Charity shops are retail outlets selling mainly second-hand donated goods to raise funds and awareness for their parent charities. Charity shops can only be set up by charities. An individual cannot set up a charity shop.
Charity shops benefit from tax concessions because all the profits from a charity shop serve a charitable purpose. Charity shops benefit from exemption from corporation tax on profits, a zero VAT rating on the sale of donated goods and 80 per cent mandatory non-domestic rate relief. This 80 per cent relief is funded by central government. A further 20 per cent rate relief is available at the discretion of local authorities.
Civil Society publishes an annual survey of charity shops in the UK, allowing charities to benchmark the performance of their own shops against other charities. In 2010 the Charity Shops Survey will be in its 19th year.
Charity shop tax benefits have come under fire from a Tory MP in a backbencher debate about the future of the British high street.
Proposals to limit the number of charity shops claiming rate relief have been ditched from the Mary Portas review on the future of high streets, a move that has been met with delight by the charity shops umbrella body.
The British Heart Foundation has today opened its 700th store and says that as it continues to expand its retail network across the country, its main concern is “keeping up with demand”.
The amount of money reclaimed in gift aid by Sue Ryder from goods donated to its charity shops has now topped £10m, the charity has announced.
The Booksellers Association has called for an end to tax and business-rate concessions for charity bookshops, saying they give an "unjust competitive advantage" over other retailers.
Children’s charity Barnardo’s has taken over 18 charity shops from HfT, the charity for adults with learning disabilities, as part of its shops expansion plan.
Cancer Research UK will install a cloud-based electronic point-of-sale scheme to enable it to claim gift aid in its shops, in a bid to raise £18m over the next five years.
Scope has become one of the first charities to enter the social bond market in force with a £20m bond issue which will fund, and be repaid by, fundraising and charity shop expansion.
The Accounting Standards Board looks set to amend its proposed new reporting requirements for public benefit entities so that charities will only have to account for goods donated to charity shops once they are sold.
The Charity Retail Association has hit out at suggestions by retail celebrity Mary Portas that the number of charity shops on the high street should be limited by tax laws.
Charity retailers enjoyed the biggest jump in profits for more than a decade last year, exclusive new research carried out by Charity Finance shows.
Recession? What recession? Charity Shops Survey 2011
Diane Sim and Gareth Jones report on the highlights of this year's Charity Shops Survey.
The Salvation Army's trading company SATCol has become the first textile recycler in the UK to employ SmartWater technology to forensically tag donated clothing to catch collection thieves.
Shelter is planning to make “a significant increase” to its number of charity shops in the next few years, and will pilot a new shop format incorporating an advice centre within the retail space.
A full-sized sword was awarded as the Most Unusual Item Donated at the Charity Retail Awards last night, trumping a host of curiosities from an urn full of ashes to a preserved badger's penis.
The Charity Retail Association will soon begin trialling initiatives to address the “very, very big threat” posed by bogus and commercial collectors to the profits and sustainability of charity shops.
The government has indicated its intention to remove red tape from ‘meanwhile leases’, the use of empty buildings on a temporary basis.
The British Heart Foundation plans to open around 80 furniture and electrical charity stores over the next two years to capitalise on the success of its current outlets.
Research published yesterday by nfpSynergy demonstrates the extent to which the public’s perception of charities is divorced from the reality.
The twentieth Charity Shops Survey questionnaire is now available and we would be grateful for your participation.
The British Heart Foundation's new EPoS system has dramatically improved the management of its charity shops. Gareth Jones reports.
Changing collections conduct
Legislation of charity collections is set to change. Charity legal expert Helen Harvie explains how and why.
The government has removed the license fee exemption for charities' public use of music, but has agreed a number of concessions.
The Association of Charity Shops has changed its name to the Charity Retail Association (CRA) in an bid to reflect the sector’s expansion beyond the traditional high street shop.
The Institute of Fundraising has defended charity clothes collections following a News of the World story which accused a commercial collections company hired by two charities of stealing donation bags left for other charities.
Charity Shops Survey 2010
Download the full Charity Shops Survey 2010 which takes an in-depth look at current trends in one of fundraising's greatest resources. Foreword by BDO's charity unit leader Don Bawtree.
Plans to remove the exemption for charities on music licensing fees has again been delayed, with a spokesman for the Intellectual Property Office stating that the government hasn’t made a decision yet.
The most unusual item donated to charity shops in the past year was a one-foot-high meerkat called Alexander, made out of bubblewrap and sellotape.
A Cancer Research UK charity shop has come up with a novel way of attracting attention to its window display.
Technical briefing: Property law - the Meanwhile Project
The Department of Communities and Local Government has launched an initiative called the Meanwhile Project to fill the increasing number of vacant shop units appearing on the high street with not-for-profits and community organisations. Lesley Robinson takes us through the advantages.
