Earlier this year, the government released Gift Aid statistics, revealing that the amount paid out on the scheme had increased to a record £1.35 billion, up from £90 million – an increase of 7%.

In particular, the Small Donations Scheme (GASDS) has seen a 33% increase in the amount of money claimed.

However, there is still significant room for improvement for GASDS  – Gift Aid is not claimed on about 25% of donations eligible for the relief – and clearly this could be worth millions of pounds.

So, what are the reasons for this?  Many donors think it will cost them, or the charity, more if they donate through Gift Aid; many charities don't register for Gift Aid or encourage donors to tick the box because they worry about the admin involved. But Gift Aid increases the value of donations by 25%, so it is definitely worth it for any charity that relies on donations from individuals who pay enough UK income tax or capital gains tax to cover the amount the charity will claim on their donation.

Voscur would like to encourage all organisations that qualify for Gift Aid to take advantage of it in order to make them more financially sustainable.

With this in mind, we have provided a set of free resources that have been provided courtesy of Sandy Adirondack's free legal update emails for voluntary organisations. You can request to be signed up to her mailing list here.