Category Archives: Charity & CSR

Charity & CSR, News

SASC invests £4.1m in Oasis Domestic Abuse to fund the purchase of properties to support people escaping domestic abuse

Oasis Domestic Abuse (Oasis), a Kent based charity that has been supporting domestic abuse victims for more than 25 years, has received a social investment loan of £4.1 million from Social and Sustainable Capital (SASC).

 

The loan from SASC’s Social and Sustainable Housing fund (SASH) will fund the purchase of 22 properties, providing 32 bed spaces for women, men and their families escaping domestic abuse. Oasis will buy 12 properties in Thanet, and another 10 properties in Medway, adding to their current portfolio of 20 managed properties.

The properties will vary in size and enable Oasis to accommodate people who are single through to those with larger families, who are referred to the charity through different routes including the police, local authorities and self-referral. In 2020/21 Oasis supported nearly 800 people across Kent and Medway, including 622 adults and 163 children.

As a leader of domestic abuse service development and impact measurement in Kent and Medway, Oasis has more than 15 grants and contracts, and works with commissioning authorities in both areas. As well as refuge and safe accommodation services, they provide group programmes, counselling, mentoring, and training for professionals.

The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 brings a statutory duty on local authorities to provide safe accommodation to victims and children, along with other new duties that will see an expansion of the services currently provided by Oasis.

In April 2021, Oasis merged with sister organisation, Choices DA Services who they had previously worked in collaboration with, and who shared similar objectives, a shared ethos and a proven synergy. As a result of the merger, Medway and North Kent services are now under the remit of Oasis.

Domestic abuse is often a hidden crime that is not reported to the police; however, the latest Office for National Statistics[i] show that 5.7% of adults aged 16 to 59 years experienced domestic abuse in the year ending March 2022.

Deborah Cartwright CEO at Oasis said, “Oasis makes an everyday difference to the lives of those affected by domestic abuse. We provide safe places for people to escape to and to start to rebuild their lives, where they are supported by us on every step of their journey.

“This is the first time we have taken on social investment. The loan will enable us to have more control over our properties, including where they are located and how they are refurbished, and grow our portfolio in a balanced way combining leased and owned properties.”

Ben Rick, Co-Founder and CEO of SASC said, “We are really pleased to support Oasis – they are committed to ensuring that all people affected by domestic abuse can access the support they need. The loan will enable the charity to take a significant step forward into property ownership, rather than relying on landlords, enabling them to help more people and grow the organisation in a sustainable way.”

This investment makes Oasis the 17th organisation to receive funding from SASH.

As of September 2022, SASH was fully committed, having allocated £64.5m of invested capital to charities across the UK. The successor fund, SASH II, launches this autumn, to provide a continuity of funding to frontline providers.

The fund will support charitable organisations that deliver a combination of support and housing move from renting existing housing stock to owning it. SASH II is open for fundraising and targeting £125m.

For more information on Oasis visit: www.oasisdaservice.org

For more information on SASC visit: www.socialandsustainable.com

Awards, Birmingham, Charity & CSR, Charity News, News

West Midlands charity to receive one of the Queen’s final awards

The Buddy Bag Foundation, a West Midlands charity that helps children entering emergency accommodation as they flee domestic violence, will receive one of the final awards approved by Queen Elizabeth II at a special ceremony this month.

The Buddy Bag Foundation will receive the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the highest possible honour bestowed on local charities, equivalent to an MBE.

CEO and co-founder, Karen Williams OBE, said: “The pride I feel for the recognition of our volunteers is immense, that hasn’t changed but now there is an awareness that we are also a part of a chapter in the Royal lineage.”

Karen said being one of the last organisations to receive the Queen’s Award from Queen Elizabeth II ’emphasised the majestic significance of the award’.

The Sutton Coldfield-based charity was nominated for the work of its volunteers who pack ‘Buddy Bags’ full of the essential items a child needs when entering emergency care, with 100% of all donations going directly to the cause.

Karen paid tribute to the team of dedicated volunteers at the Buddy Bag Foundation.

