Payroll Giving Month: an opportunity for charities to encourage more business participation
Melanie May | 14 January 2025 | News
Payroll Giving Month takes place in February: the annual event that aims to raise awareness and increase the support good causes receive through this form of giving.
Payroll Giving allows employees to donate to one or more causes with pre-tax donations. Donating from gross pay means there is no income tax liability on the donation so the donor pays less tax. For example, if a standard 20% taxpayer donates £10 to charity, it only costs them £8. Taxpayers paying 40% receive a higher saving.
For employers, running a scheme can have a number of benefits, including enhancing their corporate social responsibility profile, aiding staff recruitment, retention and morale, and providing recognition through quality marks and excellence awards.
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Over 1 million people in the UK donate to charities through their pay, and together, they have raised over £2 billion for good causes. However, the number of people giving through Payroll Giving has decreased over time, falling 13% between 2020 and 2022.
The aim of Payroll Giving Month is to help turn this round by increasing awareness of this form of charitable giving amongst employers and their employees, and encouraging businesses to sign up to a scheme. It is supported by partners across the sector, including the Chartered Institute of Fundraising, the Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals, Professional Fundraising Organisations, the Association of Payroll Giving Organisations, Payroll Giving Agencies, as well as charities.
Caroline Gaskin from Together for Animals 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, Payroll Giving is a key source of income and helps us support thousands of pets and working animals each year. We would encourage companies to support Payroll Giving to give in a tax-efficient way. It makes such an incredible difference to charities across the sector.”
Ejaz Rashid, CEO at GivingForce added:
“At GivingForce, we believe payroll giving is one of the simplest and most impactful ways employees can support the causes they care about. Powered by our platform we know Payroll Giving Month will empower businesses to foster a culture of giving, making charitable contributions effortless, tax-efficient, and meaningful for both employees and their communities.”
Tips for charities
For charities, Payroll Giving provides an unrestricted source of regular income and allows them to receive the full tax relief, which is available at point of donation: a 45% taxpayer can see a donation’s value increase by 88%, meaning £100 out of the donor’s pocket becomes £188 going to the charity. Payroll donors are also likely to continue giving, on average, for up to eight years.
The Payroll Giving Month site offers tips for encouraging businesses to support a charity through payroll giving including developing targeted materials for corporate partnerships, speaking to existing corporate partners about introducing Payroll Giving, and creating engagement strategies for regular workplace donors.
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.