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.
Oxfam GB has seen sales in the five-week period up to 31 December increase by 11 per cent on the previous year, bolstered significantly by an increase in donated goods sales.
Sense is opening up its charity shops to an Apprentice-style challenge in which teams of people from various companies will take over a shop for a day and compete to see who can raise the most money.
The Children’s Society plans to double its number of stores over the next three years, according to its corporate services director Steve Porter.
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 Charity Commission is investigating whether the practice of hard-up retailers reducing their business rates liabilities by paying charities to sign tenancies for empty shops, is a matter of regulatory concern.
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.
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.
Oxfam is extending its use of new technology which allows shoppers to view the history of items, after an initial trial increased turnover in a Manchester shop by 41 per cent.
There were calls from MPs and fundraisers alike for charities to stop infighting about clothing collections and to focus on tackling and preventing criminal activity, at a meeting of politicians, charities and collectors yesterday.
The British Heart Foundation’s attack on commercial charity collections yesterday has prompted some concern that public confidence in house-to-house collections could be undermined at a time when charities are desperate for cash.
The British Heart Foundation has claimed that commercial house-to-house collections mislead the public and has caused a drop in charity bag donations as it releases research showing that most people don’t know that commercial collections exist.
Clothing collection theft and bogus charity collections will be the focus of the first Clothing Collections Symposium, coming up next month.
The decision of a Leicestershire council to potentially limit house-to-house collections to campaigns which return at least 70 per cent of income to charity has been praised by the Charity Retail Association but treated with caution by the Institute of Fundraising.
The Retail Trust has today launched a Twitter campaign, using hashtag #highstheroes, to raise funds for retail staff and shopkeepers affected by the UK riots.
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.
Oxfam’s move to capitalise on the ongoing trend for vintage fashion has paid off, with the charity now receiving more than 6,000 visits a week on its online vintage store.
Shelter Scotland has launched a new campaign through Foursquare which rewards visitors who check in at its Edinburgh shops.
British Heart Foundation Shops has announced a new partnership with Currys and PC World meaning that people who donate electrical items in July will receive a 5 per cent off voucher to spend in the electrical retailers.
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 power of one - making the most of existing supporters
With an ambitious plan to increase its committed giving base nearly ten-fold and significantly expand its shop network, Sue Ryder Care decided to start taking a 'single supporter view' of its donors, shoppers and volunteers. Ian Campbell says the charity is already seeing dividends.
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.
