CHARITIES CAMPAIGN GETS A £1 MILLION KICK-START

£1 million to launch a new charity sector-led campaign to boost charitable giving was announced today by Treasury Minister Melanie Johnson. The joint Charities Aid Foundation/National Council for Voluntary Organisations campaign aims to raise awareness of the opportunities for tax effective giving resulting from the Getting Britain Giving package.

In line with the Government's commitment to increase the giving of both time and money, the £1 million investment will be backed up by staff secondments from Government to the campaign team and the provision of advice and expertise.

Speaking at the annual conference of the Charities Aid Foundation, Economic Secretary Melanie Johnson said:

"This £1 million investment, together with the secondment of Government staff to the charitable sector, shows once again the Government's commitment to promoting charitable giving.

"The Getting Britain Giving package offers the best ever opportunity for the charitable sector to increase donations. It needs to be widely publicised if it is to reach its full potential. Our new investment, both of time and money, will help ensure we fully tap this opportunity."

Michael Brophy, Chief Executive of CAF, welcomed today's announcement:

"This is great news for charitable giving in this country. Not only do we have the most liberal tax environment in the world as a result of changes introduced this year, we now have more money with which to start spreading the message."

Stuart Etherington, head of NCVO, also welcomed the news:

"This is an excellent boost and will be a major step forward in helping spread the word that tax effective giving really works. We look forward to working with charities, the Government and business on developing the campaign."

Notes to editors

Getting Britain Giving, a package of tax reliefs designed to increased charitable giving, was announced by the Chancellor in the last Budget. These measures were introduced following a review of charity taxation and extensive consultation, and included:

Gift Aid - abolition of the £250 minimum limit for donations; allowing donors to join the scheme by telephone or via the internet with a minimum of formality
Payroll Giving - abolition of the maximum limit of £1,200 a year, launch of a three year publicity campaign and a 10% supplement on all donations for the duration of the campaign
A new tax relief for gifts of shares and securities
Extension of the tax exemption for fundraising events

The measures were introduced in Budget 2000 following extensive consultation and were legislated in the 2000 Finance Act. They are estimated to be worth about £400 million a year in tax relief.

Media enquiries to Charlotte Carr, HM Treasury Press Office, on 020 7270 5185.