Gift Aid Awareness Day is returning for 2024, providing an opportunity for charities to promote Gift Aid and increase the value of their donations.
This year, Gift Aid Awareness Day is happening on Thursday 3 October and part of the #TickTheBox campaign, which is sharing the enormous impact Gift Aid has on beneficiaries and communities and promoting public understanding of Gift Aid.
GIFT AID EXPLAINED
Gift Aid is a tax relief for charities in the UK which increases the value of donations. When UK taxpayers donate, the charity is able to claim an additional 25% of the value of the donation. That means for every £10 donation made to the charity, they can receive £12.50. All of this is at no extra cost to the donor.
In July 2023, the government published its annual charity tax relief statistics. The figures show that although the amount of Gift Aid claimed had increased to £1.6bn, which is great news! However, 1,310 fewer charities had actually benefited from this increase. The Charities Aid Foundation has found that almost a quarter of eligible taxpayers don’t add Gift Aid when making donations. That’s millions of pounds that charities across the UK could be making excellent use of for the benefit of their communities.
MAKING SURE PEOPLE #TICKTHEBOX
We want every eligible charity to make the most of this vital tax relief, and reduce the amount of Gift Aid that goes unclaimed every year of around £560m.
Gift Aid Awareness Day and the #TickTheBox campaign give charities great opportunities to thank those donors that do tick the Gift Aid box for their donations, as well as raising awareness to current and potential donors, supporters and volunteers on how valuable Gift Aid can be to an organisation and its beneficiaries.
This could be a good time to remind your volunteers in charity shops and fundraising events to encourage people to sign up for Gift Aid, or to offer a new volunteer role to support your Gift Aid claims.
LEARN MORE
Head to the Gift Aid Awareness day webpage to download the new campaign toolkit, which now includes Welsh language assets.
If, as a charity, you’re not currently set up to process and receive Gift Aid, have a look at the Introduction to Gift Aid resource on Third Sector Support Wales’ Knowledge Hub.