First national Payroll Giving Week to be held in February

Howard Lake | 28 January 2021 | News

• Tagged with:
• payroll giving
• tax efficient giving

Love Payroll Giving for fundraising? That’s why the UK’s first National Payroll Giving Week has a Valentine theme and runs until 14th February.

National Payroll Giving Week takes place for the first time this year, running from the 8th to 14th February. It aims to raise awareness within the sector and beyond about the benefits of donating through the simple, tax-efficient method.

It is being run with support from:

• the Chartered Institute of Fundraising
• Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals
• Professional Fundraising Organisations
• Association of Payroll Giving Organisations
• Payroll Giving agencies
• and charities large and small

The organisers hope that the week will spread awareness of this long-standing method of regular giving direct from salary, and prompt conversations with both charities and corporate partners about how to work together.

Caroline Gaskin is Development Manager at Together for Animals and one of the national week’s organising committee. She points out how valuable payroll giving is for small charities like hers.

She said: “Payroll Giving provides Together For Animals with a vital regular source of income, allowing us to provide lifesaving care for animals desperately in need. As a small charity we see payroll giving as our key source of income. We’re supporting Payroll Giving Week, as it supports us – and so many charities – each year.”
 

Payroll giving’s benefits

Payroll giving operates in the UK through HMRC, and other countries including Australia and the USA operate similar schemes. Payroll giving donations are taken from pay before tax. A donation of £5 a month would actually cost an employee £4 from their take-home pay (if they pay 20% tax) or £3 (if they pay 40% tax).

Over one million people in the UK donate to charities regularly through their pay and together they have raised over £2 billion for good causes. In additional to regular giving, payroll giving offers an unrestricted source of giving. There is no need to apply for Gift Aid since donations are made tax-efficiently via individuals’ salaries. This saves charities time and money.

SEE ALSO: Five charities collaborate to launch payroll giving firm (12 July 2021)

In addition, unlike Gift Aid, where donations can only be increased by 25% regardless of the donor’s tax bracket, payroll giving allows charities to receive the full tax relief. This is particularly beneficial for donations from higher rate tax-payers. A 45% tax payer can see a donation’s value increase by 88% meaning £100 out of the donor’s pocket becomes £188 going to the charity.

Also, with Gift Aid the tax relief has to be claimed at a later date. With payroll giving, it is available at the point of donation.

Payroll donors continue to give, on average, for eight years.

Terry Stokes, Head of Payroll Giving at Barnardo’s, said: “Payroll giving offers a vital source of income to Barnardo’s. Our services are facing even greater demand against a backdrop of a significant reduction in income. These same pressures apply for numerous charities which is why we are supporting Payroll Giving Week. This week will help raise the profile of this tax-efficient method of giving, vital to many charities and causes during these unprecedented times.”
 

Payroll Giving Forum

The idea of a Payroll Giving Week was developed by the Payroll Giving Forum, a group of charities who run successful payroll giving schemes. They were very aware that, because of changes to the fundraising landscape produced by the impact of Covid-19, payroll giving proved a particularly valuable option for giving by employees. A national week also gave charities the chance to thank existing donors and corporate supporters who already use payroll giving.

During 2020, while some other methods of fundraising became impossible or limited, payroll giving has remained a reliable source of income, including from employees who have been furloughed. The APGO (Association of Payroll Giving Organisations) reported in the autumn that payroll giving donations during the first lockdown rose by nearly 10% compared to the same period the year before. Average gift increased by almost 15% and there was an uplift of 9% in corporate matched giving.

The Association of Payroll Giving Organisations welcomed the first national Payroll Giving Week, stating: “Payroll Giving remains a resilient and vital source of fundraising for the UK charity sector at this most difficult of times. We fully support Payroll Giving Week, an opportunity to thank companies and their employees for their continued generosity and to all the recipient charities for their determination and resolution to carry out their much needed work.”

To find out more about the campaign and the Payroll Giving Week, contact the committee members:

• Caroline Gaskin, Together for Animals
• Terry Stokes, Barnados
• me*********@ca****.uk“>Mervi Slade, Cancer Research 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.