Majority of islanders willing to embrace a “new way of giving”

Wednesday 06 December 2017

Nine out of ten islanders surveyed by Express said that they are not part of a workplace giving scheme that would see them donate the equivalent of a coffee each month – and one charity champion says that it’s the perfect opportunity to change that just before the New Year.

Melissa Nobrega - the face of Caring Cooks and formerly of the Fundraising Forum – wants to get more workplaces on the payroll giving scheme.

It’s a scheme which allows employees to donate a percentage of their earnings automatically to a charity of their choice each month, who will gain a tax benefit.

And islanders don’t need to put in much to have a large impact – just £1 a week from a quarter of the working population could see local charities £1million better off. 

It’s no more than the equivalent of giving up your morning coffee once a month, but are islanders keen to do it?

A survey of islanders by Express found that of the 90% of people whose workplaces are not yet signed up to payroll giving scheme, more than half of that bunch would like to be.

Pictured: Six out of ten islanders would be happy to give up the equivalent of a coffee or more each month for charity.

The majority of those willing to donate to charities straight from their pay packet said they’d be willing to give under £5 a month.

A quarter said they would give £5 to £10, while one in 10 would donate £10 to £20.

A generous 7% said they’d be willing to give upwards of £20 per month straight from their pay packet.

Melissa welcomed the findings, and is keen to get islanders to act on those charitable inclinations.

She said that it could be an especially attractive solution for younger generations with busy lives.

Pictured: 151 islanders responded to Express' survey - here's how much they said they'd be willing to give.

“According to research in the past older people are more likely to donate to charity and this could be for a number of reasons.  Older generations have lived through war and tough times where sharing and giving to others became paramount for survival, whereas younger generations have mainly lived through times of access and prosperity.  There is also the point about mechanisms for the younger generation to give, with making online donations more accessible and generally making it easier for everyone to give something, small or large, and enjoy that altruistic experience.

“Payroll giving provides that platform, and makes it easy and accessible for all, and not something that you need to remind yourself to do, and with the added bonus of the new tax policy, the charity also receives more from your donation if it adds up to over £50,” she said. 

She also commented that it could also easily play into companies’ corporate social responsibility programmes.

Pictured: Melissa Nobrega, who would like to see as many Jersey people as possible on the payroll giving scheme.

“Integrating payroll giving in to a corporate volunteering or CSR programme is a great way to build momentum too, and give employees that day away from the office where they can physically make a difference with the skills they have. It’s worth bearing in mind about the organisations that different age groups may be interested in parting with their hard earned cash for too.  A CAF report from 2015 suggest that 16-24 year olds favour educational institutions, 25-44 year olds prefer children and young people’s causes, 45-64 year olds prefer animal charities, conservation, environment and heritage while over 65’s prefer hospices, hospitals and religious causes," she added.

“But regardless of how businesses structure their approach to payroll giving, there is no denying this is a great and relatively easy way of opening up charitable giving in Jersey for everyone.”