Payroll Giving Month’s Development Manager, Caroline Gaskin talks us through the benefits of getting involved in the campaign for both voluntary organisations and donors.
As February’s Payroll Giving Month approaches, Welsh charities have a unique opportunity to enhance their fundraising strategies. This tax-efficient giving method, where employees donate directly from their gross salary, represents an untapped potential for sustainable charity income across Wales.
Since the launch of payroll giving in 1987, over 1 million people each year donate to charities through their pay and together they have raised over £2 billion for good causes. Payroll givers have contributed so much to the sector but have gone relatively unnoticed, making them one of the unsung heroes of charitable giving.
THE POWER OF REGULAR GIVING
Payroll giving provides charities with unrestricted, steady income streams – something increasingly valuable in today’s uncertain economic climate. For Welsh charities, particularly smaller organisations, this reliability can make the difference between surviving and thriving. As a charity, payroll giving helps give you the ability to better plan the delivery of your services and commit to long-term projects benefiting Welsh communities.
SPENDING LESS TO GIVE
Payroll giving is the tax efficient way for people to give to a cause they care about. Donors benefit by giving less to do more good. Gifts made through payroll giving schemes are taken from salaries as a pre-tax deduction – if a donor is a 20% tax rate payer a £10 per month donation costs them just £8, and they can support any cause they care about, in an easy way, with no limits to how much they give or how many charities they can support.
BUILDING STRONGER CORPORATE PARTNERSHIPS
Payroll giving can also give charities the opportunity to deepen their relationships with corporate partners. Many Welsh businesses are seeking meaningful ways to demonstrate their commitment to local communities. By engaging businesses with payroll giving, charities can offer these companies an easy way to enhance their corporate social responsibility that benefits both parties.
For employers, running a scheme has numerous benefits including:
- Enhancing your corporate social responsibility profile.
- Boosting your reputation and public image.
- Demonstrating commitment to causes your employees care about.
- Aiding staff recruitment and retention and improving morale.
- Recognition through quality marks and excellence awards.
With more than 70% of employees now demanding social responsibility from their employer, there is a huge need for organisations to place a stronger emphasis on their CSR and ESG practices. Payroll Giving Month provides the perfect opportunity for charities to engage employers with a scheme that both motivates employees and increases an organisations’ social impact.
PAYROLL GIVING MONTH
Payroll Giving Month happens every February when charities, payroll giving agencies, professional fundraising organisations, and companies come together with the aim to raise awareness of the scheme amongst employees, employers, and charities.
Payroll Giving Month is a great time to have more conversations about payroll giving, whether that is internally or with corporate partners, and to encourage more employees to support your cause via payroll giving. This can be in the form of regular giving, but there is also an option of running one-off campaigns with your corporate partners.
SETTING UP A SCHEME FOR YOUR STAFF
If your charity does not yet have payroll giving scheme in place for your own staff, why not introduce it now and plan an internal campaign. Setting up and promoting the scheme first hand will help give you confidence to speak to your corporate partners about your first-hand experience.
However, it’s important to keep the option open for employees in your charity to support any charity of their choice: we all have our own interests and just because you work for one cause does not mean that you would not be interested in supporting other causes as well.
SPREAD THE WORD ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Payroll Giving Month was created with social media in mind as this is a very cost effective way to get involved. Tweet about payroll giving, have content on LinkedIn and if you can, maybe take over part of your home page for the month.
If you have not discussed the idea of payroll giving with your corporate partners before, you might start conversations around this form of giving leading to Payroll Giving Month.
If they do not already have a payroll giving scheme in place, you could help them to introduce it – and being the first charity that is mentioned in this context could give you a great opportunity to recruit regular supporters. Remember though that employees are able to support any cause they care about.
FIND OUT MORE
Ready to embrace payroll giving for your charity? Visit www.payrollgivingmonth.com to learn how to set up your scheme, access promotional materials, and connect with payroll giving agencies. Join the growing number of Welsh charities creating sustainable income streams through this powerful giving method.