“I know just how special our volunteers are and to see them recognised in this way makes me feel incredibly proud and honoured to work alongside them,” she said.

Karen and volunteers will be at the Birmingham Hippodrome on October 30 to accept the QAVS.

The award will be presented to BBF and 16 other charities by the Lord-Lieutenant of the West Midlands, with the day presenting an opportunity to shine a light on charity workers within the local community.

Further recognition of the hard work of Karen and the volunteers at the BBF will come from an invitation to a Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace to take place in May 2023. Two volunteers from the BBF – alongside representatives from the other winners of the award – will be in attendance, with Karen adding: “This will be a complete honour under the circumstances.”

Visit buddybagfoundation.co.uk to volunteer, donate, or find out more about the cause.

 

Charity & CSR, Homelessness, Law, News

South Wales Personal Injury Firm Celebrates 20 Years Of Helping Clients – by Scooping Major Industry Award and Pledging to Support Homelessness Charity

A leading Welsh law firm has marked 20 years of business success by scooping a major industry accolade and pledging its support to a charity that is tackling homelessness in Wales.

Earlier this year, Mooneerams, which specialises in personal injury claims was crowned Personal Injury Team of the Year at the Wales Legal Awards.

The Cardiff-headquartered firm, which employs 15 legal experts, is also commemorating its 20-year anniversary by increasing its active involvement in the community. The firm has partnered with Shelter Cymru as its first ever nominated charity of the year.

The firm established its first office in Cardiff in 2002 and now has a network of 12 offices across Wales, serving a client base spanning the whole of Wales and England.

Mooneerams specialises in personal injury law for road traffic accidents, in public and workplace accidents, clinical negligence and criminal injuries cases negotiating compensation pay-outs ranging from thousands of pounds to settlements of more than a million pounds.

Throughout the past 20 years, the firm has pledged its support to many organisations and individuals at a local level but has put a more formal framework in place this year with the creation of its charity of the year initiative, supporting the work of Shelter Cymru.

Managing Director and founder, Alistair Worth, said: “Mooneerams 20th anniversary coinciding with the winning of such a prestigious industry award is a fitting recognition of the past two decades of success. We still have the same philosophy now that we had when the firm was first launched in 2002; to help the innocent, injured victims of accidents that are not their fault, and recover compensation from the insurers of the person (or company) responsible for those injuries.

“Acting exclusively for claimants and not on behalf of insurance companies or local authorities, we continue to be, as far as we are aware, the only purely claimant personal injury firm in Wales, just as we were back in 2002. With the constantly evolving legal landscape, as a progressive firm we’re very much looking forward to seeing what’s in store over the next 20 years.”

Visit www.mooneerams.com for more information.

 

Charity & CSR, Greater Manchester, Healthcare, News

Peninsula Group’s Final Push to raise £2million for Manchester Children’s Hospital Charity

WONDERFUL supporters from the corporate community are gearing up for the final push to reach their £2million fundraising goal.

Staff at Peninsula Group have today announced they have reached the £1.8m mark – and directors are now encouraging the workforce to get behind the last leg of their journey towards hitting the magical milestone of £2m.

Peninsula Group, the UK’s leading HR, employment law and health and safety consultancy firm, pledged to raise £1m for Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital Charity back in March 2019. They were moved to make such a generous pledge after hearing about the Charity’s iMRI Appeal.

Then in April 2020, inspired by the hard work and dedication shown by the NHS during the Covid pandemic, Peninsula Group announced they’d be upping this to £2m – doubling their efforts to support the iMRI Appeal.

Peter Done, Group Managing Director and Founder of the multi-award-winning firm, said: “We’re so excited to reach this point in the fundraising pledge – £1.8m is a fantastic milestone and one our employees have worked so hard to raise. We know what a difference it will make to Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital and the Charity’s iMRI Appeal.

“But while this is a time of celebration at how far we’ve come, it’s also an opportunity to look forward and really get excited about how we will reach our £2million target by December 2022.

