Convergence Funding & Funding News charities for every pound donated falls from 28.1 pence to 25 pence. It is believed that this would support the challenging times ahead for the sector, in a climate of rising demands on services and funding cuts.
Structural Funds programme update As at 26 August 2010, EU funding of over £1.4 billion, representing a total project investment of over £2.8 billion, has been approved for 185 projects. These will help provide over 33,500 opportunities for businesses and provide over 480,000 employment and training opportunities for individuals across Wales.
Funding News Funders ‘ask for more solid evidence from applicants’
The organisations support many of the recommendations in the report of the Gift Aid forum, such as a Gift Aid database and the possible simplification of the process, but recommends that they should run parallel to the extension of transitional relief. The Institute of Fundraising has also expressed concerns at the slow progress to reform Gift Aid, stating that donors give to support good causes, not because of Gift Aid. They cautioned against comparing our system with the USA where all the relief goes to the donor, creating an added incentive to give.
Funders are becoming more rigorous in scrutinising the evidence provided by charities in funding applications, key sector voices have warned. The Big Lottery Fund puts great importance on charities providing evidence about the issues they are seeking to address and the outcomes of the work they do, which becomes increasingly important when funding is so competitive.
The Institute welcomes any reform of Gift Aid that “creates an opportunity to increase charities’ income from voluntary gifts and reduces the administrative burden and costs for all organisations involved in administering Gift Aid”. It is keen for voluntary groups to maximise Gift Aid and the choice it offers their donors to increase their gifts. Concerns have been raised that recent changes to the application process and the introduction of the “fit and proper persons” test is discouraging new charities from using Gift Aid.
Wanless said providing this evidence could be harder for charities that were trying to address new challenges. “But we would still need clear evidence of the need and a demonstration of how their approach to it would work,” he added. Funders are increasingly looking for a solid evidence base for charities’ outcomes.
For more information visit: www.institute-of-fundraising.org.uk
Pressure on Chancellor over Gift Aid plans
Licence for public charitable collections put on hold
ACEVO (Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations), the Charity Tax Group and the Institute of Fundraising have written to the Chancellor expressing their disappointment at the Gift Aid forum meetings and calling for an extension of transitional relief - worth around £100m a year to the sector and due to expire in April. Transitional relief was introduced for three years in 2008, when the basic rate of income tax was reduced. Without the relief, the reduction means the amount of Gift Aid available to
Implementation of the part of the Charities Act 2006 that would make the Charity Commission the lead regulator of public charitable collections has been postponed indefinitely. This will now be considered in a review of the Act that was promised when it was passed and is due to begin next year. There has been no indication whether the relevant part of the Act will be implemented or not. 15