In loving memory…

More and more of us are donating our money in remembrance of a loved one. Known as Memoriam Fundraising this is becoming a major fundraising source for charities and many expect it to outperform legacies within the next few years.

Harri Lloyd Davies Partner

Many people want to mark the death of someone they cared for with a tribute of some description, for many Charities this can become an ongoing source of income and even a possible legacy.

 It is predicted that Charities will lose between 7-10% of their income over the next four years so more and more of our Charity clients are using tribute or memoriam funds as a source of fundraising.

These Tribute or Memoriam funds serve a number of functions, not least as a focus point for the bereaved. Research shows that they give donors a connection to the person they have lost, providing a living memory and a purpose in raising funds to remember them. Many donors go on to raise regularly for the fund that they feel they have ownership and responsibility for – a living tribute of sorts. This type of fund can often also ultimately result in a legacy.

Many charities have introduced different versions of a tribute fund scheme and others have tried different versions with memorial pages. The growth in social media sites such as Facebook and JustGiving has also empowered individuals to set up their own tribute and memorial sites. An added advantage is that they have also simplified the administration of gift aid for individuals and charities.

In 2010 there were 8000 memoriam pages on the JustGiving website generating gifts of almost £8million. Kevin Kibble, chief executive of children’s charity the Caspari Foundation recently predicted that this would increase to about 30,000 pages by 2021 and generate about £27 m per year through JustGiving alone.

Memoriam fundraising will be one of the topics at our forthcoming Fundraising Seminar by renowned fundraising expert David Poppitt on 22 September 2011, full details and how to reserve your free place can be found here.

You can also get more advice by following @bevanbuckland on twitter or register for our email newsletter

More great advice from the Charity Commission

The Charity Commission has recently published their latest advice Protecting Charities from Harm as part of their online compliance toolkit for Charity trustees.

Developed in partnership with the charity sector, this toolkit gives trustees practical advice on how to hold, handle and move money around both in the UK and internationally.

Harri Lloyd Davies Partner

As Harri Lloyd Davies of our Charities team explains: All charities need money or financial assistance of some kind. Charities raise and spend money in a variety of ways within the overall objective of fulfilling their charitable purposes. This includes direct spending on charitable projects to help beneficiaries and supporting governance, administration and fundraising. Charities which work internationally often move money across international borders, encountering different financial systems and needing to use different currencies. Whatever the charity, its trustees are legally responsible for ensuring their money is used for legitimate charitable purposes and safeguarded, as much as possible, from loss.

Using the banking system is a prudent and responsible way to ensure that charity funds are safeguarded, and that there are appropriate audit trails of the sort which trustees must keep for the receipt and use of charity money. This toolkit looks at the need for charities to have and use bank accounts; explains what the trustees’ duties are when using the banking system; and the particular issues which arise in connection with exchanging sterling for other currencies.

However, charities may need to use and work in cash to some degree. Charities may need to use alternative financial systems, although these are more inherently risky than using formal banking systems. These include Money Service Businesses, agents using alternative remittance systems, Payment Services, cash couriers, or even other charities and NGOs. This guidance provides Trustees with the advice they need to consider if they have to use cash and these alternative methods; the associated risk management factors; and the sort of financial controls which may be appropriate.

You may also want to look at our Charity Training workshop where we offer bespoke training on areas such as trustee roles and responsibilities and risk management.

You can also get more advice by following @bevanbuckland on twitter or register for our email newsletter

Dedicated Welsh telephone line launched

Dedicated Welsh Language telephone line is launched

Bevan and Buckland Chartered accountant who have offices in Swansea and West Wales have today launched a dedicated Welsh language telephone line for their Welsh speaking clients.

Clients who prefer to use Welsh can call 01792 410114 and advice in Welsh.  The firm who has a number of first language Welsh speakers encourage and help their staff develop and improve their Welsh language skills.

 As partner Harri Lloyd Davies, himself a Welsh speaker explains, “The Welsh language is an important skill for us because we are regularly dealing with clients in both the private and public sectors, who expect all communications to be conducted in Welsh including the submission of their annual accounts”

 “We are continuously recruiting Welsh-speaking staff to complement our accounts and audit teams and this telephone helpline is another added value service for our Welsh speaking clients”

Charities benefit from the Budget

There were several pieces of good news coming out of the Budget for Charities explains Charities partner Harri Lloyd Davies.
The first is the simplification of gift aid rules.  Gift aid on small donations which total up to £5,000 per annum can now be claimed without filling in all of the paperwork.  This should reduce the administrative burden and help charities who have not taken full advantage gift aid previously to increase their income.

The Government has offered fundraisers and charity finance professionals a bit less of a headache when it comes to saying thank you to donors, or incentivising them to give in the first place. The rise in Gift Aid benefits limit to £2,500 from £500 offers greater flexibility for charities in the scale of packages they offer their major donors whilst still being able to claim Gift Aid.

There was also a new relief to encourage people to leave more of their estates to charity in their will.  A 10% reduction in the inheritance tax rate for all estates that leave 10% or more  to charity should be a useful tool in helping charities to increase their legacy income.