“I’ve got a very personal connection with Royal Manchester Children’s hospital and it’s a cause that means a lot to us at the Peninsula Group. It’s been a privilege to meet some of the staff and young patients this money will affect. Hearing their stories and seeing for myself what incredible things the hospital achieves each and every day has really reaffirmed just why we started this fundraising journey in the first place – to make a difference.”

The £5m iMRI Appeal will help the hospital to purchase state-of-the-art intra-operative Magnetic Resonance Imaging (iMRI) equipment which will revolutionise surgical care at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.

Every year, thousands of children and young people from across the region attend Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital – part of Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust’s family of 10 hospitals – for specialist neurological treatment.

Sadly, many will require complex brain surgery for a range of debilitating and even life-threatening conditions including brain tumours, traumatic brain injuries, problems with the central nervous system and epilepsy.

The specialist team of children’s neurosurgeons at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital rely on MRI scans taken before surgery to guide them to the area of the brain requiring treatment.  Sometimes a child needs to be scanned during surgery, which means the risky process of moving a child (still anaesthetised on the operating table) out of theatre and through the hospital corridors to be scanned in another part of the building.  Yet it isn’t until another MRI scan is taken after surgery – perhaps days later – that surgeons can see if the surgery was successful, or if any damaged tissue or tumour was left behind and further invasive surgery is needed.

Prof Stavros Stivaros, Director of Neuroimaging at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, said: “It is an acutely distressing process for our young patients and their families to have to go through and for those requiring a second scan after surgery, the wait can be agonising.

“The iMRI will be the answer for all those families and patients. It will revolutionise brain surgery here at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital and help us to save even more children’s lives.

“There are number of options being explored as to how this is provided alongside the existing hospital facilities and the Covid pandemic has taught us a lot about how we can provide these state-of-the-art facilities when we are faced with unprecedented healthcare pressures.

“It will mean our surgeons can do all of the scanning while the child is still on the operating table, in a safe sterile environment.

“The new iMRI equipment will mean children need fewer general anaesthetics and potentially fewer surgeries – they could go straight from the scanner into surgery as many times as needed.  Our surgeons would have all the information they need to reach the affected area of the brain, to maximise the removal of the tumour, at the first time of asking.  And their loved ones can rest assured that their child has left theatre only after everything that could possibly be done, has been done.

“We’re so incredibly grateful to Peninsula Group for their ongoing support and I can’t thank each and every staff member enough for the enthusiasm they’ve shown in this appeal.”

Peninsula Group managed to raise a phenomenal £1.8m by encouraging staff to take part in several challenges – including Great Manchester Run 10K and Half Marathon, the Charity’s own Humphrey’s Heroes Abseil, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, interdepartmental football tournaments and skydiving.  Each staff member’s individual fundraising efforts were match-funded by the corporation. The business has also match-funded and sponsored a number of Charity events including Christmas Carols in the City and a special ball held in 2019 to mark the hospital’s 10th birthday of being at the Oxford Road site.

Further funds have been raised in-house with the team organising fun days at the office including dressing up days, bake sales, a static bike challenge in the office and various social events.  Employees have also signed up to make regular donations via payroll giving.

The next events they will be taking part in include the charity’s Christmas Jumper Day and Christmas Carols in the City.

To find out more about Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital Charity visit rmchcharity.org.uk

Charity & CSR, Finance and Banking, Housing, News

Welsh domestic abuse charity Thrive Women’s Aid receives £2.7m game changing social investment loan

Thrive Women’s Aid, a charity that has supported women and their children affected by domestic abuse in Neath Port Talbot for 42 years, has received a social investment loan of £2.7 million from Social and Sustainable Capital (SASC) to modernise and transform its accommodation and support services.

The loan from SASC’s Social and Sustainable Housing fund (SASH) will enable the charity to purchase homes for the first time, give them greater control over the quality of the accommodation, provide more stability for the families it supports, and have assets that will provide the organisation with greater financial security.

