Businesses   *   Individuals   *   Sponsorship

When you hear the word "donation", the first image in your head is probably of someone standing with a collecting tin on the street. But this is not the only way in which donations are made. Any organisation working with volunteers receives an individual's donation of time, expertise and energy on a regular basis. Some businesses have a corporate social responsibility policy when they encourage employees to volunteer in their local community and allow them to spend a certain number of days each year doing their volunteering. They donate their staff time. Whilst the traditional collection tin, entry fee to a bazaar or festival, are part of the local picture, it's worth considering a few other options.

Download the presentation on Internet Fundraising, by Martin Shaw of MIDAS Charity Appeals, as given at our 2009 Funding Conference.

Download his helpful book on fundraising

Businesses can:

• make gifts of money, land, building, shares, equipment, trading stock or staff help
• sponsor your charity (and businesses can claim tax relief on it, too)
• encourage payroll giving, when employees choose to give to charity directly from their wages. If you can make links with a local business and encourage them to take up payroll giving, why not encourage them to support your charity?

HM Revenue and Customs gives useful information on Payroll Giving: many charities recognise the benefits of employing the services of a Payroll Giving Professional Fundraising Organisation (PFO) to promote their cause and recruit new donors. A PFO is a commercial organisation, in some cases owned by charities, that promotes Payroll Giving for various charities; they are paid a fee by the charities if support is generated. A professional fundraiser can work with a business on all aspects of running a workplace campaign to its employees. Most PFOs belong to the Association of Payroll Giving Organisations (APGO) that regulates their conduct.

Individuals can:

• donate using Gift Aid declarations (this includes deeds of covenant such as with regular giving to a church)
• make gifts of shares and securities to charity (and claim tax relief)
• donate through Payroll Giving if their company is part of a scheme (and claim tax relief)
• put money in your charity's collecting tin!

Sponsorship:

Get your charity or project listed on http://www.uksponsorship.com/home.htm, an online UK Sponsorship database.