Frequently asked questions

This August, we’re baking to change the future. So everyone with breast cancer lives and lives well. 

Thousands of people will hold a Breast Cancer Now Afternoon Tea for their friends and family. They’ll bake, buy and brew. And they’ll raise money for life-saving science and life-changing support. 

Love to bake it? Prefer to fake it? Whatever your style, you can help us be here for everyone who needs us. From a shop-bought picnic to a home made extravaganza. You do it your way. And we’re right here to help. 

So sign up. Select your showstopper. And start changing the future.

We’re the UK’s leading breast cancer charity. And we’re combining the power of science and support to change the future of breast cancer.  

We have a bold vision. That by 2050, everyone with breast cancer will live and live well. We can’t do it on our own. But together, we can make change happen. Now.

Change is happening in our labs right now. So no one dies of breast cancer in the future.
We’re here with life-changing support now. So no one faces breast cancer alone.

And we’re campaigning to make change happen now. So everyone with breast cancer can live and live well.

Find out more about our work.

You can sign up here for your free Afternoon Tea fundraising kit.

Planning an Afternoon Tea is fun and easy! The first thing you need to do is sign up for your free fundraising kit.  

Then pop a date in the diary, invite guests and get planning.

Love to bake it? Prefer to fake it? Whatever your style, you can help us be here for everyone who needs us. From a shop-bought picnic to a home made extravaganza. You do it your way. And with recipes, games and decorations – we’re here to help.

Big or small. However you do your tea, the money you raise will help change the future of breast cancer.  

Last year Afternoon Tea fundraisers raised over £1.95 million. 

The money raised is helping to change the future of breast cancer. It could…

Fund over 48,000 hours of world-class science in the lab. When it comes to research, every second counts. And every hour in the lab brings us even closer to life-saving breakthroughs. 

Or help over 60,000 people get answers by calling our free helpline. No question is too big or small. And all calls are answered by breast care nurses and trained staff. 

If you’d prefer to hold your event a different month, that’s absolutely fine. 

When you’ve set your date, please do pop us an email letting us know. We’d love to wish you the best of luck!

Your fundraising kit will be sent second class and can take up to 2 weeks to arrive. If you’re worried you won't receive it in time for your event, please do let us know at afternoontea@breastcancernow.org, and we’ll see what we can do.  

While you wait, we have lots of wonderful materials available on our website that you can download and print at home. We’re also on hand if you need any inspiration, tips or have any questions.  

JustGiving is a great way for your friends and family to easily donate to your Afternoon Tea. It’s easy to set up and means they can donate using their debit card, Apple Pay or Google Pay.

To set up your page, head to our JustGiving Afternoon Tea campaign page and follow the step-by-step instructions.

Cash
If you’re collecting cash, simply pop your donation box and Gift Aid form out. Then watch them fill up with donations!

With Gift Aid, your eligible guests can increase the value of their donation by 25% without spending another penny. You can download more Gift Aid forms here. 

We’d recommend collecting all donations yourself and sending your fundraising to us in one payment.

It can be difficult to match up donations when your guests donate to us directly.

Sending everything together means we can thank you properly for your amazing fundraising and get the amount right on your certificate!

To create your fundraising page, just head to our JustGiving Afternoon Tea campaign page, click on “start fundraising” and follow the steps.

We will send you a fundraising kit in the post, emails with tips and ideas and our friendly team may give you a call to see if you need any help. 

If you need any help at all you can email us at afternoontea@breastcancernow.org or call us on 0333 20 70 300. 

If you miss a call from 0117 3254308 that will be us. However, if you’d like to call us directly the best number to call is 0333 20 70 300.

Yes that was us! We work with a company called Ethicall and their experienced fundraisers.

One of the friendly team were calling on our behalf to thank you for signing up to hold an Afternoon Tea and check you had everything you needed. 

If would like to arrange for us to call you back at a convenient time or if you’d prefer not to be called again just pop us an email at afternoontea@breastcancernow.org to let us know. 

Of course! We have lots of wonderful materials we can send you to help with your fundraising, including balloons, stickers, invitations and games. Order your extras here.

We’ve put together a handy blog that's full of tips to follow when organising a raffle. For example, did you know that you can only sell raffle tickets at the location of and during your event? So, make sure you take a peek.  