Funds will be used to purchase 20 properties in the Neath Port Talbot region, which will serve as safe move-on accommodation, where support services can also be delivered to help women and children rebuild their lives.

The charity’s accommodation will increase from 11 units, which are currently rented (six refuge units and five move-on units) to 31 units which will help them meet increased demand and better support victims of domestic abuse.

Neath Port Talbot has high levels of deprivation, poverty and disadvantage. Fourteen areas in the county borough are in the top 10% of the most deprived communities in Wales[i] and demand for the charity’s services increased during the pandemic, with a 42% increase in referrals into its adult services and remains high.

The Office for National Statistics[ii] shows that 5.7% of adults aged 16 to 59 years in England and Wales, experienced domestic abuse in the year ending March 2022. On that basis, it is likely there could be around 6,700 cases a year in the Neath Port Talbot area[iii] and this figure is likely to be grossly underestimated due to reluctance and barriers victims face when reporting domestic abuse to the police.

Lucy Reynolds CEO at Thrive Women’s Aid said, “One of our four strategic priorities over the next five years is to modernise, innovate and transform our accommodation support services for individuals and families fleeing domestic abuse. This includes increasing the number of properties available for those with varying needs and risk levels.

“Owning properties gives us more control and allows us to bring support services together under one roof in a holistic way. Like the rest of the UK, Neath Port Talbot has a housing crisis, and it can be difficult for women to access housing. We provide move-on accommodation with support to enable them to re-build their lives after experiencing domestic abuse and regain their independence in safe communities.”

Ben Rick, Co-Founder and CEO of SASC said, “We are pleased to be making our first investment from our SASH fund in a Welsh charity.  Thrive is a well-run organisation with a great vision and strong community links. This loan promises to be real game changer for them – putting them in control and enabling them to transform their accommodation and services.”

This investment makes Thrive Women’s Aid the 16th organisation to receive funding from SASH.

As of September 2022, SASH was fully committed, having allocated £64.5m of invested capital to charities across the UK. The successor fund, SASH II, launches this autumn, in order to provide a continuity of funding to frontline providers.

The fund will support charitable organisations that deliver a combination of support and housing move from renting existing housing stock to owning it. SASH II is open for fundraising and targeting £125m.

For more information on Thrive Women’s Aid visit: www.thrivewomensaid.org.uk/

For more information on SASC visit: www.socialandsustainable.com

[i] https://thrivewomensaid.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Thrive-Strategic-Plan-2021-2026.pdf

[ii] https://blog.ons.gov.uk/2022/07/21/a-better-understanding-of-the-scale-of-domestic-abuse-during-the-pandemic/

[iii] https://thrivewomensaid.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Thrive-Strategic-Plan-2021-2026.pdf

Charity & CSR, News

RGB Porthleven team completes 50k charity cycle challenge

A team from RGB Building Supplies’ Porthleven branch completed a 50k cycle ride on Sunday 25th September in aid of the RNLI.

The team, made up of RGB colleagues Karen Richards, Clive Jeffery, Geoff Harry, Chris Instance and Ross Atkinson, and friends Nigel Groom and Bryher Blackmore, utilised the Camel Trail to complete the cycle ride. They followed the Camel Estuary from Padstow to Wadebridge, then carried on through the Camel Valley to Bodmin Jail, before double looping back to complete 50k.

The RNLI, which dealt with 7,242 incidents across Cornwall last year, is RGB’s chosen charity and, so far, the Porthleven team’s cycle ride has raised £465.

Karen Richards, Branch Support Assistant at RGB Porthleven, commented:

“Throughout the year, the whole company is fundraising for the RNLI to help it continue its 24-hour search and rescue, and education services. The charity does fantastic work across our area, so we wanted to challenge ourselves while supporting it. It was great working as a team as we were able to help each other.

“Thank you to Lakeside Cycles who provided two of our team with bikes, and thank you to everyone who has donated – it’s very much appreciated.”

Donations can still be made to the Porthleven team via their JustGiving page – https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/rgb-building-supplies.

