One EM responds to Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme consultation

One East Midlands has submitted a response, on behalf of our members, to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) consultation on the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme, which closes on 25 May.

Our full response is published below.

"One East Midlands is the regional voluntary and community sector (VCS) infrastructure organisations for the East Midlands. We work to ensure that the VCS is actively engaged with key regional bodies and other partners, from across the public, statutory, business and social enterprise sectors. We bring together organisations that support VCS organisations across the region to influence and shape policy, improve services and provide a point of contact at a regional level. Our response to the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme consultation is on behalf of both One East Midlands and our VCS infrastructure members from across the region.

We welcome HM treasury and the Office of the Third Sector's commitment to increasing charitable donations to the VCS, and support the improvement of the valuable contribution made by the Gift Aid scheme. Gift Aid has become an important and regular source of donated income for many VCS organisations, especially those with a low annual turnover and regular contact from the public.

One East Midlands would like reassurance of the long-term continuity of the Gift Aid scheme, as well as the proposed Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme, and no reduction in the current level of availability or amounts. However, significant changes to the Gift Aid scheme may have implications for the financial sustainability of vulnerable VCS organisations and their ability to accurately set budgets. Because of this, we would support changes that:

  • Improve clarity and understanding for donors and VCS organisations;
  • Simplify and standardise procedures;
  • Improve the financial benefit to VCS organisations.

We are particularly eager to encourage changes to the operation of the Gift Aid system that will increase income and ease the administrative burden for participating VCS organisations.

One East Midlands encouraged its member organisations to contribute to this consultation and will continue to involve them in the issue."