# Over a million donors sign up for Gift Aid on donated goods - Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2009/04/08/over-million-donors-sign-gift-aid-donated-goods/ - Published: 2009-04-08T10:01:35+01:00 - Author: Howard Lake ![](https://www.fundraising.co.uk/files/images/news/Charity_shop_clothes_photo_adotjdotsmith_flickr_1239144128. jpg) More than one million donors have signed up to help charity shops reclaim the Gift Aid on the sale of their donated goods, according to charity retail management system supplier Eproductive. Just 0.1% asked for their money back when notified of the amount raised. Eproductive’s Internet-based EpR system enables Gift Aid reclaims on the sale of donated goods by storing and recording donors’ details so that they can be informed of the amount raised once the goods have been sold. Donors must be given the opportunity to keep their money. The tool is in use in over 2,100 shops run by Sue Ryder Care, Barnardo’s, Help The Aged and British Heart Foundation. It is recording over £3.2 million of sales qualifying for Gift Aid each month. Sue Ryder Care is entering its fourth year of collecting Gift Aid in this way and is expecting a 35% conversion to Gift Aid this year, generating more than £2 million additional revenue for the charity. ## Advertisement Eproductive report that, of 79,000 donors who were sent letters during a 12-week period detailing the value of their donations, just just 70 (0.1%) asked for their money back. Chris Cowls, CEO of Eproductive, said: “Our system simplifies the process for them, meaning that charity staff can easily collect the essential data on how much Gift Aid they can claim and from whom. Charity chains of all sizes can benefit from this opportunity, and we are currently working with 40 clients who have between 4 and 600 shops each.” www.eproductive.com/epr Photo: [adotjdotsmith](http://www.flickr.com/photos/gingerblokey/3421006746) on Flickr.com * **[50 free places available on Institute's first conference on Gift Aid](https://fundraising.co.uk/2009/04/16/50-free-places-available-institute039s-first-conference-gift-aid/)**( 16 April 2009) * **[Barry Gower to speak at UK Fundraising Gift Aid event](https://fundraising.co.uk/2009/04/20/barry-gower-speak-uk-fundraising-gift-aid-event/)**( 20 April 2009) * **[Gift Aid conference bursary applications close today](https://fundraising.co.uk/2009/05/01/gift-aid-conference-bursary-applications-close-today/)**( 1 May 2009) ## Comments ### By: StephenDElsden - Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2009/04/08/over-million-donors-sign-gift-aid-donated-goods/#comment-3585 - Published: 2009-04-09T08:07:24+01:00 This is the first time I’ve heard that Gift Aid can be claimed on donated goods. Eproductive seem to work for charity shop chains, but does anyone know if any charity which sells donated goods csn benefit from the Gift Aid reclaim, and if so, how? ### By: admin - Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2009/04/08/over-million-donors-sign-gift-aid-donated-goods/#comment-3586 - Published: 2009-04-09T08:40:21+01:00 Yes, it’s been possible to claim Gift Aid on donated goods for a good few years, provided you establish a clear audit trail of item donated, donor, value, Gift Aid declaration, and donor’s agreement. Barry Gower of [Gift Aid specialists GAIN](http://www.gain.me.uk/index2.html) was, I think, the first to establish this novel use of Gift Aid. He wrote an article explaining it in Professional Fundraising magazine in 2005 (I was rereading it just a week or two ago – I know, my idea of fun). The focus seems to have been on claiming Gift Aid on donated goods within shops. Not sure who is using it for other donated goods. Anyone? ### By: ianclark - Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2009/04/08/over-million-donors-sign-gift-aid-donated-goods/#comment-3587 - Published: 2009-04-09T10:21:31+01:00 Gift Aid can only be claimed on voluntary gifts of money, not on donated goods. So if the donor offers a charity some goods for resale, the charity has to first sell the goods, and then ask the donor if they want to donate (some of) the proceeds using Gift Aid. HMRC have some detailed reglations and advice in section 3.51 (its several pages long!) at [http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/charities/guidance-notes/chapter3/sectionf.htm#gg](http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/charities/guidance-notes/chapter3/sectionf.htm#gg) I wrote up a simple version of this for churches a couple of years ago (eg church fetes). There is a fair amount of admin involved in tracking the sale and getting the donor’s consent, so I usually advise focussing on goods that are likely to be worth more than say £4, which would get £1 GA tax refund. There might be some simplification of the admin announced in the forthcoming Budget. Ian Ian Clark ### By: admin - Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2009/04/08/over-million-donors-sign-gift-aid-donated-goods/#comment-3588 - Published: 2009-04-09T13:43:23+01:00 Thanks Ian. Yes, you’re right – I was being too loose with my vocabulary. The Gift Aid can only be claimed on the the gift of money, not on the donated goods per se. It is only when they have been converted into cash ie. sold, that, with the donor’s consent, the cash value can be converted into a Gift Aid donation.