Charity & CSR, Finance and Banking, Homelessness, News

Barclays Gives Generous Boost to Welsh Homelessness Charity Llamau

Barclays Bank has donated £100,000 to Llamau[i] which will go towards supporting its expert in-house counselling service in response to increased demand following the pandemic. This initiative offers essential support to mental health support services as part of Llamau’s work with young people and women facing or experiencing homelessness across Wales.

Llamau operates mental health support services as part of its work with young people and women facing or experiencing homelessness across Wales.

Coronavirus hit the young people and women Llamau supports particularly hard, revealing and magnifying stark inequalities around mental health. 90% already had a diagnosable condition pre-pandemic, with a survey conducted by Llamau’s in-house psychologists highlighting that mental health had worsened by a third (32%) following the first lockdown, increasing depressive symptoms and the risk of related issues such as self-harm/substance misuse.

The donation is part of the bank’s 100×100 UK COVID-19 Community Relief Fund[ii], that was established to offer 100 UK charities £100,000 each to support vital COVID-19 relief work in local communities.

The scheme has since expanded and has now given a donation to 250 charities.

Nigel Higgins, Barclays Chairman, said: “Our 100×100 charity partners have been working tirelessly to support vulnerable communities across the UK through what has been a difficult year. These charities have championed a range of causes, including tackling homelessness, food poverty or loneliness, and we are immensely grateful for their work in the communities in which we live and work.

While we emerge from the most acute stage of the crisis, the effects of the pandemic will continue to be felt by many. Our decision to extend our 100×100 Programme for a second time reflects this, allowing Barclays to support 250 UK grassroots charities in their crucial work in our local communities.”

Frances Beecher, Llamau’s CEO, said: “Llamau is delighted to have received a £100,000 donation of support from Barclays, enabling us to deliver our meaningful work across Wales.We are able to proactively identify and address emotional wellbeing issues amongst young people and women at the earliest opportunity, offering a timely, accessible and flexible range of needs-leds therapies to reduce existing and emerging inequalities. The funding enables Llamau to continue its vital mental health support services across Wales”.

Kevin Brennan MP for Cardiff West said ‘It’s laudable in these tough times that Barclays is supporting Llamau’s important work in mental health. Recent years have put a strain on everyone but particularly those most vulnerable facing homelessness. This funding to support counselling services will help Llamau to continue to provide invaluable support in our communities.’

 

—

References

[i] https://homelessconnect.org

[ii] https://home.barclays/sustainability/supporting-our-communities/barclays-covid-19-community-aid-package/barclays-100×100-uk-covid-19-community-relief-programme/

Charity & CSR, Finance and Banking, News

How can charities facilitate a smooth audit process? Farrah Kitabi, Senior Manager, Sayer Vincent, offers advice

Written by Farrah Kitabi

Running an audit can be challenging for charity finance managers, particularly as audits need to be fitted around the day job.

Finance professionals in the sector have had to be incredibly agile over the past couple of years and, with many financial challenges head, the need for agility is here to stay.

Managers need to ensure business as usual, but also plan effectively to ensure deadlines are met and the whole audit process is as stress free as possible.

I always recommend audits should be treated as projects, with a system and processes in place to ensure deadlines are met, audit fees are carefully managed and don’t escalate, the process is smooth, and a quality document is produced on time.

There are three components of a good project – the planning, the resourcing and the action plan.

Planning

The first step is to create a timetable, which should include key deadlines spanning the entire project. These would include planning meetings with auditors, the date of the year-end close down of the finance system, when the first draft of the accounts will be sent to the auditors and senior management team, the start of the audit fieldwork, the clearance meeting with the auditors to review key audit issues, draft management letter and draft financial statements, the board and sub-committee meetings to approve the financial statements and finally, the submissions to Companies House and the Charity Commission.

Managers need to think carefully about the time frame, work backwards from the deadlines and be realistic about the amount of work and the resources needed. Other considerations are the people who will be involved in the process and the time needed for them and others to review the accounts and information given to the auditors. This is especially important with many staff teams working on a more flexible basis.

