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Making a difference

If you've been inspired by the extraordinary work of the three women featured in Saga Magazine (August 2006) but you don't have the time or the energy to set up a charity yourself, there are other ways in which you can make a difference to the causes that matter to you

Volunteering

Government is promoting greater public involvement in volunteering and charitable giving, and is funding work to make it easier for people from all backgrounds to volunteer.

Volunteering takes many forms, on local, national and international levels. Over twenty million people in England alone now volunteer at least monthly. Contact charities and community organisations directly to see how you can help out.

Donating

There are various ways to make the most of your donations to charity:

• Gift Aid
  

  Gift Aid is tax relief on money donated to UK charities. Donations are treated as if the donor had already deducted basic rate tax from them. The charity can then reclaim this tax to increase the value of a donation. A declaration can be made to cover individual donations or a series of donations, or can cover donations made during a specified period or to cover all future donations. They can also be backdated for up to 6 years prior to the date of the declaration provided the donation was made since 6 April 2000.

• Payroll giving
  

  Normally when you donate money to a cause you are giving out of your taxed income. With Payroll Giving your donation is taken from your pay before tax is deducted, so your chosen charity gets a bigger donation. Once your donation is set up your charity will benefit each time you are paid. CAF (Charities Aid Foundation) operates the UK's largest payroll giving scheme, Give As You Earn. Two thirds of all donations made through the payroll use this method. Providing your pension is paid through PAYE, you can even donate direct from your pension, tax free. Give As You Earn lets you give as much or as little as you like, to as many charities as you like.
  

• Inheritance tax
  

  Outright gifts and bequests to UK charities are completely free of inheritance tax.

• Capital gains tax
  

  You are not liable to capital gains tax when you make a gift of assets such as land or stocks and shares, to charity, even if the asset is worth more when you donate it than when you acquired it.

Ensuring a charity is reputable

Copies of a registered charity’s accounts or governing document held on the Charity Commission’s Central Register of Charities is available to anyone.

Although it is important to be aware that only charities with a gross income or total expenditure over £10,000 in the financial year in question are required to send accounts to the Commission, so you may need to contact the charity directly. A charity is entitled to charge for photocopying/postage.

It is worth being aware that one of the quickest and easiest ways to ensure the money or time you donate goes to the people who really need it is to use CAF (Charities Aid Foundation).

As a non-profit organisation itself, CAF will check the credentials of any charity or charitable organisation to ensure it is registered and run properly - in line with the Charity Commission’s requirements.

Other services from CAF

CAF provides a number of tax-efficient services to make the most of donations.

• A Charity Account, run like a bank account, lets you set aside money for charity on a regular basis.
• Give As You Earn, the UK’s largest payroll giving scheme.
• A CAF Trust gives you the features of an independent trust, without any of the hassle.
• A CAF Legacy Account makes it easier and more flexible for you to leave a charitable bequest.

This article was created: 23 August 2006.
This article was last edited: 7 November 2006.

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