CAF examines how technology can boost Gift Aid
Howard Lake | 6 April 2010 | News
Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) is exploring how technology can be used to transform and simply the Gift Aid process to maximise the potential of this tax relief. It has commissioned a study by the independent, public policy think-tank ResPublica which will publish its findings during the Summer.
CAF estimates that around £750 million of Gift Aid relief goes unclaimed by charities each year.
ResPublica will begin by capturing the knowledge and expertise in Gift Aid from the charity sector and from government. It will be consulting technology, economic and political experts.
John Low, Chief Executive of the Charities Aid Foundation said: “Since the original Gift Aid consultation in 2007, charities have been calling for simplification of the process of claiming this tax relief. We support the recent Government exploration of more radical structural changes, such as introducing a composite rate, but have always believed that we also need modernisation of the system through the intelligent use of technology to provide long-term and sustainable support to the sector”.
He added that CAF chose ResPublica, established last year by Phillip Blond, author of “Red Tory: how Left and Right have broken Britain and how we can fix it“, “because they are known for coming up with radical new ideas for complex social and economic problems”. He said that he was looking for “a bold blue-print for tangible and realistic reform, that could be implemented early in the next parliament.”
www.cafonline.org
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.