Learning from experience

Any organisation who has done a previous audit can learn from the experience. What were the pressure points? How long did the process take? What were the key challenges? Are there any processes that can automated this time?

It’s a good idea for organisations to establish a timetable as soon as possible after the previous year end so lessons learned from this experience could be incorporated. For example, could the time between the audit and final circulation of accounts be extended if needed or shortened to have the audit completed sooner? Another recommendation is for charities to organise a debrief with their auditors following their audit to see what worked well and where improvements could be made for next time.

Planning with auditors

It is a good idea to plan with the auditors. This could include reviewing the auditors’ information from the previous year, discussing the information required and areas where you or the auditors could do better. The planning meeting with the auditors is also the place to discuss any issues, as the audit will be far smoother if there are no surprises.

Resources

Other considerations are who needs to be involved in the audit process and the information, training and support they might need from finance.

Key parties to involve are the budget holders throughout the organisation, the senior management team – who must take ownership of the financial statements and the board of trustees – it is their report and accounts.

Other staff include the communications team, who may be able to use the statutory accounts as a communication tool, and they will be involved in developing the trustees’ report. HR and facilities also need to provide information for the notes in the statutory accounts and the auditors may want to talk to them during the audit.

There are also third parties to consider including bankers, outsourced accountants, legal advisers, actuaries and investment managers.

It is important to engage staff outside of finance with the audit and this could be done by presenting the annual report to staff or preparing frequently asked questions they can access.

Detailed task list

Having a detailed action plan and to do list will help to ensure the smooth running of the project, with tasks listed, key roles and responsibilities and deadlines included.

It’s about being organised and automating tasks where possible. Other time saving tips are ensuring that key nominal ledger accounts are reconciled throughout the year, delegating responsibilities to key people and carrying out internal reviews to ensure and problems are resolved prior to the audit.

Auditors will always ask certain questions about variances in figures year on year, they will want to see staff contracts that match costs in the accounts, bank statements, breakdowns of all balance sheet items, trial balances that reconciles to the accounts and third party information to support the figures.

At the end of the day, a smooth audit is the result of careful planning and project management and a very detailed to do list.

Charity & CSR, News, West Midlands News

Cancer support centre in hunt for new home after price rise forces move

A centre which supports people with cancer across the West Midlands has launched an urgent hunt for a new base after a huge increase in fees meant it could no longer stay in its home of 11 years.

The Cancer Support Centre in Sutton Coldfield has around 500 clients, with an army of volunteers and a team of specialist therapists who help them deal with the trauma of a cancer diagnosis.

The centre offers therapy and wellbeing sessions, information, advice and a friendly safe space for people looking for reassurance or support.

The charity was set up 21 years ago and for the past 11 it has been based in Lindridge Road, within the St Giles Hospice Supportive Care Centre.

The lease ends in January but as the cost of living increases, the price of rent and room hire has also gone up and the charity can not afford to stay.

Marie Moore, vice chair of the CSC trustees, said: “Our priority is to reassure our clients, volunteers and staff that our service and support will continue and our huge thanks goes out to them in this time of change.

“After 11 years of sub-leasing space at Lindridge Road, St Giles, our landlord, has given notice for us to quit by January 17. We have been actively working with them over the past two months to identify if there is a way in which we could continue to share the building.

“Sadly, a workable solution has not been found and the new price to rent the space is well beyond our reach.

“We are now in the challenging position of having to find an alternative home very quickly to make sure there is no disruption to our service.

“Our intention is that we will remain in Sutton Coldfield, or the immediate surrounding area.”

Marie said the charity survived through the Covid pandemic by moving some services online through Zoom sessions and YouTube videos and this would continue regardless.

“We do need our face-to-face support to continue though,” she added. “It’s so important for our clients – sometimes all they want is a cup of tea and a chat in person. We can offer support, advice and reassurance and that’s all better done face-to-face.”

The charity has enlisted the support of Sutton Coldfield MP Andrew Mitchell and the trustees are now calling for the community to get behind them and help in the search.

