Tick the Gift Aid box
If you are a UK tax payer, then you can add gift aid every time you make a donation to charity. For every £1 you donate, the charity is able to reclaim an additional 28p from HM Revenue and Customs . Higher rate taxpayers are able to claim the difference between the basic and the higher rate on your donation when you complete your annual tax return.
Give as you Earn
This is the tax efficient way of donating to charity straight from your salary. Under this scheme, donations are taken from your pre-tax salary and benefits from full income tax relief meaning a £10.00 donation will only cost basic rate taxpayers £8.00, higher rate taxpayers £6.00 and 50% taxpayers £5.00. Some employers will also match your contribution meaning that your £8.00 contribution could earn your charity £20.00. If your employer doesn't offer this scheme you may want to highlight this to your HR Manager/Accountant or ideally the person responsible for Charities/Community Investment or Social Responsibility.
Download a Charity app to your smartphone
A number of charities have launched apps for iphones. Water Aid will help you find the nearest public toilets - which when you are out and about can be a lifesaver if nature calls. www.itunes.com/appstore/
Buy Music
iTunes doesn't have to be your first port of call for buying music. Fairsharemusic.com sells new releases for 79p and donates 50 per cent of all profits to charity. You can even buy music as gifts for others and Fairsharemusic will send it on to the recipient via email.
Open a CAF (Charities Aid Foundation) account
A charity account is a bank account that you can use to make donations to the charities of your choice. All the money held within the account receives gift aid automatically and you can use it to make charitable donations via a charity cheque book, charity card or online through the CAF (Charities Aid Foundation) website. Cheques (now that they aren't being scrapped) can be used to sponsor friends and family taking part in sponsored events etc. You can fund the account with a one-off £100 or a £10 (or more) monthly direct debit. Alternatively you can fund the account through Give As You Earn. Visit www.cafonline.org/charityaccount for more information.
Buy gifts from Charity shops
Gone are the days of just 2nd hand videos and ripped books, there are now plenty of good charity shops selling designer clothes and quality second hand books. To find a Charity shop in your area go to the Association of Charity Shops website via: http://www.charityshops.org.uk/
Donate your unwanted gifts to Charity shops
Rather than dumpoing your unwanted gifts to the cupboard under or above the stairs or in the loft, donate them to a charity shop. Gift Aid can now be claimed by charity shops, so if the item is valuable ensure that they are aware that you are a UK taxpayer. They should take your details and contact you to confirm this once the item is sold.
Buy Charity gifts
If you have no idea what to buy the person who has everything such as my parents, try giving a charity gift. You don't have to buy a goat or a chicken for an African community, you can now buy fertiliser packs, donate to help a library or build a classroom. Find a range of gifts for a range of causes via: http://www.goodgifts.org/.
Find a new insurance deal and help charity
You can save money and help a charity at the same time by visiting: http://www.donatesomeback.co.uk/ which allows you to search for a number of providers for various insurances including home, car and personal insurance and once you have chosen your new policy you will donate up to £25.00 to the charity of your choice.
Save money and help charity
Charity Bank offers savings for people who want their money to make a difference. Interest rates aren't particularly competitive (as low as 0.5 per cent on balances up to £24,999 with a 12 month notice period or 0.3 per cent for 30 days). However your money is used to offer affordable loans to charities, social enterprises, voluntary or other NfP organisations.
Volunteer
You can help others enjoy Christmas by donating your time over the Christmas period. This might be helping in a homeless shelter, sending cards to the Armed Forces or going on a volunteer break. Alternatively you can make a new year's resolution to start volunteering regularly. To find a vacancy go to: http://www.timebank.org.uk/ or http://www.do-it.org.uk/.
Run in a marathon
Agree to do a sponsored run for charity. The ballot for the London Marathon has now closed, but a website called Crunch still offers places to those runners who are willing to raise at least £1,200 for their partner charities. Visit www.crunch.org.uk/marathon.php for more information.
Or if you don't run a Marathon, go on holiday?
Each year thousands of people raise money by performing challenging feats in exotic locations. But does a good amount of the sponsorship cash end up with the charity, or is it just a ruse for the participants to enjoy a free holiday?
Some events are arranged by individual charities while others are ‘open challenges’ where you can join a group but raise money for your own chosen charity. Companies that run open challenges include Discover Adventure, Charity Challenge and Across The Divide.
There are usually two payment options: self-funding or a fundraising minimum sponsorship option.
Self-funded trips mean the participant covers the full cost of the expedition, including flights, accommodation, food and activities. The money raised goes straight to the charity and there is often no set minimum amount.
The alternative fundraising or sponsorship option means a smaller outlay for participants, but they commit to raising a set amount of money. The trip is financed out of the cash raised and the rest goes to the charity. The trouble is that participants are effectively asking their friends, family and other sponsors to pay for their adventure.
Participants can choose to raise money for a charity and have their costs covered by raising a minimum target.
The minimum fundraising target is, of course, higher than the self-funded cost so participants have to work extra hard for this option.
The chosen charity must authorise the sponsorship option as the fundraising agreement is between them and the charity.
If a participant fails to raise the required sponsorship, there is often an agreement to switch to the self-funding option with the person paying their own way and making a donation on top.
Click here to read How You Can Help a Charity Part 2
