HISTORIC PRESS RELEASE : Charities Campaign gets a £1 million kick-start [November 2000]

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 21 November 2000.

£1 million to launch a new charity sector-led campaign to boost charitable giving was announced today by Treasury Minister Stephen Timms. The campaign, led jointly by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) and the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) and chaired by Lord Joel Joffe, aims to raise awareness of the Getting Britain Giving package through the development of an overarching brand for charitable giving.

In line with the Government’s commitment to increase the giving of both time and money, the £1 million investment will be backed up by the secondment of Government staff to the campaign team.

Speaking at the annual NCVO Lobby Conference, Financial Secretary Stephen Timms said:

“This £1 million investment, together with the secondment of civil servants to the charitable sector, shows once again the Government’s commitment to promoting charitable giving.

“NCVO, CAF and others from the voluntary sector are working very hard to put together a campaign team to boost the giving of both time and money. The team, which will be run by charity sector professionals, will focus on such diverse groups as businesses, high net worth individuals, young people and volunteers.

“The Getting Britain Giving package offers the best ever opportunity for the charitable sector to increase donations, but it needs to be widely publicised if it is to reach its full potential. Our new investment, both of time and money, will help the charitable sector fully tap this opportunity.”

Stuart Etherington, head of NCVO, welcomed today’s announcement:

“This is an excellent boost and will be a major step forward in helping spread the word that tax effective giving really works. We look forward to working with charities, the Government and business on developing the campaign.”

Michael Brophy, Chief Executive of CAF, also welcomed the news:

“This is great news for charitable giving in this country. Not only do we have the most liberal tax environment in the world as a result of changes introduced this year, we now have more money with which to start spreading the message.” Notes for editors:

Getting Britain Giving, a package of tax reliefs designed to increase charitable giving, was announced by the Chancellor in Budget 2000.

These measures were introduced following a review of charity taxation and extensive consultation, and include:

Gift Aid – abolition of the £250 minimum limit for donations; allowing donors to join the scheme by telephone or via the internet with a minimum of formality

Payroll Giving – abolition of the maximum limit of £1,200 a year, launch of a three year publicity campaign and a 10% supplement on all donations for the duration of the campaign

A new tax relief for gifts of shares and securities

Extension of the tax exemption for fundraising events

The measures are estimated to be worth about £400 million a year in tax relief.

The Government expects to contribute several experienced civil servants to the voluntary sector-led campaign team, including an expert on charity taxation from the Inland Revenue and a Senior Civil Servant from the Treasury.