Until I was asked if I was interested in taking part in the Geared for Giving Campaign I had no idea that Workplace Giving, a scheme that allows employees to donate to charity tax effectively via the payroll, existed. I couldn’t believe that charities estimate they lose nearly one billion pounds a year through inefficient giving1. Workplace Giving is the only way for a higher rate tax payer to pass their 40% tax straight to their chosen cause. Under the Gift Aid scheme it’s only basic rate tax which can be claimed back.
Relaunching the scheme
So having discovered all of this, Anne Snelgrove MP and I launched the Geared for Giving Campaign with the aim of giving 1m more employees access to the Workplace Giving Scheme. We are calling on UK employers to launch the scheme or re-launch dormant Workplace Giving schemes which aren’t properly promoted internally so have very few people on them.
In the last 16 months, we have written to every council in the UK and the top 1,000 businesses in the country to spread the word and call on them to operate and effectively promote the scheme to their employees. The results have been very encouraging so far. Donations totaling £896,300 annually have already been pledged for 1,211 different charities.
Over the lifetime of a Workplace Giver (eight years is the official figure from CAF’s Analysis of UK Payroll Giving July 2005)2 – this equates to £7.17m for the charity sector which is a fantastic amount to give but we need to continue to raise awareness so that everyone who wants to give has the opportunity to maximise the donations they make.
Workplace Giving has been around for 21 years but it hasn’t taken off as it should, as a result of nothing more than business apathy and lack of awareness.
The story in the US is very different; over 30% of employees give to charity through their pay, compared with only 3% in the UK.
Many high profile companies have introduced or re-launched the scheme since the campaign began. These include Flight Centre, Premier Foods, Boots, Chelsea Building Society, Ebay, Beaverbrooks, Endemol and Molton Brown, not to mention Liverpool, Stoke on Trent, Argyle & Bute, Swindon and Rochdale Councils.
I introduced it to all the Bannatynes clubs as soon as I heard about the scheme and Bannatyne employees have already pledged over £10,000 annually to 63 different charities which is fantastic.
The way it works is that a £6 donation through the scheme would translate into £10 for the charity if you’re a higher rate tax payer and £8 if not. From April 2010 a £5 donation would translate into £10 for the charity for those paying 50% tax.
Many employers additionally match £ for £ or enhance the donations made by their employees through a Workplace Giving scheme which is another huge boost for charities. It also allows a charity to plan for the future as donations through Workplace Giving are regular and tax effective.
If you were wondering where the charities get the extra money from, it comes via The Treasury in the form of tax breaks.
How much do charities receive a year from Workplace Giving?
Each year, the total raised for charities through the Workplace Giving Scheme is £109m3. Additionally a further £13m per year is added through employer enhancement to the scheme.
This figure would rise dramatically if more employers operated the scheme and more employees were aware of the benefits. Even if a company operates the scheme, unless it is effectively promoted to employees many will be unaware of its benefits.
Its success is also very dependent on the attitude of senior management. If they are behind it, the scheme will almost certainly be a successful one, but if they’re not interested, it will probably have a very low take up.
Companies which have successful Workplace Giving schemes usually have a very dynamic corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme and there is a lot of support of voluntary initiatives within the organisation. Workplace Giving is an ideal vehicle during the economic downturn too, because it’s not asking anyone to give more, it’s asking people to give more efficiently. If you’re a higher rate tax payer and you could give your favourite charity an extra 40% just by giving the same amount as you normally do, but through the payroll, why wouldn’t you?
You aren’t locking yourself into a long-term commitment either. You can stop your donations at any point. You don’t have to give much either – it can be as little as £1 a week if you wish. The average Workplace Giving donation is £7 per month.
Why should a company sign up to the Geared for Giving Campaign?
- It shows that a company cares about the things that matter to their employees.
- It underlines their commitment to community involvement and social responsibility.
- It gives them an easy mechanism for supporting their corporate charity partner.
- It represents an additional no-cost benefit offered to employees as part of a voluntary/ flexible benefits package.
- It aligns their brand and reputation with a growing body of forward-thinking organisations in the UK.
How do companies become Geared For Giving?
Set-up is quick and easy. There’s no cost. Simply choose a preferred payroll agent – an HM Revenue & Customs-approved ‘bank’ that transfers employee’s donations to charity. The payroll agent receives all deductions from the payroll department in one lump sum. Admin time associated with operating the scheme should be mere minutes a month. More and more companies are choosing to enhance their Workplace Giving scheme by adding value. Companies can decide how – there are a range of options to suit all budgets.
The key to a successful scheme is ensuring that all employees are aware of it and it is made easy for them to join.
In organisations which are successfully Geared for Giving, employees are encouraged to take part in Workplace Giving and to share a rewarding sense of ‘giving something back’. The government’s own Payroll Giving Quality Mark encourages 10% staff participation in charitable giving at work, recognising and rewarding organisations for making Workplace Giving available to their staff.
If you can spread the word and get more Companies Geared for Giving there will be a huge number of people from literally thousands of charities who will be extremely grateful. As it says in the title to my autobiography, Anyone Can Do It. So go on, do it today!
