Giving to charity direct from salaries more than doubles

Figures published today show that last year £81million was donated to charity by the half a million people who donate to charity every month through the tax-free, payroll giving scheme "Give As You Earn" an increase of 153% on 1999/2000 when £31million was given in this way.

Give As You Earn is run by the Charities Aid Foundation the charity that lobbied for the introduction of payroll giving in 1987. Giving in this way is tax-free because the donation is taken from your salary before tax.  Today, over 3,000 companies offer this as a benefit to their employees and many matchfund donations - doubling the amount that goes to their employees' chosen charities.

Last year 20,600 charities received donations from people giving through their company.

John Low Chief Executive of the Charities Aid Foundation said; "Give As You Earn is one of the best ways to give to charity because every time a basic rate taxpayer gives £10 to charity in this way it only costs them £8. This regular source of income is vital for charities because it enables them to make plans."

"Only 44% of UK employees on a payroll have access to such a scheme. It would be great for charities and those dependent upon them if all companies offered payroll giving."

Last year the largest single gift made through GAYE was £1.8 million and one donor made 530 donations in this way.

How does your chosen charity benefit?

Payroll giving enables your chosen charity to receive a medium to long-term regular income, allowing them to plan future, sustainable projects.

Give As You Earn reduces charity administration and fundraising costs as your donations go directly into their account each month. It also enables your company to match your donations thereby significantly increasing the value of your overall gift.

How does it work?

All you need to do is choose how much money you want to give each month and which charitable causes you want to give to - then the Charities Aid Foundation will work with your HR/ payroll department to do the rest.

Who can you give to?

You can make donations to any charitable organisation in the UK. Plus if you have a CAF Charity Account which is funded by Give As You Earn, you can give to any charitable organisation across the globe.

There are three different ways to donate through Give As You Earn:

Direct to charity

If your employer already operates Give As You Earn, you just have to let your payroll department know that you want to participate. You give them details of how much you want to give and which charity or charities you want to give to, and they sort out the rest. If your employer doesn't run Give As You Earn, and you and your colleagues think they should, ask us to contact the Charities Aid Foundation tel: 03000 123 000 cafonline.org

CAF Charity Account

If your employer operates Give As You Earn but you want to give to a wider range of charities, or save up a pool of funds so you can respond quickly to specific appeals, you can set up a CAF Charity Account funded by Give As You Earn.

You can change which charities you give to - and vary the amounts you give. You need to commit to giving a minimum of £10 a month to open a Charity Account.

CAF Trust

If you've got £10,000 a year you want to give to charity (maybe at bonus time) or a minimum of £500 a month, a CAF Charitable Trust is the ideal solution. Your fund is invested, and then you decide who benefits from the income generated - and because you make the donation before tax, your £10,000 gift will ‘cost' you £6,000. You can share donation decisions with your family, and if you appoint a successor your Trust can last indefinitely.

You can also top up your Trust at any time - adding to the capital with cash donations, by giving stocks, shares or other assets or with regular gifts through Give As You Earn.