Why can I benefit from Gift Aid as an individual Christian worker?

I remember the first time I was introduced to Stewardship. I was working as a full-time volunteer with an organisation in the beautiful country of Papua New Guinea. I had been on staff for a year and a half and I was still trying to work out how to create a sustainable level of income. 

At that point I was halfway through my commitment to the organisation and only just affording the monthly volunteer fees. One morning I happened to be serving in the campus kitchen, sharing my support raising woes, when one of my friends mentioned that there was a charity called Stewardship in the UK that could potentially partner with me in my Christian work, including helping me to increase my level of support and benefit from Gift Aid. She encouraged me to look them up online.

So, I did! Lo and behold my friend was correct, but they had even more to offer…

I was excited to know more about how I could benefit from partnering with a charity like Stewardship, so I checked out their website to find out more.  I soon discovered that they are all about helping Christian workers, both in the UK and abroad, with Gift Aid being just a part of the  Partner Account for Individuals they provide to help advance God’s Kingdom. After checking the Eligibility Criteria to apply for a Partner Account for Individuals, I immediately submitted an application – and I am so glad that I did!

Maybe you have been introduced to Stewardship by a friend in a similar way? Perhaps you are not familiar with Gift Aid, nor how you could benefit from partnering with Stewardship as an individual engaged in Christian work. Either way, I hope that the following information will help - continue reading to find out more!

So what is Gift Aid?

The Gift Aid scheme allows a UK charity to claim 25p from the government (HM Revenue & Customs - HMRC) for every £1 donated on all eligible donations. Donations are eligible for Gift Aid where the donor has paid the equivalent amount in relevant (income and/or capital gains) tax that the charity will claim back. So, if a donor gives £100 to a charity, that charity can claim £25 from HMRC, as long as the donor has paid at least £25 in income/capital gains tax. The charity then receives the £100 from the donor as well as £25 from HMRC at no cost to the charity or the donor.  In essence, the Gift Aid is funded from the tax the donor has already paid. (The donor can also personally benefit from additional tax relief if they pay tax at a rate higher than the basic rate).

While you cannot claim Gift Aid as an individual, as a UK charity, Stewardship is able to. As part of fulfilling our charitable purposes (aka “objects”), we can support individual Christian workers who meet our eligibility criteria and, through their Christian work, fulfil our charitable purposes.

Therefore, if a donor gives £100 to Stewardship in support of your work and they have paid the appropriate tax, we can claim £25 in Gift Aid. In this example, your funding would be £125 (£100 funded by your supporter and £25 funded by Gift Aid), minus our fee. In most cases, for Gift Aided gifts, this is 3.5% and applies to the original gift and the Gift Aid. This means you would receive £120.63 in total, rather than £100.

Please note, close relatives can only give with Gift Aid in support of any personal ministry expenses you may have, which we have approved. Under Gift Aid rules they are not permitted to give with Gift Aid in support of your living costs. You can find out more here.

For further information on Gift Aid, check out our blog post: What is Gift Aid and how does it work? 7 Key Questions Answered

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