Qualifications T&Cs

For Certificate in Fundraising and Diploma in Fundraising qualification courses, the start date is the date of the first training session or day although pre-course tasks are required as a necessary element of course participation. Information regarding any such pre-course tasks will be provided a minimum of 2 weeks before the start date of the course.

Where the joining fee / first year of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising's Individual Membership is included in your booking fee, this will take effect from as soon as we receive your reference, in line with the Chartered Institute's standard membership application process.

You are expected to attend every session. Only under exceptional circumstances may a student join part way through a qualification course and acceptance is at the discretion of the management. In the event of a student leaving the qualification course for any reason, no substitute or replacement student can join in their place. It will also not be possible to be transferred to a later course in these circumstances. In these cases no refund or partial refund of course fees will be given.

While the Chartered Institute of Fundraising recognises that students combine study with paid or voluntary work, it is the responsibility of students to organise their time in ways which allow them to participate in required learning and teaching activities and complete assignments and examinations at the appropriate time. Students in the UK by virtue of a visa must comply with the terms and conditions of their visa. Persistent absence from required learning and teaching activities may constitute grounds for termination of their programme of study. Students experiencing illness or other personal difficulties which may affect their attendance or performance should contact the qualifications team via email as soon as such difficulties occur.

The Chartered Institute has procedures for students wishing, in exceptional circumstances, to request an extension to an assignment deadline or the deferral of examinations, or to lodge a request for 'special considerations' where the student is concerned that their performance may be affected by adverse personal or medical circumstances. Students are encouraged to contact the qualifications team with any needs.

Students must present themselves at such examinations or other formal assessment tasks as may be required by their qualification course, if students have not satisfied the programme requirements or paid the fees prescribed, their scripts and other work may not be marked.

Payment must be received within 15 days of the invoice date or in advance of the training course start date, whichever is the sooner and regardless of booking date. Payment can be made as follows:

Online: Payment can be taken online at time of booking by credit or debit card, or alternatively an invoice can be requested

Credit card: As above, or subsequent to a booking being made, a credit or debit card payment can be made by calling the Chartered Institute of Fundraising Training & Events team between 09:00-17:00 on weekdays

BACS: Chartered Institute of Fundraising, NatWest Bank, Sort Code 60-20-31, Account 64806057, Iban GB06 NWBK 60203 16480 6057, Swift Number NWBKGB2L

Cheque: Please make cheques payable to the Chartered Institute of Fundraising and send them to Chartered Institute of Fundraising, CAN Mezzanine, 7-14 Great Dover Street, LONDON, SE1 4YR

Please make sure you quote invoice number in any correspondence.

A place on a course can be used by a substitute attendee at no extra charge up to 4 weeks before the course start date. If a higher rate is applicable to the substitute attendee (for example due to Chartered Institute of Fundraising's Individual Member status), the difference will apply and be invoiced upon notification of the substitution. Please contact the team by phone on 020 7840 1020 AND via email academy@institute-of-fundraising.org.uk with details of the original attendee and the nominated substitute’s details, including name, job title, organisation, email address and telephone number. (Note, pre-course work is usually required for every qualification course, it is the responsibility of every student to complete such tasks to the deadlines set).

It is only possible for an attendee to transfer courses up to a minimum of 4 full working weeks prior to the start date of a qualifications course by advising us in writing via email to academy@institute-of-fundraising.org.uk AND contacting the team by phone on 020 7840 1020. (Note, pre-course work is usually required for every qualification course, it is the responsibility of every student to complete such tasks to the deadlines set).

This option only relates to students who are transferring to the same course on an alternative start date within 12 months of the start date of the course originally booked. In this case, the value of the booking fee will be transferred to the nominated course. If the attendee fails to nominate an alternative course with a start date falling within 12 months of the start date of the course originally booked, it is considered a cancellation.

All outstanding invoices will remain due, irrespective of the number of working days notice given for the cancellation. The following additional charges will also apply:

• For course transfers of which we are advised in writing via email to academy@institute-of-fundraising.org.uk more than 2 months before the course start date, no extra fee will apply.
• For course transfers of which we are advised in writing via email to academy@institute-of-fundraising.org.uk between 1 and 2 months before the course start date, an administration fee of £65 will apply.
• For course transfers of which we are advised in writing via email to academy@institute-of-fundraising.org.uk less than a month before the course start date, an administration fee £65 plus 15% of the applicable course fee will apply.

A student wishing to defer their programme of study temporarily (e.g. because of personal or medical reasons) should notify the Chartered Institute team and confirm the request writing via email. Once the decision has been taken to defer the programme of study, the student should follow the procedures required by the team/course in which they are enrolled. Deferrals will normally be granted for a defined period not exceeding twelve (12) months.

In determining the duration of any deferral and the most appropriate time for the student to return to study, due account will be taken of the structure of the programme as well as the student's needs. Students may apply to extend a period of deferral for further periods of up to twelve months at a time; however, deferrals covering periods greater than twenty four (24) months continuously will normally be granted only under the most exceptional circumstances. Students unable or unwilling to return to study after twenty four (24) months in deferral will be will be automatically unenrolled from their qualification course unless otherwise agreed in writing.

