# Know and publish your Gift Aid recovery rate, urges Gower

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2009/10/29/know-and-publish-your-gift-aid-recovery-rate-urges-gower/
- Published: 2009-10-29T13:17:20+00:00
- Author: Howard Lake

![](https://www.fundraising.co.uk/files/images/news/giftaid_it_1.gif)

Barry Gower, MD of Gift Aid recovery specialists GAIN, is encouraging charities 
not only to know their rate of Gift Aid recovery (GARR) but also to publish it.

The figure applies to the percentage of donations that qualify for Gift Aid and 
the proportion of these donations on which Gift Aid is actually claimed.

Gower argues that charities should be transparent in announcing to donors and funders
how efficient they are in securing as much of the tax relief on donations that is
available to it. The figure should be included in a charity’s annual report.

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If the figure is not as good as that achieved by other charities, it could, he argued,
act as an incentive to do better. A high rate of return might even attract more 
donors, keen to support the more efficient charities.

Gower is to write to the Institute of Fundraising and the Charity Commission to 
encourage them to recommend his proposal to fundraising charities.

www.gain.me.uk

 * **[PDSA’s retail Gift Aid programme raises £1 million in two years](https://fundraising.co.uk/2009/11/13/pdsa039s-retail-gift-aid-programme-raises-1m-two-years/)**(
   13 November 2009)
 * **[Gift Aid reclaim period reduction is just months away](https://fundraising.co.uk/2009/11/18/gift-aid-reclaim-period-reduction-just-months-away/)**(
   18 November 2009)
 * **[Fundraising, Gift Aid and the higher rate taxpayer](https://fundraising.co.uk/2010/02/04/fundraising-gift-aid-and-higher-rate-taxpayer/)**(
   4 February 2010)

## Comments

### By: admin

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2009/10/29/know-and-publish-your-gift-aid-recovery-rate-urges-gower/#comment-3798
- Published: 2009-10-29T13:21:00+00:00

Barry Gower’s call for charities to calculate and publish this ratio seems another
good idea in the effort to increase the amount of Gift Aid that charities reclaim.

It’s this kind of proposal that encouraged us to present Barry in a series of training
courses. The next one is on Monday morning in London, and there are still spaces:

An Introduction to Gift Aid
 [http://giftaid4.eventbrite.com/](http://giftaid4.eventbrite.com/)

### By: benbrabyn

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2009/10/29/know-and-publish-your-gift-aid-recovery-rate-urges-gower/#comment-3799
- Published: 2009-10-29T14:47:38+00:00

I agree that the Gift Aid recovery rate is an important indicator of the efficiency
of charities. If a charity does not seek to maximise Gift Aid capture donors are
entitled to ask whether another organisation might not do a better job managing 
their gifts.

While there will be some variation arising from different supporter profiles, rates
are still typically woefully low.

One of the strongest arguments in favour of online fundraising is that it increases
Gift Aid capture rates – Bmycharity currently captures Gift Aid on **88%** of donations.

We have eliminated commission charges for our service so that the “someone’s taking
a cut” sensation doesn’t put people off using the most effective Gift Aid capture
system available – so that it’s easier for charity supporters to understand that
giving online isn’t a costly convenience – it’s genuinely the best way to make donations
count.

We’re challenging charity leaders to encourage as many donors as possible to give
online to maximise Gift Aid. **Over £100 million extra Gift Aid can be captured 
each year just from personal sponsorship – if charities send the right message to
their supporters.**