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This year, there was heightened interest in the pulling power of Comic Relief, a charity that has never failed to surpass its previous fundraised amounts.

And again, it – or rather you, the public – delivered. Despite the recessionary climate, the £80 million it secured in donations outdid the 2007 amount by over £12 million.

Yet, whilst high profile events may still generate impressive donations, they tend to obscure the full, current picture, one that’s providing reason for concern.

• Almost 60% of respondents confirmed in a Charity Commission report that their charity had experienced a significant fall in income as a result of the recession.
• A recent survey by National Council for Voluntary Organisations showed cash donations to charities fell from £1.7Bn 2006-07 to £1.3Bn in 2007-08 – that’s a drop of £367M.
• According to Rapidata, average monthly (charity) direct debit cancellations rose from 3.32% in 2007-08 to 4.64% in 2008-09. For the first time, monthly cancellation rates exceeded 5%, in four months.
• Bigger charities are also suffering with Oxfam shedding staff, and many more job losses predicted, particularly in not-for-profit organizations
• Both legacy income (typically property or shares left in wills) and corporate income are falling, the former by nearly a third (that’s over £750 million)

Unsurprisingly, John Low, Head of the Charities Aid Foundation, advises “Now is the time to look after committed donors who have given in the past.” Rapidata’s MD Sott Gray supports this, suggesting focus on existing donors rather than chasing new business.

Yet despite a variety of sound suggestions to maintain funds, rarely is Gift Aid, the government’s charity tax initiative, included near the top of the list.

Today still less than half of the UK’s 170,000 charities have registered with Gift Aid. And of the 75,000 that are, not all claim.

In the past, charities may have claimed that the administration to claim Gift Aid on small donations made it unviable, but changes by HMRC have made this issue a thing of the past.

A highly appealing part of the Gift Aid scheme is that charities can backdate their claims – six years in fact. And 2009 year represents a big opportunity to maximise Gift Aid income since, as of April 2010, new rules mean that charities will only be able to claim back four years.

CTL Europe is working with charities to ensure they maximise their Gift Aid income via innovative voice technology.

 We’d be delighted to hear your views and experiences.

(Source for statistics : “UK Giving 2008” report and fundraising.co.uk)

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