Campaign's work promoting charity financial products set to continue
Howard Lake | 28 April 2004 | News
Speaking today at ‘An Interest in Giving’, a seminar – hosted by The Giving Campaign at the Chartered Insurance Institute, Stephen Ainger announced that Charities Aid Foundation (‘CAF’) will be taking forward the Campaign’s work in researching and promoting the generic development of charity financial products and services.
The event, attended by over 100 charity and financial sector professionals, addressed the opportunity for the finance sector to develop a market for charitable giving, focusing on the development of financial products and services that facilitate charitable donation. Today’s speakers were:
– Stephen Timms MP – Minister of State for Energy, e-Commerce and Postal Services, DTI
– Stephen Ainger – Chief Executive, CAF
– Malcolm Hayday – Chief Executive, Charity Bank
– David Cowan – Development Manager, Friends Provident
– Brian Thomas – former Finance Director, Zurich Financial Services
Stephen Timms (MP) spoke about the inclusion of charitable giving within the advisory process as an important way for financial companies to fulfil their corporate social responsibilities. “One that can actually contribute to their effectiveness and overall productivity.” Stephen Ainger, CAF, highlighted the importance of the financial services sector in increasing the flow of funds to the voluntary sector, particularly in targeting the wealthier members of society. He continued:
“We are delighted to have the opportunity and responsibility to take forward The Giving Campaign’s work programme on Charity Financial Products. CAF already has work underway with this same objective and it is a frontline priority for us. Taking this further work on will enhance our overall activity in this field and we are confident that it will go from strength to strength.” Stephen Ainger, Chief Executive at Charities Aid Foundation
Malcolm Hayday, Charity Bank, spoke of the growing trend for individuals to seek more sophisticated solutions for their charitable concerns and highlighted Charity Bank’s CITRA – an account that taps into the ‘unknown’ community investment tax relief. David Cowan revealed his experiences of charity financial products at Friends Provident, discussing two current product offerings based on a ‘living legacy’ model. Brian Thomas concluded by talking about market developments in the charity financial product area, highlighting the benefits for charities, donors, product providers and financial advisers for getting involved.
Currently, around 40% of voluntary sector income in the US is being generated through charity financial products while, in the UK, the market is yet to be fully established. Recent NOP research has identified high consumer demand for financial products that facilitate charitable giving (e.g. a Charity savings account) and the Campaign’s report – Charity Financial Products: A New Approach to Giving – published in October 2003, suggests a number of ways that the sectors can work together to develop charity financial products and services.
Speaking about the handover of to CAF, Phillip Mind, Associate Director at The Giving Campaign, adds:
“This area of work has real potential and, as the market develops, we would expect to see charities benefiting from a new source of funds. I am particularly pleased that Charities Aid Foundation are taking this work programme forward as there is natural synergy here. CAF is already a leading player in this field and this work will add a new dimension to their activity.”
The Giving Campaign was launched as a three-year initiative to ‘kickstart’ charitable giving and to help promote the tax reliefs introduced in Budget 2000. Although the Campaign is scheduled to close in June 2004, work areas with future potential are being handed over to relevant organisations that are most closely suited to continue this work. Terry Bryan, Campaign Manager – Charity Financial Products at The Giving Campaign, will be joining CAF to continue his work developing the market for charity financial products and services.
i. NOP World Random Location Omnibus Survey – fieldwork conducted August 2003. Sample: 2077 adults aged 15 and over.
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Notes to editors
• The Giving Campaign (www.givingcampaign.org.uk)
The Giving Campaign has been established to encourage a culture of giving and to increase the amount of money given to UK charities. The Campaign has Government and voluntary sector support for its aim to increase charitable giving in the UK.
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.