Gift Aid is a tremendous way for any tax payer (including pensioners who pay tax) to support the parish.
It is really simple: you complete just one form, and after that 25% of whatever you give is added to your donation. It is like free money, from your taxes, directly to the parish. So, you give £1, and the tax office give 25p, and so you donation is £1.25. No extra cost to you – but a massive extra benefit to the parish. If you give £10/week without Gift Aid then at the end of the year is is £520. That’s great – but with Gift Aid it would be £650.
Our Gift Aid co-ordinator is the wonderfully approachable Tony Hable, and if you have any questions about Gift Aid he can be contacted via our dedicated Gift Aid email or via the Parish Office.
The form is here: Gift Aid Declaration Form – GDPR 2020 (also available at the back of the church). Simply complete it and return it to the Parish Office.
So, what’s stopping you? Here are some common questions and doubts!
Will anyone see how much I give to the church? No. You’ll be allocated a number, and the person processing the donations does not know which number relates to which parishioner.
Will it affect my tax return? No. It’s a simple process, dealt with diretcly with HMRC. You’ll get a letter once a year confirming the amount on which Gift Aid has been claimed.
Will it affect my banking? Not at all. The bank will process a standing order or cheque in exactly the same way they do now – in fact your bank will not know that you are Gift Aiding at all.
What can I Gift Aid?
You can Gift Aid anything you donate to the church (or, in fact, to any charity) providing the amount the charity receives in Gift Aid does not exceed the amount you pay in tax in any one year.
So you can donate via Standing Order, Bank Transfer, Online Banking, Cheque or anything else. It’s all on the donations page – we just need the Gift Aid form to make the claim.
What difference does it make?
It makes an immense difference to the parish – in recent years the Gift Aid amounts have been around £15,000 – £19,000 and this money is essential for running / maintenance costs in the parish. We would make a loss each year without the Gift Aid money.