First charity credit card to collect Gift Aid launched
Howard Lake | 7 September 2006 | News
The first charity credit card that automatically adds Gift Aid to the donations generated by spending on it has been launched by Donate As You Spend (DAYS).
The company has launched the card in partnership with Sygma Bank and Creation Financial Services – the bank’s processing arm and the first charity to sign up is Hope for Children, followed by the Society For Mucopolysaccharide Diseases (MPS) and Aplastic Anaemia Trust.
Chief executive of DAYS Terry Harvey said the scheme had taken some time to get off the ground, and is structured in a completely different way to traditional charity credit cards. A large part of the charity sector had no access to credit cards because banks demanded a minimum of 70,000 names on a database and many smaller charities just don’t have that number, he said. DAYS has undertaken to deliver 15,000 supporters to the card in the first year. There are currently around 40 further charities in the pipeline.
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The card is issued with DAYS branding, but the space under the cardholder’s name is embossed with the name of the charity being supported.
Gift Aid can be collected because the donations are given out of corporation tax by DAYS, not because the cardholder is a British taxpayer. Donations are currently £10 for each person who signs up and 25p for every £100 spent on the card – both with Gift Aid on top.
The charity gets to hold on to its database as well. Harvey said: This gives smaller charities the ability to raise the same amount of funds through the credit card as larger charities, but it is publicised within their existing mailings. This also means that cardholders will not be subjected to further mailings encouraging them to take out insurance policies or other banking products.
The card is “benefits driven to the user”, said Harvey. Monthly statements include a book of ‘benefits’ including vouchers for discounts at various retailers, free meals and weekend offers.
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.