Our Donor Charter

As a charity seeking donations from the public, we – Ataxia Foundation Ireland – aim to comply with the Statement of Guiding Principles for Fundraising.

Your support means a huge amount to us, and we believe that it’s crucially important to meet the highest standards when receiving your generous donations.  These Principles represent our commitment to that.

At AFI, we provide support and assistance to people with all types of ataxias. We pledge to treat all our donors equally with respect, honesty and openness. We commit to being accountable and transparent so that donors and prospective donors can have full confidence in us. We promise that we will effectively apply your gifts to us for their intended purposes.

We commit to you, our donors and prospective donors, that we will:

• Share information about our mission, and of the way we intend to use donated resources.
• Provide you with information about those serving on our governing board, and Management Committee and ensure that the board will exercise prudent judgment in its stewardship responsibilities.
• Make access to our most recent financial statements available.
• Ensure that your gifts will be used for the purposes for which they were given.
• Acknowledge and recognise your donation in an appropriate and timely manner.
• Ensure that information about your donation is handled with respect and with confidentiality to the extent provided by law.
• Guarantee that all relationships with individuals representing the charity – whether they are employees or volunteers – will be dealt with promptly and professionally.
• Inform you whether those seeking donations are volunteers, employees of the organisation or hired third-party agents.
• Make easily available the agreed procedures for making and responding to complaints.
• Give you the opportunity for your name to be deleted from mailing lists and to be informed if we intend to share the mailing lists with third parties.

Provide prompt, truthful and forthright answers to questions you might have of us

If you have any comments or questions, please get in touch with Maureen Sweeney by emailing info@afi.ie or by calling 087 361 6616 at any time from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm Monday to Friday

What happens next?

If you complain in person or over the phone, we will try to resolve the issue there and then.  Similarly, if you complain by email or in writing, we will always acknowledge your complaint within seven days, and do everything we can to resolve it within 21 days.  If this is not possible, we will explain why and provide a new deadline.

What if the complaint is not resolved?

If you are not happy with our response, you can get in touch with us again by writing to our Chairman. The Chairman will ensure that your appeal is considered at Board level and will respond within two weeks of this consideration by Board members.

In this case, please submit your complaint in writing, addressed to the Chairman, Ataxia Foundation Ireland, Carmichael House, North Brunswick St, Dublin D07 RHA8.

Please note that this complaints procedure does not apply to AFI staff or agents.