The newly –introduced cap on tax relief for charity donations could leave British society out of pocket by as much as £1.5 billion a year.

That is according to the findings of a study by Oxford Economics, which found that the potential £500 million a year cut in charity incomes could cost as much as £1.5 billion in lost benefits.

According to the research, as many as 19,000 jobs in charities and the wider economy could also be lost under the tax cap plans.
Charities Aid Foundation chief executive John Low warned that the changes “will cause real harm to the services charities provide”.

“That means less medical research, less support for vulnerable people and less help for the causes we all care about.”
Over 1,000 charities are currently calling for charitable donations to be made exempt from the £50,000 cap on tax relief or 25 per cent of income.

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It’s a sad fact of life that even if you’re raising money – especially cash - for a good cause, there may still be people who will see this as a possible opportunity for some easy pickings.

And if they do there’s always the risk that someone will get hurt in the process.

So – without turning your Charity Fundraising Event into Fort Knox - what are the practical and sensible steps you can take to keep, first of all your people safe, and secondly you’re hard earned charitable donations secure?

Here’s a good starting point - give some thought to how you’ll manage the cash you collect and consider the following:-

• Selling tickets in advance to reduce the amount of cash being handled on the day.
• Setting the price for each cash purchase, e.g. any entrance fee, at a round figure to help minimise the amount of change needed for each float – and to keep the maths simpler!

• Providing a cash box at each point where cash will be handled
o At the entrance door/gate
o At each stall
o At the cafe.

• Regularly collecting cash from each cash box during the course of the event and putting it somewhere secure – e.g. the safe at your chosen venue.

• Making sure that no one collecting cash is left alone - always work in twos.

• Once counted, banking the cash – if it’s safe enough to do so, using a bank night safe facilities. Alternatively if the sums of money are large, arranging for a professional security company to collect the cash from you on the same day.

• Arranging some insurance - in case the money gets lost or stolen - with a company that understands events like yours and what cover you need to be adequately protected.      

But most of all remember two things - firstly that the chance of something happening is extremely small; and secondly that the safety of people is always more important than the protection of money, so if something does happen it’s no time for heroics!

Are you thinking about holding a Jubilee Event?
 

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Charities look set to enjoy a boost in income after it was announced that they would be able to claim top-up payments on any small donations of up to £5,000 without requiring Gift Aid declarations.

The Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme was announced as part of today's (May 9th) Queen's Speech, with the change introduced in a bid to reduce the administrative burden currently being placed on charitable organisations.

Under the plans, charities will no longer be required to collect Gift Aid declarations on small donations, in what was previously a time-consuming exercise.

Instead, from April 2013, charities will be able to claim Gift-Aid-style top-up payments from HM Revenue and Customs, without the need for such paperwork.

The top-up payments meanwhile, will provide 25 pence for every pound collected in the UK, up to the value of £5,000 of donations and where each individual donation is £20 or less.

Economic secretary to the treasury Chloe Smith welcomed the changes:"This scheme will be particularly helpful for small charities that rely on bucket collections, which can find it impractical to get the necessary paperwork that Gift Aid requires."

HMRC will be consulting on the final policy over the next month with a finalized decision expected on May 25th.

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The government has unveiled plans that will allow cash point users to make charitable donations using special automated teller machines (ATMs) located throughout the UK.
 
As many as 12,000 cash machines will be used in the new initiative which was announced by the minister for civil society Nick Hurd earlier today (May 8th).
 
The initiative represents the culmination of months of planning by ministers who have been investigating ways in which they can make it easier for UK residents to donate small amounts of money to charity.
 
This project has seen them collaborate with operator Link on a quickfire solution, with those behind the initiative hoping to have it up and running by this summer’s Diamond Jubilee and the subsequent Olympic Games .
 
Mr Hurd hoped that the new system would “make it easier for people to give small amounts to charity if they want to”.
 
"By making it possible to add donations at cash points we can make an even greater difference to other people’s lives,” he added.

Under the plans, 12,000 machines belonging to the Royal Bank of Scotland and cash machine operator Bank Machine will feature the new donation service, which will see users able to choose from a number of nominated charities when donating.

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