It’s National Payroll Giving Week

Today sees the launch of the first National Payroll Giving Week, running from the 8th-14th of February.

With support from partners such as the Chartered Institute of Fundraising, Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals, Professional Fundraising Organisations, the Association of Payroll Giving Organisations, Payroll Giving Agencies, and charities across the sector both big and small, it is hoped that the week is just the first step in growing the value and awareness of this area of giving and to start conversations with both charities and corporate partners about how to work together.

Payroll Giving has been arguably a less promoted form of individual giving across the sector but this is now definitely changing. Schemes not only run here in the UK but very successfully in Australia, USA, and several other countries. The method of donating is simple: Payroll Giving donations are taken from pay before tax. A donation of £5 a month would actually cost an employee £4 from their take-home pay (if they pay 20% tax) or £3 (if they pay 40% tax).

Why choose payroll giving?

• Easy and convenient – straight from your pay
• Tax-effective – it costs less to give more
• Supports the causes you care about
• Flexible – control over how much you want to donate
• Deductions can only take place when you are employed.
• No bank details required

Giving a regular gift to The Big Issue Foundation through your pay is easy. All you need to do is go to our online form and follow the instructions.

Over 1 million people donate to charities through their pay and together they have raised over £2 billion for good causes.

For charities, Payroll Giving provides an unrestricted source of regular income for your cause, and when you receive donations through Payroll Giving there is no need to apply for Gift Aid, saving you money and time. As opposed to Gift Aid where donations can only be increased by 25% regardless of the donor’s tax bracket, Payroll Giving allows charities to receive the full tax relief. This is particularly beneficial for donations from higher rate tax-payers. A 45% tax payer can see a donation’s value increase by 88% meaning £100 out of the donor’s pocket becomes £188 going to the charity.

Payroll Giving Week has been developed from an idea of the Payroll Giving Forum – a collective group of charities who run successful Payroll Giving schemes. As a result of Covid-19 and the fundraising landscape since the start of the pandemic the Forum were keen to promote the strength of Payroll Giving, as well as thank existing donors and corporates who support their causes in this way.

Interested in giving through your pay? Find out more here.

If you are an employer interested in finding out more about payroll giving, find out more here.