How to donate
The best way to give to the 2013 Festival is by using tax efficient gift-aiding for any donation. Since 2000, successive changes to the Gift Aid scheme have made this a more and more attractive way to donate. Gift-aid can now apply to all donations, whether regular, one-off or intermittent and for any amount, no matter how small. At the same time the rules regarding documentation have been relaxed so that the system has become very simple to operate.

The advantage for the Freemasons' Grand Charity is that for each pound donated the Freemasons' Grand Charity can reclaim 25p plus a 3p transitional allowance up until 2011.

How does gift-aid operate
All that is required to set up Gift Aid is a simple declaration that can be made over the phone, face-to-face, by post, fax or email. This declaration is essential because it gives Freemasons' Grand Charity permission to reclaim tax from the Inland Revenue. It will usually state whether the declaration covers a specific gift or is open ended.

There is no statutory requirement for a declaration to be signed and dated. A date is needed only to identify a particular time period or start date.

In practical terms, the RPP form and gift-aid envelopes (please see details below) contain the necessary declaration for gift aid. A supply of forms are being given to all Charity Stewards and should be available in a box at your Masonic hall. It is suggested that oral declarations be avoided where possible.

Gift Aid payments can be backdated to include all donations made to Freemasons' Grand Charity and phrased to include all future donations until the donor informs The Freemasons' Grand Charity otherwise.

Higher rate tax payers
The Freemasons' Grand Charity will be able to reclaim 25p plus 3p transitional allowance up until 2011 for every pound donated as for standard rate tax payers.

However, as a higher rate taxpayer, you can obtain further tax relief by putting the donation on your tax return form. 
The Staffordshire 2013 Committee would ask higher rate taxpayers to take this additional relief into consideration when deciding the level of any donations.

This is an enormous benefit which should be utilised wherever possible.

Can I donate my tax refund direct to the Staffordshire 2013 Festival?
Yes, you can. Anybody who completes a tax return and who is due to receive a tax repayment can direct the Inland Revenue to pay all that repayment, or a lower specified portion, direct to a Charity of their choice.

Donations to The Freemasons’ Grand Charity Staffordshire Festival 2013, can be made by

1. Taking out a RPP (Regular Payment Promise), this is an undertaking to pay a set amount each Month, Quarter or Year for a number of years to the Staffordshire Festival Relief Chest E0108. In addition if you are a taxpayer, the tax you have already paid can be reclaimed by The Freemasons’ Grand Charity for the benefit of the Festival. All you need to do is tick the box on the RPP form to indicate that you are a tax payer. All the money donated plus any tax reclaimed and interest up until 2013 will count as your contribution to the Festival.

2. The use of gift-aid envelopes for Lodge, LoI or Chapter meetings is also to be recommended. In this case the usual charity donation at the end of a meeting is placed in one of the approved gift-aid envelopes. With the donors details including his name, address, Lodge or Chapter, name and number, plus ticking the box to say that he is a tax payer. The envelopes are then collected as with any charity collection. The charity steward and preferable another officer of the Lodge/Chapter then open the envelopes and write the amount that the envelope contained on the envelope. The money is then deposited in the Lodge account and a cheque for the total amount made out to The Freemasons’ Grand Charity. A Donor Verification form is then completed, this with the envelopes and cheque are sent to the Freemasons' Grand Charity in London. They then claim the tax back and add this to the relief chest for the Staffordshire Festival for the benefit of the Lodge or Chapter.

Can tax be reclaimed on all donations?
There will be occasions when it is not possible to reclaim any tax, for instance the proceeds of a table raffle when it is not possible to identify who has given the money, is not eligible for tax relief. 

In this case the money raised is again sent to The Freemasons’ Grand Charity with a Miscellaneous Payment Form giving the details of where the money has come from and briefly how the money was raised maximum of 35 characters . Do not forget to include details of the Lodge or Chapter to be credited with the donation.