As an individual donor, it's your choice.
Here are some of the more popular ways to give:
For more details on any of these please contact the Foundation office.
Tax efficient donations
Thanks to Gift Aid, last year charities in the UK got an extra £472 million to fund their work, but if everyone had used Gift Aid, it could have been much, much more. Using Gift Aid on your charitable donations means for every £1 you donate, the charity gets an extra 28p from the Inland Revenue, helping your donation to go even further. Gift Aid allows the Foundation to reclaim the basic rate of income tax you've already paid on the donation. So if you're a taxpayer, this means £10 can be turned into £12.80, £100 into £128 and £1,000 into £1,280! And all you have to do is sign a form.
On top of that, if you're a higher rate taxpayer, you can claim further tax relief on the donation in your annual tax return.
Gift aid forms can be downloaded from Publications.
Payroll giving
Give to the Foundation and to other charities using Payroll Giving and the donations come off your salary before you're taxed, so it costs you less.
Payroll Giving forms can be downloaded from Publications.
If you or your company is holding a fundraising event and would like the Foundation to take part and receive a donation – we would be delighted to hear from you.
Charity account
The CAF Charity Account is a flexible way to support charities tax-effectively. More than 80,000 people use the CAF Charity Account to make more of their giving. The CAF Charity Account acts like a current bank account for all your charitable giving. It provides you with a discrete, tax-free location for your designated funds from which you can make donations (including online) to any registered charity you like, whenever you want.
Legacy to charity
A bequest in your will is one of the more traditional forms of giving to charity and remains a very
important one. There are two types of legacies:
- Residuary bequests – this means that once family and loved ones have been provided for, the remainder or a proportion of the deceased's estate is pledged to one or more charities.
- Pecuniary bequests – this means that the deceased pledges a specific sum of money to a particular charity.
A bequest to charity enables you to make a planned gift to a charity you care about, whilst ensuring dependants are provided for. Charitable legacies are paid before tax is deducted, reducing the total amount of inheritance tax due from your estate.
Personal charitable trust
A personal charitable trust is an ideal way to make a lasting contribution to a cause you care about. A charitable trust or foundation is a legal entity which can be set up by anyone who has decided that they want to commit to setting aside some of their assets or income for charitable causes. It does not require a substantial sum of money to set up a trust. Often the initial endowment is a lump sum from a bonus, an inheritance, or the sale of shares. But because a
charitable trust is classified as a charity, it can receive money through tax-efficient giving methods – using Gift Aid, Payroll Giving or Share Giving, for example.
Giving Shares
By donating listed shares and you'll get income tax relief. For example, if you are a higher rate taxpayer and you donate £1,000 of shares, you could get £400 knocked off your tax bill. On top of that, you won't be liable for tax on any capital gains.
Land and buildings
Now you can also get the same tax relief if you donate land or a building to charity. |
