You’ve made the effort to sponsor someone doing a marathon or you’ve donated items to a charity shop, you decide how much to donate and then you’re asked age-old the question – Would you like to give Gift Aid?
This may look like another ploy to send you yet another marketing email but, fear not, the power of this little box can make a big difference to the people supported by those charities.
We think it’s important to let members of the public know how tax can be a lifeline for some charities and, in particular, the huge benefits that simply ticking the Gift Aid box can bring.
All charities will talk a lot about Gift Aid, and for good reason. Gift Aid raises more than £1bn each year for UK charities – with no cost to the charity and no cost to the generous giver.
Gift Aid is a government scheme that allows charities to reclaim the tax that you have already paid on every donation you make. This means that for every £1 donated, we can claim an extra 25p back from the taxman.
Last year, all those 25 pences added up to a whopping £10,193 for The Wallich – a huge sum of money that can make a real difference.
For context, this means that by simply ticking the box, our Gift Aiders could have helped up to 200 people who are struggling, access a therapeutic counselling session.
Or it could provide a weeks’ shopping for up to 500 people without the means to support themselves whilst self-isolating in a hostel.
If you haven’t already, we’ve developed a new online form where you can quickly and easily sign-up to Gift Aid.
By taking a few minutes to complete the form, we’ll be able to claim back the tax on any gifts you have made for the last four years – as well as any you might make in future.
If you do one thing today, take a few minutes to tick the box and help make your already generous donations, go even further.