Bannatyne helps gear business for payroll giving

Fundraising | Vibeka Mair | 28 May 2008

Dragon’s Den entrepreneur Duncan Bannatyne has put his name behind a campaign to promote payroll giving to an extra one million employees in the next year.

Bannatyne is working with charities minister Phil Hope, Swindon MP Anne Snelgrove and payroll giving agency Workplace Giving UK to urge business leaders to become ‘Geared for Giving’ by introducing, promoting or relaunching dormant payroll giving schemes within their companies.

Snelgrove launched the campaign at the House of Commons this week at a reception for business leaders.

The campaign has its own website, designed to give advice to employers and employees on how to give through the payroll.

Although Workplace Giving is the lead agency behind the campaign, a spokeswoman said Geared for Giving was aimed at promoting all payroll giving schemes.

Leagues behind the US

Currently, the 20-year-old tax-efficient scheme is used by only 2.6 per cent of UK employees compared with 30 per cent of workers in the USA.

Former head of Oxfam and chair of the Giving Campaign, Lord Joel Joffe, said he was surprised the figure in the UK was so low but said the culture of giving in the UK and USA was starkly different.

“In the USA everyone feels they ought to give, whereas in the UK people give reactively. Also, businesses do not positively promote the Workplace Giving scheme – most send a note about signing up to it and then do nothing to remind staff about it.”

The sector is currently awaiting the findings of an independent review into payroll giving commissioned by the Institute of Fundraising, with the results expected in June.

Who's Who: Vibeka Mair

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