Donations to charities through Give As You Earn top £1.6bn
Melanie May | 22 August 2022 | News
Employees have now donated more than £1.6 billion to charitable causes through the Charities Aid Foundation’s payroll giving service, Give As You Earn.
Give As You Earn celebrates 35 years in 2022. In that time, it has supported over 40,000 UK charities for more than 2,000 clients and their employees.
Last financial year, more than £110 million was donated to charities through Give As You Earn, with more than £35 million given by employees and £74 million in tax relief.
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Payroll giving is tax effective with charitable donations taken from pay before income tax is deducted. For a charity to receive a £25 donation, it effectively ‘costs’ a base rate taxpayer £20 or a higher rate taxpayer £15. Many employers also match their employees’ payroll giving.
Neil Heslop, OBE, Chief Executive of the Charities Aid Foundation, said:
“We know from our research that employees want to work for a business that has a strong social purpose. By matching donations, businesses can put their social purpose into action and contribute more to good causes which are important to the people that work for them.
“As businesses and individuals have become more socially minded, payroll giving has also become a significant workplace benefit. It has also been shown to be a highly effective way to respond to humanitarian emergencies. In March for instance, we saw employees respond generously to help people fleeing Ukraine by signing up for payroll giving and increasing contributions, taking advantage of tax relief and employer matching.”
This month, CAF has announced that it is awarding more than more than 1,690 clients with a Bronze to Diamond rating for the Government-backed Payroll Giving Quality Mark accreditation. Every year, organisations of all sizes involved in payroll giving are recognised with an award based on the percentage of employees participating.
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.