How much do you give to charity?

fantasia322

This is easy in my opinion, choose your 5 favourite charities out of the ones you donate to, contact them and drop the direct debits to £2 a month. Tha makes £10 a month going to worthy causes, out of £45 you would be saving £35. If the charities argue, say you will cancel altogether, they'll accept it though because they would rather keep you on board at a lower amount. Also stipulate you DONT wanted to be contacted by telephone regarding upgrading amounts and that you will increase IF & WHEN you can afford to. And more importantly try not to feel guilty, there comes a point in time where you have to take care of yourself and while charitable donating is laudable, it can get out of hand

carolinejane_2

I prefer to give to local or small charity events and the occasional pledge to things like children in need. I may not give much money compared to some on here but I guess we all do what we can within our circumstances

Frosti

clairehi wrote: »

"I dont give to charity as it increased my tax liability" (total rubbish and the poster has not responded to my challenge on this"

Sorry Claire I was not ignoring you, have only just come back here.. Please read my post again, I did not say I do not give to charity, just that I now avoid gift aid because of my personal experience. At least I now know that 100% of the gifts I send arrive in the right place.

In the year I was speaking of my income had crashed. In good MSE fashion I paid off my mortgage with my savings, then - definitely not so MSE - used the rest to subsidise a loss-making business in the hope that "things would look up soon" [harhar]. My income for the year was well below basic tax threshold - which is why I can be certain what that tax charge was for. I did show the paperwork to a friend who works in a different tax office. He laughed and said the [last] government needed all the help it could get [joking] and it was an insignificant sum so hardly worth making a fuss over - a sentiment I agreed with; not worth the hassle.

Interesting to hear you say the charge was incorrect, but I'll keep giving to small charities using my current methods which I know are effective.

Incidentally, I found your tone in referring to me somewhat obnoxious.

clairehi

Lilac Pixie - thanks for your post.

I would just like to clarify that this thread has generated a number of comments which I strongly object to as I feel that they have made unfair and untrue allegations about how charities are run. I have challenged these comments as I find them highly offensive. My intention in starting this thread was not to start an argument but I was shocked by some responses.

I may well have come off as confrontational - as I believe that the comments I have quoted need to be confronted as they are so wrong.

I understand your point that charities are required to publish financial info which is there for myself and others to look at. However I work with a number of not for profit organisations, and of course they have admin and staffing costs - like any business. It is madness to suggest that they could survive without! its like saying the NHS should sack all its receptionists, as they are not treating sick people. So how would you get a GP appointment then? (ok maybe thats not the best example). So I would not think you could make a fair judgement on efficiency based on a quick scan of their annual report.

clairehi

Frosti wrote: »

]. My income for the year was well below basic tax threshold

Apologies for sounding obnoxious. I did reply to you straightaway as I was very concerned that due to the incomplete information you gave, your post would put off other people from using the Gift Aid scheme, which is a very valuable and under-used scheme that many people sadly are not aware of.

Your post clearly stated that a Gift Aid donation had cost you money. However if eligible donors (tax payers) give through Gift Aid, it will not cost them anything extra. In fact if they are a higher rate tax payer they can claim extra money back via their Tax return.

I think your case is unfortunate but probably highly unusual. I am sorry for your financial difficulties. Gift Aid is a tax rebate, and if you did not pay any tax in that year you would not have been eligible to use the scheme. All Gift Aid declaration forms should clearly state this information to ensure potential donors are aware.
I would guess that HMRC clawed back the rebate directly from you via your tax return as you were not eligible to use the scheme that year, which I can understand must have been a nasty surprise.

piratefairy

In response to the original question - not getting into any argument - I do not donate anything via DD on a monthly basis to charity.
I do run a Guides unit, and volunteer a lot mroe than the advertised "1hr per week" in time, planning, fuel costs to and from (it's 20miles away from my town), as well as giving up various weeks and days of my annual leave to run camps and events for the girls. This takes up time which I am happy to give, as I can see the benefits. I don't claim any of the expenses I am entitled to for doing it (travel ex's mainly) and wouldn't consider doing so unless I reeeally hd to financially.

I also donate to charity shops, favouring the independant local hospices etc over the large chains, as they benefit more directly. In addition, I am looking into fitting into my schedue a volunteering post with one of the local charity shops, provided I can fit it in around two jobs and the guides unit. Which I'm hoping to.
Based on the above comments about how much of a cahs donation actually gets to the charity, I am starting to think that time and effort may be just as valuable in the long run to these causes.

I am also a regular partaker of charity events such as midnight walks etc, for a local hospice.

minerva_windsong

I shove my change (anything smaller than a 5p) into a collection tin if there's one on the till, and give books and clothes to the charity shop. I'd rather not have a direct debit just in case my circumstances changed and I couldn't commit to making the payments all the time.

LilacPixie

Claire - i'm afraid I prepare annual reports and some not for profit and charity organisations are among my clients no names or specifics but some things and amounts they spend are enough to make my hair stand on end. Really only 18% of donations reaching or contributing toward the intended cause is quite shocking and in the NHS example its like suggesting 82% of the NHS budget goes on receptionists/admin staff.

When is comes down to it giving to charity is a personal choice, some peopke chose not to and their reasons are theres alone and do not need to be justified. In your opinion you think the comments are wrong but your opinion is no more valid than anyone elses.

I personally feel that Geldof/Bono are hypocrites. Both are non domiciled citizens, geldof in the british virgin islands and bono/u2 in the netherlands so they pay less taxes. Geldof has a fortune of around 30mil plus multiple homes owned by his company, based abroad, naturally. So when I see either of them pontifcating about children starving in Africa my first thought is yes there are but there is also children in the uk and ireland starving, being neglected, dying and your taxes could be helping them but no you would rather go for the least expensive option that doesn't hurt your wallet as much.

mysparrow

I think I've read through all the more relevant posts & see that no one has mentioned the Give As You Earn (GAYE) scheme available through your employer (if you have one).
I give £20 pcm to UNICEF doing this, it's gone before I see my wages & I pay less tax on it.
I had to get my employer to agree to do this but some already have the systems set up.

spugzbunny

Wow! this thread took a turn pretty quick.

LilacPixie - i agree with everything you are saying here.

I've lost track a bit but someone said they were surprised people gave so little. I am personnally surprised that people give so much! I'm not saying that's wrong at all - just something I have not been made aware of before. I don't think comments that suggest people are bad for not giving to charity particularly help the situation. That will not make people want to give.

I used to give around £10/mth to charities - changing the charity every year. I have stopped doing that now and I now give to colleagues and friends when they ask for sponsorship which probably works out at around £100 year. I also raise money myself for charities at least once a year through a run or something similar and I donate clothes etc. I mainly focus my funds and efforts on smaller charities and those that have helped loved ones etc. For example Clapa who helped a friend with their baby when she was born with a cleft palate. To be honest I think that is enough for me personally - others may feel I am tight.

On a slightly different note ...

Does giving to the national lottery count?!:rotfl: