Charity or business?

To be more effective, charities must begin to mimic businesses. By Barry Gower

In the opening editorial of the first issue of Funding for Independent Schools, editor Andrew Maiden encourages “headmasters and bursars to take a business-like approach to [fundraising for] their schools”. The recent report produced by the Institute of Fundraising (Promoting Tax-effective Giving), in referring to gift aid, says “charities need to get more business-like”.

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Gift aid and bursaries

How schools can boost income for bursaries. By Barry Gower

A recent article in The Sunday Times from last year highlights how parents at some independent schools are paying additional fees (or levies) which are used by the school to fund bursaries and scholarships. The article points out that “in return for keeping charitable status, independent schools have come under pressure from Labour’s Charities Act, which takes effect on January 1, to demonstrate their intake is not exclusively from wealthy families.”

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Lost revenue?

The revenue benefits from lowering the basic tax rate. By Barry Gower

The recent announcement by the Chancellor about dropping the basic rate of tax to 20 per cent has caused great concern. Many charities and organisations such as the Institute of Fundraising are concerned about the amount of money charities are going to lose, and are considering petitions and lobbying in an attempt to reverse the decision.

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Never look a gift horse...

The Chancellor introduced a new gift aid scheme as part of the Government’s policy to “get Britain giving”. Barry Gower extols the virtues and accumulative powers of these financial benefits to independent schools.

The rules governing gift aid have been relaxed: dispensing with the £250 minimum gift, simplifying the paper work and administration, and making things a lot easier for the donor to give in a tax-efficient manner and for the benefiting charities to claim this additional source of income.