Barnardo’s has launched an appeal to raise awareness of retail gift aid and the extra £6.5m that could be raised for the charity’s services if donors signed up to the tax benefit.

The Missing Millions appeal highlights how the charity makes £4.9m from the retail gift aid scheme, but if every person who donated unwanted clothes, accessories or goods to their local Barnardo’s store signed up to gift aid, it could make £11.5m.

The figures are based on the charity's budgeted retail income for 2014/15.

As part of the appeal, Barnardo’s is working with its shop staff and volunteers to encourage them to talk to donors about the scheme.

Chris Judd, assistant director of retail - operations south, said: “We want to highlight the power of gift aid to the public.

“I think people are much more aware of gift aid on cash donations. When people fill out a donation form, often online, they’ve got time to consider it. When people are donating goods to us in stores it can be a much quicker process. I don’t think they realise they can gift aid the items.”  

If Barnardo’s was able to claim the missing millions in gift aid, it could help thousands more vulnerable children, the appeal states; £6.5m is the cost of the charity’s UK-wide adoption service, it could fund 40 new child sexual exploitation services, and pay for the rollout of its parenting support programme.

The charity has enlisted the support of TV presenter and working mother, Helen Fospero (pictured), who stars in a promotional film about the appeal.  

Gerard Cousins, director of trading at Barnardo’s said: “I don’t think people really understand just how simple it is to sign up to gift aid and what an important difference it could make to Barnardo’s children’s services, without costing them a penny.”

HM Revenue & Customs announced new rules in December 2012 to allow people donating goods to charity shops to make a one-off gift aid declaration covering the sales of items worth up to £1,000 a year.

• Barnardo's has participated in this year's Charity Shops Survey, currently being compiled by Charity Finance deputy editor David Ainsworth.  Click here to pre-order your copy.