When paying by bank transfer, please use your phone number followed by the project or donation type wherever possible.
Example: 07777459595 Water
This helps us identify and allocate your donation correctly.
Banks, card processors, fundraising platforms and currency providers may charge transaction or conversion fees. For ordinary OWR projects, we manage reasonable payment and delivery variations within our overall funding model. Zakat requires particular care because we can only distribute the amount actually received and available on the donor’s behalf.
Tell Us Quickly If Something Went Wrong.
Charitable donations are gifts and should not normally be treated in the same way as ordinary purchases.
If you believe you have made a duplicate payment, entered the wrong amount, used a payment method without authority or made another genuine payment error, please contact us as soon as possible.
Any request to return a donation will be considered in accordance with applicable law, the circumstances of the donation, any restrictions attached to it and the trustees’ duties. We cannot promise that every donation can be refunded, particularly where funds have already been committed or where the law restricts our ability to return charitable funds.
Protecting the Charity Matters Too.
One World Relief may carry out appropriate checks relating to donations and donors.
Where necessary, we may refuse, hold, investigate or take appropriate action concerning a donation for reasons including fraud, sanctions, anti-money laundering, illegality, safeguarding, regulatory requirements or unacceptable donor conditions.
We will act in accordance with our legal obligations and the trustees’ duties to protect the charity.
Local Judgement. Trustee Responsibility.
The Board of Trustees retains ultimate responsibility for One World Relief’s charitable funds and activities.
Operational authority may be delegated to authorised senior managers, volunteers and field coordinators so decisions can be made effectively and promptly. This is particularly important in humanitarian work, where prices, access, availability and local circumstances can change quickly.
Delegated decisions remain subject to OWR’s governance, policies, charitable purposes and trustee oversight.
Donors trust us to make these decisions responsibly on their behalf — and we take that responsibility seriously.
Questions Are Welcome.
Ask us questions. Challenge us. And if you think we can do something better, tell us.
Constructive questions and criticism help One World Relief analyse, improve and grow. We want donors, volunteers and everyone who follows our work to feel part of our charity, not simply observers of it.
Your Details Are Handled Responsibly.
We use donor information in accordance with applicable data-protection requirements and our Privacy Policy. Additional records may be required for purposes including Gift Aid, financial reporting, regulatory compliance and donor communication.
We may update these Terms when our operations, policies, legal requirements or donation methods change. The latest version published on our website applies to donations made subject to it.
Last updated: October 2026
If Something Isn't Clear, Ask Us.
WhatsApp: +44 7777 459595
Email: info@oneworldrelief.org.uk
