Gift Aid

Since 2000 Gift Aid has enriched tax efficient giving to charities and almost all churches have efficient Gift Aid schemes which make a welcome and substantial contribution to the financial needs of the church. In most churches the largest donor is the Chancellor of the Exchequer - and he is happy to keep giving!

The weakness in church Gift Aid schemes is usually around the effectiveness with which Gift Aid is promoted and recruitment to the Gift Aid scheme is carried out. All too often recruitment is rather impersonal. Posters and magazine articles raise awareness but fundamentally put the responsibility for action on the shoulders of the giver. Often the subsequent transactions around declarations are done by post or in a quick hand over after the service. Little is provided in the way of information about how Gift Aid works and there is almost no recognition that the move to Gift Aid may reflect some spiritual movement in the relationship of the giver and his/her church.

However efficient a Gift Aid scheme might be it is fascinating how many potential Gift Aid givers who have resisted all appeals to join the scheme are "flushed out" by a Giving in Grace or other stewardship programme in the local church. Awareness is rarely the issue. It is the invitation to make a response that prompts a decision to ask for Gift Aid information.

• As with all requests for additional information ensure a personal visit to those who have requested information on Gift Aid.
• Make use of the brochure Gift Aiding your Planned Giving to answer basic questions and allay fears around the tax related nature of Gift Aid.
• After Giving in Grace ensure that the church appoints someone to manage recruitment and communication around Gift AId. This may be one task of the Gift Aid secretary or might be allocated to the work of a Parish Giving Officer.
• As with envelopes and standing orders do not imply that choosing to Gift Aid is in itself a response to the invitation of grace. The primary focus is to review giving; Gift Aid is simply a mechanism to make the gift tax efficient.
• That said, the decision to Gift Aid can be an incremental step to deeper maturity in planned giving and commitment to the church. The personal visit is midwife to possible growth in spirituality and not just how a financial transaction is completed.