Project launches to develop large-scale automated Gift Aid solution
Melanie May | 8 October 2020 | News
Charity, tax, and payments organisations are collaborating in a project to deliver a large-scale solution for automating Gift Aid.
The Future of Gift Aid project proposes a collaborative solution that will operate within the current Gift Aid policy requirements and, it is hoped, unlock the millions of pounds in potential Gift Aid that currently goes uncollected each year.
Payments company Streeva is leading the project on the technical side through its technology that already exists in the form of its Swiftaid product, which automates the collection of Gift Aid from contactless, app and online donations.
The solution will enable the use of an individual’s tax status to determine automatically if a Gift Aid declaration is valid, removing the burden from the taxpayer whilst processing Gift Aid automatically across all digital donation methods.
The automated process will also remove the possibility of overclaiming: estimated to cost the UK government over £180 million each year.
Beth Michael, Co-founder of Streeva, commented:
“In this time of crisis the charity sector needs our help more than ever. I strongly believe that with industry-wide support and expertise along with the innovative enabling technology Streeva can bring, this project will make a huge difference to the sector, bringing real hope in these challenging times.”
The project is supported by a number of organisations including JustGiving, LibertyPay, fintech charity and micro-donations firm Pennies, and retail Gift Aid solution providers NISYST alongside mobile payments and messaging organisation Fonix.
Cancer Research UK, The National Trust, Sue Ryder, The Children’s Society, The Association for Interactive Media and Micropayments, the Charity Tax Group and the Charity Retail Association are also involved, while underpinning the work, the Universities of Exeter, Portsmouth and Surrey are providing academic support in the areas of computer science, cyber security and the digital economy.
David Williams from the University of Portsmouth commented:
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“It’s most rewarding to apply our academic expertise in computer science and cyber security to drive innovation that helps support those most in need, particularly as the pandemic is hampering charities’ income while increasing demand.”
The project is also seeking to partner with more organisations as well as a bank to help with the onboarding experience for donors, and those interested in contributing to this project are asked to email
in**@st*****.com
.
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.