Posted: January 10, 2014 Filed under: blog post | Tags: Charities Aid Foundation, charity, donations, HMRC, payroll, payrollgiving Good news from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs! Revised figures from HMRC have shown that for 2012/13 a record £155 million was donated to charities through the payroll giving scheme. And another record has fallen with the total number of employees engaged in the scheme passing the one million mark for the first time.
The initial figures released by HMRC in summer 2013 showed an increase on the previous year of just £6 million through payroll giving. However they have now drastically revised those figures up revealing a true increase of £37 million compared to the previous year.
This translates to an impressive 31% increase in the value of donations on the previous year and an even larger 39% increase in the number of employees participating in the scheme. This will be welcome news to Britain’s charities who are keen for more people to give regularly, thus allowing them to better plan for the future.
Peter O’Hara, managing director of Workplace Giving, noted that it is unlikely there is just one factor at work but rather a variety of factors to explain such a dramatic rise. This includes more employers signing up their organisations to the scheme and more employees being aware of the ability to give through their payroll. He said that ‘visibility of payroll giving has definitely increased’.
Payroll giving, which allows employees to give to charities through their salaries before tax, means when donating £1 the employee only pays 80p with the taxman paying the rest. Payroll giving has seen a steady increase in income since its introduction in 1987 and these latest figures are a reason to be enthusiastic. Even so, a report by the Charities Aid Foundation found that, as of 2012 just 3% of the workforce is enrolled in the scheme. That figure is relatively low and we believe it can and should be much higher.
Still, this is a positive start to the New Year and we look forward to more records being broken in 2014!
Holly Mitchell
Posted: January 8, 2014 Filed under: blog post Back Britain’s Charities campaign is delighted to announce that anti-domestic violence charity Women’s Aid has signed up to add their support to the campaign.
Women’s Aid is a fantastic organisation that supports over 300 local domestic violence services across the country. Women’s Aid Annual Survey 2013 of around 200 domestic violence services in England found that in 2012/13 these organisations supported nearly 117,000 women and children through refuge accommodation and outreach support. This includes nearly 10,000 women and over 10,000 children in refuge, and nearly 83,000 women and 14,000 children in outreach services. The first Women’s Aid federation was established 40 years ago, and formed in the aftermath of issues such as violence in the home and other forms of sexual and interpersonal violence to women being highlighted.
The charity aims to empower women who have been affected by domestic violence, meet the needs of children who have suffered as a result of domestic violence, provide specialised services run by women based upon listening to survivors, and promote cohesive inter-agency responses to domestic violence.
As a testament to their excellent work, Women’s Aid has received the support of high-profile figures such as Patrons Julie Walters CBE, and Dame Jenni Murray, as well as Ambassador’s including Will Young, Charlie Webster and Jahmene Douglas.
Explaining their support for the Back Britain’s Charities campaign, Polly Neate, Chief Executive of Women’s Aid said:
“Women’s Aid Federation of England supports the Back Britain’s Charities campaign because it highlights many of the key issues charities are struggling with in some of the most difficult times the sector has ever faced. As a national membership organisation, the network of local specialist domestic violence organisations across England depends on Women’s Aid to talk to government, decision makers and the public about the serious financial issues and spiralling demand for services that are affecting our members, most of whom lack the capacity to engage in publicity, fundraising and tendering for public funds. We are therefore acutely aware of both the local and national challenges charities face, and the need to highlight to local agencies, Government, individuals and businesses the importance of supporting local domestic violence charities who in turn support many of the 1.2 million women and thousands of children who experience domestic violence every year.”
We’re delighted to receive the support of Women’s Aid. We know that many charities across Britain are struggling, with people finding it difficult to give during the tough economic climate, but it’s vital that people from all walks of life do what they can to support charities. Because, as the work of Women’s Aid demonstrates, it is vital that beneficiaries of charities across Britain have somewhere to turn for support. The most vulnerable people in society often rely on the support of charities, and unless we act now to support the sector, there is a real danger that they will have nowhere to go for help. That’s why we all need to pull together and Back Britain’s Charities!
Posted: January 7, 2014 Filed under: blog post Back Britain’s Charities campaign has warned of the dangers posed by falling charities incomes, and acknowledged that it is often small and medium sized charities that are struggling to make ends meet. That’s why it’s so important that people give as regularly as they can – so that smaller charities are able to plan their expenditure over the coming months, and make sure their income goes as far as possible.
We’ve also warned of the danger of cuts by government to charities, and how there is a real concern that some local authorities might disproportionately cut funding to charities, which means that the people who rely on charities and voluntary groups for support suffer. With spending restrictions set to continue for the foreseeable future we’ll be keeping an eye on councils as they set budgets for the next financial year, and check that they aren’t using cuts to charities as an easy way of balancing the books.
Supporting charity the most uplifting thing in 2013, report finds
Posted: January 3, 2014 Filed under: UncategorizedWhat lifted people’s spirits the most in 2013? You might think that it was the prolonged warm weather over the summer (hard to recall now, we know), the birth of the royal baby, or even Andy Murray winning Wimbledon.
Well, accordingly to a survey commissioned by Oxfam to start the New Year, you’d be wrong.
In fact, people said that supporting a charity was the thing that had lifted their spirits most last year, with 70% of respondents to the survey stating that helping a good cause had improved their outlook in 2013.
This compares to 62% citing the weather over the summer, 60% being cheered by Murray’s triumph at SW19 and 52% seeing their spirits lifted by Mo Farah winning double gold at the Athletics World Championships.
When asked about TV programmes that had the most uplifting effect charities once again figured prominently. Children in Need was chosen by 35% of respondents, slightly ahead of The Great British Bakeoff and Strictly Come Dancing.
Looking ahead to 2014, 25% of people are looking forward to a well-earned holiday, with the event that most people expect to be uplifting in the coming year being the football World Cup in Brazil. Whether this will be the case given that the recent draw placed England in the same group as Uruguay, Italy and Costa Rica remains to be seen!
It’s great to see that so many people find supporting a charity so rewarding, and the generosity of people across Britain is truly appreciated by the thousands of charities who rely on the goodwill of donors and volunteers to support them.
The Back Britain’s Charities campaign has been calling for people to give to charity regularly, regardless of the amount that they are able to give. Not only does this help charities better plan their expenditure and ensure that more money can be targeted towards helping beneficiaries, but is also makes donors feel good!
We hope that, following the results of this survey, people continue to generously support charities in 2014. Happy New Year to all of our supporters!