You can find out more information by reading the Gambling Commission’s advice on how to run a fundraiser with lotteries or raffles at events. 

If you have any questions at all, do get in touch at afternoontea@breastcancernow.org or 0333 2070 300. 

Yes, we have lots of premade games you can play, including a tea-themed quiz, bingo, sweepstakes and many more.

You can download games to play or order some to your door. 

We have lots of scrumptious recipes to help you bake a difference.

There are some delicious recipes on the website including Andi Oliver's Coconut and lime cheesecake and Matty Edgell's caramelised onion sausage rolls. 

You can talk to other incredible Afternoon Tea supporters, get some brilliant tips, and see what everyone is up to by joining our new Afternoon Tea Facebook group. 

Gift Aid is a brilliant way of increasing the value of your donation at no cost to yourself or your guests. 

Please encourage anyone who makes a donation at your Afternoon Tea to sign up if they’re eligible. This means that for every £1 donated, Breast Cancer Now will be able to claim 25p from HMRC.

The additional support will help to fund Breast Cancer Now’s vital work, making a difference to the lives of even more people affected by breast cancer. 

So please pop your Gift Aid form with your collection box and remember to encourage everyone at your Afternoon Tea event to add their full name, home address, postcode and donation amount and date. And to tick the Gift Aid box if they’re eligible.

To sign up for Gift Aid, a guest must be a UK tax payer and pay an amount of Income Tax or Capital Gains Tax each tax year (6 April – 5 April) at least equal to the amount of tax that all the charities they donate to will reclaim on their gifts for that tax year. Other taxes such as VAT and Council Tax do not qualify. 

If you are the Afternoon Tea organiser, please note that HMRC do not allow you to claim Gift Aid on the total amount that you have collected. Please encourage anyone who has donated to your collection to add their details to the Gift Aid form for the individual amount they donated. 

To find out more about Gift Aid, visit the Gov UK website.

You can let us know at any time whether you are eligible for Gift Aid or not by getting in touch with our Supporter Care Team: email at hello@breastcancernow.org or by phoning 0333 20 70 300. 

Many companies will support their employees’ charity of choice by offering to match the funds raised. Please ask your employer as it’s a fantastic way to boost your fundraising efforts and helps Breast Cancer Now fund even more science and support.

Yes you can! But you must seek permission from the council or land owner first. There are a few things more to consider when organising a public event. Check out our public events blog for more guidance, hints and tips. 

If you have any questions at all please get in touch with the team on afternoontea@breastcancernow.org or call us on 0333 20 70 300. 

Here are a few ways to pay in your fantastic fundraising:

By Card: Go to breastcancernow.org/afternoonteapay or call 0333 20 70 300  to pay in over the phone. If donating by phone, a member of our team will guide you through making a donation using your phone keypad.

Send a cheque: Write us a cheque made payable to ‘Breast Cancer Now’. Send to Freepost AFTERNOON TEA. Please include your contact details and your Afternoon Tea registration number.

At the bank: If you’re thinking about paying in at the bank, please email us at afternoontea@breastcancernow.org so we can help.

JustGiving send your fantastic fundraising straight to us. You don’t need to do anything.

Just let us know when you’ve finished fundraising so we can send out your thank you letter.

Please note, it can take a few weeks for donations to be sent to us, so do bear with us if it takes a short while to thank you.

No, there’s no requirement or benefit to closing your JustGiving page before the expiry date.

Your donations on JustGiving are sent to us regardless of whether your page is closed or not, and Breast Cancer Now are not notified when your page closes.

Instead please just email us at afternoontea@breastcancernow.org to let us know when you’ve finished fundraising so we can send out your thank you letter and certificate. 

Of course! Once you’ve paid in your fundraising, we’ll send you a thank you letter and certificate in the post that you can display.  

If you have any questions about the certificate, or if you’d like a digital copy, please do get in touch with the tea-loving team at afternoontea@breastcancernow.org or call us 0333 20 70 300. 

We’re sorry to hear you can’t hold an Afternoon Tea this year and it’s extremely kind of you to want to make a personal donation. Your generous support means so much to us.  

You can make your donation using our online form.