A student who opts to withdraw permanently from their Chartered Institute of Fundraising qualification course not having completed their programme must inform the team in writing by email and complete the relevant form. Where a student ceases without notice to attend the teaching days or participate in scheduled learning and teaching activities, or fails to return from an approved period of deferral without notice that person will be deemed to have withdrawn from their course and will be automatically unenrolled from their qualification course. For avoidance of doubt in such circumstances the student ceases to be a student of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising.

If a student no longer wants to take up the place booked on a chosen course or continue their studies, the student can cancel. Cancellations must be received in writing via email to academy@institute-of-fundraising.org.uk and must contain the full booking details including student and organisation name and contact details. Your cancellation will be confirmed in writing to the fee payer along with an invoice for any outstanding fees due.

The following charges will apply if a student wishes to cancel a course:

• For the period of 1 calendar month prior to the course start date, no refund will be given on cancellations. In the event that the invoice has not yet been paid, the full amount is due. If a joining fee / first year of Individual Membership was included in your course fee, you would be registered as an individual Associate member of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising for twelve months and will be contacted for renewal according to standard IoF procedures.
• For the period of 1 calendar month to 2 calendar months prior to the course start date, a 50% refund is obtainable on cancellations. In the event that the invoice has not yet been paid, 50% of the invoice fee is due. If a joining fee / first year of Individual Membership was included in your course fee, you would be registered as an individual Associate member of the Chartered Institute for twelve months and will be contacted for renewal according to standard Chartered Institute procedures.
• For any cancellations prior to 2 months in advance of the course start date, an 85% refund is obtainable on cancellations. In the event that the invoice has not yet been paid, 15% of the invoice fee is due. If a joining fee / first year of Individual Membership was included in your course fee, your full membership fee will form part of the refund and therefore your new membership application would not proceed.

The award of all bursaries and scholarships are based on their availability and the information provided on the application forms. The awards are made entirely at the discretion of the Chatered Institute of Fundraising. Appeals against decisions will not be accepted. The Chartered Institute retains the right to change the terms relating to bursaries and/or scholarships at any time, and will post these online.

Chartered Institute reserves the right to alter course dates, venues and location where necessary without liability. We will endeavour to give the delegate as much advance notice as possible of any such change via the attendee’s email address provided at time of booking. If the delegate is unable to attend a course at the revised location or date, we will credit 100% of their course fees against a future course or, if requested, refund those fees.

In the event of cancellation, where an alternative cannot be provided in respect of a specific course, a full refund will be offered.

We cannot offer refunds for cancellations due to circumstances outside our control; including adverse weather conditions, transportation issues, major incidents or industrial action. We will not be liable for any other costs incurred including (for example) travel charges or any consequential damages, even if we were advised of these costs.

As a course may be cancelled up to 2 weeks prior to its start date, we recommend that attendees do not book travel arrangements before this time. Any travel or other costs incurred are entirely the attendee’s responsibility. Chartered Institute does not accept any liability for reimbursement of any costs incurred by attendees booked more than 2 weeks before a course start date.

In order to respond rapidly to changes in market demand the Chartered Institute reserves the right to alter its course content and/or faculty at any time.

Chartered Institute's course notes and training cannot be relied upon for legal interpretation. Neither the Chartered Institute nor its employees, faculty, trainers or consultants can accept responsibility for the actions of delegates, or those of other people reading the course notes, or responsibility for any loss incurred as a result of relying on the course content or the course notes.

To ensure our students are not placed at a disadvantage when studying for an Chartered Institute qualification they should have a good command of written and spoken English to complete assignments to the required standard. If you are in doubt about the standard of your spoken and written English as a guide, you will need to have an International English Language Testing Service (IELTS) level 6.0 score or, Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) score of 550 or equivalent. All our students need to ensure they are able to commit time and hard work to complete their course successfully.

We are responsive to your requirements so if you have any special accessibility requirements please contact academy@institute-of-fundraising.org.uk so that we can make reasonable adjustments to enable you to get the most from our course, prior notice of at least 1 week is required to enable us to cater for your needs.

Unless otherwise stated all scheduled IoF training courses include refreshments and a lunch of vegetarian and non-vegetarian sandwiches. The attendee must inform the team by email at academy@institute-of-fundraising.org.uk of any special dietary requirements. We cater for vegetarian, medically recommended and religious restrictive diets only. Please note the Chartered Institute use external providers for all catering purposes and do not accept liability for any failure to meet special dietary requirements.

While we endeavour to cater for a range of dietary requirements are committed to ensuring the safety of our delegates who have any allergy to nuts, peanuts or seeds we cannot guarantee that our food does not contain traces of nuts, peanuts or seeds.  Although we ask our suppliers to ensure that any foods known to contain nuts/peanuts/seeds or their derivatives are suitably labeled, it is impossible to guarantee that products believed not to contain these are 100% free from peanuts/nuts/seeds. This is due to suppliers increasingly stating that products are not free from nut contamination due to possible airborne contamination. If you allergy is severe please be aware the food provided via our suppliers to other delegates may contain traces of nuts, peanuts or seeds.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact academy@institute-of-fundraising.org.uk in good time (at least 1 week in advance of the course start date) to allow for your needs to be catered for.

The Chartered Institute does not accept responsibility for attendees’ personal belongings or valuables, for example laptops or communications devices, brought to courses or exams. These remain the responsibility of the individual attendees.

The Chartered Institute reserves the right to remove any student from their qualification course should their behaviour be deemed inappropriate. In such event, no refund of course fees or other costs shall be made.