Thank you so much for your interest in supporting the National Autistic Society. 

The ongoing pandemic has had a devastating effect on our fundraising income and the repercussions of the crisis continue to affect our services and provisions for autistic people. 

We hope that many of our supporters will join us in raising as much as possible to support autistic people and their families in 2021, when it is most needed. But we also understand that many of you might feel anxious or hesitant about planning to raise money for us in 2021. 

While we cannot predict what will happen next (as much as we would like to!), we are moving into 2021 with a cautiously optimistic outlook and we are hopeful that many, if not all of our fundraising events and activities are able to go ahead. 

We aim to keep you updated on all fundraising events and campaigns, and all the relevant webpages will be regularly reviewed and any signed-up event participants will be notified about changes as soon as is possible.  

Additionally, we want to provide you with clear and straightforward guidelines about the sign-up process and our plans for 2021. 

So, we hope the ‘frequently asked questions’ (FAQs) below are useful! If you have a more general enquiry about fundraising for the National Autistic Society, please email fundraising@nas.org.uk.  

I was due to take part in an event in 2020 but it was cancelled; what do I do now? 

If you were signed up to an event that was cancelled or postponed, you should have heard from one of our Supporter Fundraising team by now. 

If you have yet to hear from someone, please contact us as follows:- 

• For queries regarding the Virgin Money London Marathon, the Scafell Pike trek or Yorkshire Three Peaks trek, please contact John Springate on john.springate@nas.org.uk or 020 7903 3556.  
• For the Jurassic Coast trek, London Landmarks Half Marathon, Berlin Marathon or New York Marathon, please contact Lauren Bartlett on lauren.bartlett@nas.org.uk or 020 7903 3589.  
• For all student fundraising events, please contact Sam De Marco on samuel.demarco@nas.org.uk or 0207 903 3529.  
• For the Spectrum Night Walks, please contact Caz Rees on caz.rees@nas.org.uk.
• And for the Royal Parks Half Marathon, the RideLondon-Surrey 100, the Great North Run, Abseil for Autism or All Aboard for Autism, please contact Hannah Lumley on hannah.lumley@nas.org.uk or 020 7923 5716. 

I would like to take part in a challenge event in 2021; what events are taking place? 

We are hoping and aiming for a busy and safe 2021, and we have a number of events already scheduled to take place. Check out our fundraising webpages for more information. 

Be sure to follow our ‘Team Autism’ Facebook feed for more updates! 

I would like to plan my own fundraising event or activity – how can I get started?  

You came to the right place!  

We have ‘how to’ guides and step-by-step instructions dedicated to just that – our ‘fundraising at home’ guide might be especially useful. 

To find out more about organising your own fundraising activity, please visit our webpages on 'doing your own thing'. 

What happens if I sign up for an event but it is unable to go ahead due to Covid-19 or other circumstances? 

Where possible, and if it is an event organised by the National Autistic Society, we would aim to postpone rather than cancel the event. Where the event has been organised by someone other than the National Autistic Society (e.g. the London Marathon, the Great North Run), we will work closely with the organisers and update our supporters as soon as we have information to share. 

As we are sure you will understand, we have to judge each situation individually to see what the best course of action is. We will contact you as soon as is possible to discuss that course of action. 

What happens if I have to cancel my own fundraising activities for any reason? 

We are lucky and extremely grateful to have supporters take on many varied activities to raise money to support autistic people and their families. If you would like to speak to someone about changing your plans, or if you have any concerns about your fundraising, please contact us on community.fundraising@nas.org.uk or 0808 800 1050. 

If an event is cancelled, will my raised funds be refunded? 

Where possible, we would aim to reschedule the event or activity rather than cancel altogether. 

In order to issue a refund in this case, the person who sponsored you or donated towards your activity would need to contact us in writing to claim back their sponsorship/donation. 

If an event is cancelled, can I claim back my registration fee? 

We are unable to refund any registration fees, except in exceptional circumstances. It is our longstanding policy that these are non-refundable, in order to cover basic administrative and marketing costs. This is stated in the terms and conditions that event participants agree to, before confirming their place.  

N.B: The registration fee for the New York Marathon covers more than these administrative costs and so part of the fee might be recoverable upon event cancellation. Please contact our Supporter Care team on events@nas.org.uk or 0808 800 1050 for more information about this event. 

I have a different question! 

We have a team of fundraising experts ready to help. Please email fundraising@nas.org.uk or call 0808 800 1050.