Charitable donations on a roll!

With around 70% of the general public donating regularly and raising over £7 billion annually, coupled with their generosity in response to tsunami appeals earlier this year, it's clear that people across the UK want to give.

Almost 500 companies have signed up to Payroll Giving since new employer incentives were introduced earlier this year, as part of the Payroll Giving Grants programme. This gives employers with fewer than 500 employees an opportunity to help their employees to get tax relief, to increase the value of their donations and to earn a cash payment of up to £500 at the same time.

Payroll Giving is one of the easiest and most flexible methods of giving to charity, enabling employees to make charitable donations straight from their gross salary. It also gives them tax relief of up to 40% on their donations.

Vital stream of support to charities

As an employee donations scheme, Payroll Giving is a low cost initiative that enables employers to provide a vital stream of support to charities as well as their local community and beyond. For charities, this is hugely beneficial as it promotes a regular, reliable source of income. Once a donor has authorised a donation, research shows that they'll continue to support the charity for several years to come. This helps the charity to plan ahead and allocate funds with more accuracy.

Payroll Giving is good for business and a real benefit to offer employees. It's quick and easy to set up and run and can make a real difference to good causes across the country. So, if you haven't already established a scheme, then now is an ideal time. There's never been a better time for giving!

Green & Black's - A personal perspective

Following a promotion by the Professional Fundraising Organisation Workplace Giving UK, organic chocolate company Green & Black's launched a Payroll Giving scheme for their staff in October 2004. Eight members of staff (one quarter of the workforce) signed up to support good causes through payroll donations. Staff can choose which charities they would like to support through the scheme and they give an average of around £10 a month to their preferred charities. Having established the scheme in October 2004, Green & Black's is eligible for a grant. What's more, every donation given during the first six months of donations is matched, pound for pound, up to £10 a month for each 'giver' by the Government.

'Payroll giving really is one of those does-what-it-says-on-the-tin schemes. Very straightforward to set up and administer with starting costs recoverable via a grant. There's no minimum donation level, so staff of all salary levels can take part - it's not some complex tax scheme only available for high earners. Everyone can use this scheme to get more money to their chosen charities and save themselves a bit of tax at the same time.'

Pardeep Bahanda, Financial Controller, Green & Black's

For further information as well as free support materials and guidance, please visit: Payroll Giving website or call 0845 602 6786.