Marie said temporary premises would be accepted in the short term if a search for a long-term home was not immediately successful. She urged anyone who is aware of any suitable premises or who can help in any way to get in touch.

“With the help of our teams, clients, supporters and the public, we hope to end this uncertainty quickly,” she added. “If we work together, this will be easier to cope with and manage.”

Anyone who knows of suitable premises or who would like to make a donation should call 0300 012 0245 or email info@suttoncancersupport.org

For more details about the centre, visit www.suttoncancersupport.org

Charity & CSR, News

The importance of utilising Gift Aid

Written by Ross Palmer, Senior Tax Manager at Sayer Vincent 

It’s Gift Aid Awareness Day on 6 October, which is organised by Charity Finance Group (CFG). This year’s #TickTheBox campaign will focus on the value of Gift Aid and charities will be invited to share across their social media, website and newsletters the impact that Gift Aid has on the people and communities they serve.

Gift Aid is an incredibly important source of additional income and something charities need to always remind their donors how it can boost their donations.

The Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) published research earlier this year that warned that charities are missing out on “hundreds of millions of pounds” because 23% of eligible donors do not use Gift Aid1.

The CAF research found that some 68% of full-time workers say they use Gift Aid when donating to charity, which is worth £1.3bn to the charity sector. However, according to the Charity Finance Group more than £500m is unclaimed.

This highlights just how important it is for charities to remind tax paying individuals to use Gift Aid when making a donation. Charities can reclaim the basic rate income tax the individual has paid on the donation, as long as the individual provides the charity with a Gift Aid declaration.

Changes to the basic rate of tax and the impact on Gift Aid

Currently Gift Aid increases the value of the donation by 25%, based on the basic rate of income tax being 20%. The Chancellor announced in September 2022 that the Government intends to reduce the basic rate of tax to 19% from April 2023, which will result a reduction in the Gift Aid claimable.

In order to help charities adjust to this reduction, the Government has agreed that for donations made until March 2027 an additional transitional relief on Gift Aid will be paid in order to match the current rate of 25%. This is expected to be run in a similar manner to the previous transitional relief scheme that applied from 2008 to 2011, with the relief being automatically calculated and paid by HMRC. However, for donations from April 2027 onwards this relief would no longer apply and the Gift Aid claimed would reduce to 23.45%.

Complying with Gift Aid

We have previously run seminars on Gift Aid and also have a Made Simple guide dedicated to Gift Aid which are all available on our website to help charity finance professionals fully understand the rules they must follow when claiming Gift Aid.

Our guide points out the rules to follow and explains how charities can minimise the risks of errors being found during inspections. Charities claiming Gift Aid are subject to inspection by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) to ensure compliance.

The guide also covers the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme (GASDS) which was introduced on 6 April 2013 and which allows charities to claim a Gift Aid like top up payment from HMRC on small donations made in cash or by contactless card payment of up to £30.

GASDS has fewer requirements, for example there is no requirement for a Gift Aid declaration and the donor does not have to have paid sufficient UK tax. However, the amount payable under GASDS is capped and the scheme is subject to its own set of rules and requirements which charity finance professionals must understand.

Recent additions to the guide include concessions introduced during the pandemic in relation to ticket and loan refunds which have now been made permanent. Many charities had to cancel events as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the government has agreed to allow individuals to donate any waived refunds of ticket purchases or loans to the charity under Gift Aid without the charity first having to pay the refund or loan to the individual.

The guide details what the charity is expected to do in order to recover the Gift Aid from waived refunds or loan repayments, something some charities may not have been aware they could do.

To request a free copy of our recent Gift Aid seminar please email events@sayervincent.co.uk.

To download the Gift Aid Made simple guide click here.

The content of this page is correct at the time of publication stated above but inevitably legal changes, case law and new financial reporting standards will change. You are therefore advised to check any particular actions you plan to take with the appropriate authority before committing yourself. No responsibility is accepted by the authors for reliance placed on the content of this guide.