Until I was asked if I was interested in taking part in the Geared for Giving Campaign I had no idea that Workplace Giving, a scheme that allows employees to donate to charity tax effectively via the payroll, existed. I couldn’t believe that charities estimate they lose nearly one billion pounds a year through inefficient giving1. Workplace Giving is the only way for a higher rate tax payer to pass their 40% tax straight to their chosen cause. Under the Gift Aid scheme it’s only basic rate tax which can be claimed back.
Relaunching the scheme
So having discovered all of this, Anne Snelgrove MP and I launched the Geared for Giving Campaign with the aim of giving 1m more employees access to the Workplace Giving Scheme. We are calling on UK employers to launch the scheme or re-launch dormant Workplace Giving schemes which aren’t properly promoted internally so have very few people on them.
In the last 16 months, we have written to every council in the UK and the top 1,000 businesses in the country to spread the word and call on them to operate and effectively promote the scheme to their employees. The results have been very encouraging so far. Donations totaling £896,300 annually have already been pledged for 1,211 different charities.
Over the lifetime of a Workplace Giver (eight years is the official figure from CAF’s Analysis of UK Payroll Giving July 2005)2 – this equates to £7.17m for the charity sector which is a fantastic amount to give but we need to continue to raise awareness so that everyone who wants to give has the opportunity to maximise the donations they make.
Workplace Giving has been around for 21 years but it hasn’t taken off as it should, as a result of nothing more than business apathy and lack of awareness.
The story in the US is very different; over 30% of employees give to charity through their pay, compared with only 3% in the UK.
Many high profile companies have introduced or re-launched the scheme since the campaign began. These include Flight Centre, Premier Foods, Boots, Chelsea Building Society, Ebay, Beaverbrooks, Endemol and Molton Brown, not to mention Liverpool, Stoke on Trent, Argyle & Bute, Swindon and Rochdale Councils.
I introduced it to all the Bannatynes clubs as soon as I heard about the scheme and Bannatyne employees have already pledged over £10,000 annually to 63 different charities which is fantastic.
The way it works is that a £6 donation through the scheme would translate into £10 for the charity if you’re a higher rate tax payer and £8 if not. From April 2010 a £5 donation would translate into £10 for the charity for those paying 50% tax.
Many employers additionally match £ for £ or enhance the donations made by their employees through a Workplace Giving scheme which is another huge boost for charities. It also allows a charity to plan for the future as donations through Workplace Giving are regular and tax effective.
If you were wondering where the charities get the extra money from, it comes via The Treasury in the form of tax breaks.
How much do charities receive a year from Workplace Giving?
Each year, the total raised for charities through the Workplace Giving Scheme is £109m3. Additionally a further £13m per year is added through employer enhancement to the scheme.
This figure would rise dramatically if more employers operated the scheme and more employees were aware of the benefits. Even if a company operates the scheme, unless it is effectively promoted to employees many will be unaware of its benefits.
Its success is also very dependent on the attitude of senior management. If they are behind it, the scheme will almost certainly be a successful one, but if they’re not interested, it will probably have a very low take up.
Companies which have successful Workplace Giving schemes usually have a very dynamic corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme and there is a lot of support of voluntary initiatives within the organisation. Workplace Giving is an ideal vehicle during the economic downturn too, because it’s not asking anyone to give more, it’s asking people to give more efficiently. If you’re a higher rate tax payer and you could give your favourite charity an extra 40% just by giving the same amount as you normally do, but through the payroll, why wouldn’t you?
You aren’t locking yourself into a long-term commitment either. You can stop your donations at any point. You don’t have to give much either – it can be as little as £1 a week if you wish. The average Workplace Giving donation is £7 per month.
Why should a company sign up to the Geared for Giving Campaign?
- It shows that a company cares about the things that matter to their employees.
- It underlines their commitment to community involvement and social responsibility.
- It gives them an easy mechanism for supporting their corporate charity partner.
- It represents an additional no-cost benefit offered to employees as part of a voluntary/ flexible benefits package.
- It aligns their brand and reputation with a growing body of forward-thinking organisations in the UK.
How do companies become Geared For Giving?
Set-up is quick and easy. There’s no cost. Simply choose a preferred payroll agent – an HM Revenue & Customs-approved ‘bank’ that transfers employee’s donations to charity. The payroll agent receives all deductions from the payroll department in one lump sum. Admin time associated with operating the scheme should be mere minutes a month. More and more companies are choosing to enhance their Workplace Giving scheme by adding value. Companies can decide how – there are a range of options to suit all budgets.
The key to a successful scheme is ensuring that all employees are aware of it and it is made easy for them to join.
In organisations which are successfully Geared for Giving, employees are encouraged to take part in Workplace Giving and to share a rewarding sense of ‘giving something back’. The government’s own Payroll Giving Quality Mark encourages 10% staff participation in charitable giving at work, recognising and rewarding organisations for making Workplace Giving available to their staff.
If you can spread the word and get more Companies Geared for Giving there will be a huge number of people from literally thousands of charities who will be extremely grateful. As it says in the title to my autobiography, Anyone Can Do It. So go on, do it today!
[1] www.charityfacts.org
[2] www.cafonline.org/pdf/PayrollGiving2005.pdf
[3] See ‘Giving something back engages employees’ in The People Bulletin, 8 October 2009.