Call on Government to increase Gift Aid

Breast Cancer UK joins with more than 300 charities calling on the Government to temporarily increase the level of Gift Aid from 20% to 25%.

Breast Cancer UK, along with the whole UK charity sector, is facing an unprecedented drop in fundraising income caused by Covid-19. In response to this crisis, we are adding our name to the growing number of charities calling for a temporary increase in Gift Aid.

Gift Aid is a scheme which allows charities to claim from HMRC the basic rate of tax paid by their donors. This increases the value of donations by 20%, so it means more money goes to the causes donors support, at no additional cost to them. The campaign for Gift Aid Emergency Relief calls for a temporary boost in Gift Aid to 25%, which will help us continue our critical work to prevent breast cancer.

For example, today a £100 donation from a Breast Cancer UK donor means that the charity can claim an additional £25 from the government. If the Emergency Relief campaign is successful, this would increase to just over £33.

Thalie Martini, Chief Executive said:

“Breast Cancer UK is supporting the campaign for Gift Aid Emergency Relief because this simple change to gift aid will go towards helping us continue our vital work to prevent breast cancer. It will enable many charities to survive that would otherwise have to shut their doors at a time when their services have never been more needed. We urge charities and our supporters to add their voice in support of this campaign”.

Research shows that charities are on average having to plan for a 24% loss to their total income for the year ahead which would mean a £12.4bn loss of income if the average was applied to the sector as a whole. The proposed two-year Gift Aid Emergency Relief increase will help ease this, the biggest financial crisis the sector has ever faced.

For Breast Cancer UK, our income loss to date is an estimated 50%, twice that of the sector average. The ongoing uncertainty and projections of continued income losses has already resulted in the charity having to reduce the size of our workforce by a quarter and end ambassador education outreach work.

Having taken these difficult decisions, we are refocusing our priorities, starting with ambitious plans to expand our fundraising efforts to increase investment in our scientific research programme – something which is needed now more than ever.

Backed by over 300 charities, The Gift Aid Emergency Relief campaign is a sector-wide campaign led by the Charities Aid Foundation, Chartered Institute of Fundraising, National Council for Voluntary Organisations, Charity Finance Group and Charity Tax Group.

You can help by getting behind this campaign and become sharing on social media channels, writing to your local MP and letting local media know about it too!

To find out more about how you can support the campaign, please visit the Gift Aid Emergency Relief campaign page here.