Donor Charter

Our Promise to You

Thank you for supporting Green Ocean Foundation. Your generosity helps us improve marine habitats and protect Ireland’s coastal and marine environment.

When you give to us, you have the right to:

1. Know who we are, what we do and how to contact us.
2. Know how your donation will be used, and have any request to use it for a specific purpose honoured.
3. Give freely, without pressure, and to say no.
4. Have your personal information kept safe, never sold or swapped, and used only as you have agreed.
5. Stop hearing from us whenever you choose.
6. Receive an acknowledgement and, on request, a receipt.
7. See our annual report and financial statements.
8. Be treated with courtesy, respect and honesty by everyone who fundraises for us.
9. Give feedback or make a complaint, and have it taken seriously and answered promptly.

How We Use Your Donation

Every donation is spent on our charitable purpose: restoring and protecting coastal and marine habitats.

• General donations go where they are needed most across our restoration sites and work.
• Donations for a specific purpose, such as one restoration site, are used only for that purpose and tracked separately. If that purpose can no longer be met, we will contact you to agree a new use or offer a refund.
• We publish our annual report and financial statements on this website and file them with the Charities Regulator and the Companies Registration Office. They show how much we raised, what fundraising cost and how funds were used.

How We Fundraise

We fundraise honestly, openly and respectfully, and we follow the Charities Regulator’s Guidelines for Charitable Organisations on Fundraising from the Public.

• We describe our work and its impact accurately and never exaggerate what a gift will achieve.
• We never pressure anyone to give, and we accept “no” straight away.
• We do not cold call, knock on doors asking for regular gifts, or use paid street-fundraising agencies.
• Our public collections are held only with the required Garda permit or the property owner’s permission, and our collectors carry identification.
• Everyone who fundraises for us, including volunteers, is briefed on how we expect them to behave.
• We will not accept a donation from anyone who appears not to understand what they are agreeing to, or who seems distressed or confused. We do not ask children for donations.

Gifts We Accept

We welcome gifts that help our mission, and we may decline a gift or partnership that would damage our work or public trust. For example, we may decline where:

• The donor’s activities conflict with our mission, such as causing serious, ongoing harm to marine or coastal environments.
• A partnership would be used mainly to make an organisation look environmentally responsible without real action.
• The gift comes with conditions that would affect our independence.
• We have concerns about where the money has come from.

We check every new corporate partner before agreeing a partnership, and review any single donation of more than €1,000 before accepting it. Where there is doubt, our Board decides.

Your Personal Information

We look after your information carefully and handle it in line with data protection law and our Donor Privacy Policy.

• We only collect what we need to process your donation, thank you and keep you informed if you have agreed.
• We only send fundraising emails or texts with your consent, or where the law allows us to contact existing supporters, and every message includes an easy way to opt out.
• We never sell, rent or swap your details.
• You can ask to see, correct or delete the information we hold about you, or stop hearing from us, at any time by emailing info@greenoceanfoundation.ie.
• If you are unhappy with how we have handled your data, you can complain to the Data Protection Commission.

Tax Relief on Your Donation

Green Ocean Foundation holds charitable tax exemption from Revenue. If you give €250 or more in a year, we can claim tax back from Revenue under the Charitable Donation Scheme, increasing the value of your gift at no extra cost to you.

To do this, we will ask you to complete a short Revenue form; the form needed depends on how you pay tax. Companies can also claim tax relief on qualifying donations. Contact us for details.

Refunds

If you made a donation in error, or have any other concern about a gift, contact us at info@greenoceanfoundation.ie. We will consider every reasonable request for a refund, and will always refund a gift made by someone who did not understand what they were agreeing to.

Fundraising For Green Ocean

We love it when supporters raise money for us, whether through a sea swim, a cake sale or an online page. Before you start, please get in touch at info@greenoceanfoundation.ie. We’ll send you a letter of authority and guidance on using our name and logo. We ask that you:

• Describe your event as ‘in aid of Green Ocean Foundation‘, not as organised by us.
• Get any permits you need, and run your event safely; we cannot take responsibility for events we do not organise.
• Send us the money you raise within 30 days of your event.
• Only say things about our work that are accurate; we’re happy to help with wording.

We may withdraw permission to use our name if these terms are not followed.

Feedback and Complaints

We welcome your feedback, and if something has gone wrong, we want to know so we can put it right.

If your complaint is about our Team Lead, it goes straight to the Chair. We record every complaint, report them to our Board, and use them to improve how we work. If you remain unhappy after our review, you can raise a concern with the Charities Regulator.

Public Compliance Statement

Green Ocean Foundation CLG is committed to complying with the Charities Regulator’s Guidelines for Charitable Organisations on Fundraising from the Public. Our Board has formally discussed and adopted the Guidelines. We:

• Have a Donor Charter consistent with the Guidelines.
• Consider the Guidelines when planning all our fundraising.
• Regularly monitor our compliance, with reports to our Board.
• Have a feedback and complaints procedure for fundraising.
• Provide honest, open and transparent information when fundraising from the public.
• Brief everyone who fundraises for us on the Guidelines.
• Prepare financial reports in line with the Charities Act 2009.
• Do not currently use third-party fundraising agencies.

Contact

• Charity Name: Green Ocean Foundation CLG

• Email: info@greenoceanfoundation.ie

• Registered Charity Number (RCN): 20206959

• Revenue Charity number (CHY): 20206959

• Company Registration Number: 772171

• Charter Approved by Our Board: Oct 2026

What’s Happening at Green Ocean Now?

Check out updates on our projects here