Terms and Conditions - Giving

1.  About Us

Stewardship is the operating name of Stewardship Services (UKET) Limited. We are a registered charity (number 234714) and a company limited by guarantee, registered in England (number 90305). 

Our registered office and main operating address is:

1 Lamb’s Passage,

London

EC1Y 8AB

If you have any questions or comments with regards to the information on this page, please get in touch with the Giving Services team on 020 8502 8560 or by email to [email protected]

 

2. About These Terms

This page contains the terms and conditions applicable to Givers. By making a Guest Gift or opening a Giving Account with us, you agree to and undertake to comply with the obligations set out in these terms and conditions. 

If there is a difference between a provision in these terms and conditions and any information in our website, application forms, brochures or any other documents or terms relevant to or in respect of your relationship with Stewardship, the provision in these terms and conditions is the one that shall apply. 

For your own benefit and protection, we would recommend that you carefully read these pages. If there is anything that you do not fully understand, please ask for further information or seek professional advice or guidance. 

3. The Legal Pieces

Terms of Use 

1. Stewardship runs a donor advised fund, which is a type of charitable giving vehicle which makes it tax-effective and easy to give. As such, all funds used to make a Guest Gift or to Top-up a Stewardship Giving Account are Stewardship’s and become part of our charitable funds. You can choose to support a Partner when you make a Guest Gift or by requesting a Gift from your Giving Account. Funds that have been used to make a Guest Gift or to Top-up a Giving Account are irrevocable, outright gifts from you to us and cannot usually be returned to you. Stewardship has discretion to refuse or return a Top-up in accordance with charity law and the policies adopted by Stewardship’s trustees. 

2. All Guest Gifts and Gifts to Partners are made at the discretion of Stewardship’s trustees. Stewardship reserves the right not to make a Guest Gift or Gift to a particular Partner. These situations are rare but as a Christian charity an example would be that we cannot give to a charity advancing another faith. 

3. As Stewardship is a registered charity, neither a Giver nor any of their Close Relatives can derive any benefit from any Guest Gifts or Top-ups or any income deriving from the funds that have been received by Stewardship. 

4. Stewardship will make deductions from your Guest Gift or your Giving Account to cover costs and expenses that it incurs in connection with the administration of your giving. Information in relation to these costs can be found at stewardship.org.uk/fees and may be subject to change. 

5. For Donor Advised Funds and Philanthropy Funds, Givers have the option of requesting that all or part of the balance in their Fund be allocated to certain investment options. Following deduction of any relevant fees and charges, any investment returns on these allocated investments will be allocated to the relevant Fund.  Any loss on these allocated investments will be borne by the relevant Fund and not by Stewardship’s unrestricted funds. 

6. For any balances in a Giving Account which are not allocated to a specific investment option, Stewardship will manage the funds at its discretion and in line with its internal policies.  This will include diversifying investments and/or deposits across a range of counterparties with appropriate risk management frameworks.  Any resulting investment income (by way of capital growth or investment returns) shall belong to Stewardship and form part of its general charitable and unrestricted funds.  In the event of a counterparty default, Stewardship may reduce the value of the balance in your Giving Account.   

7. If you are eligible, to enable us to reclaim tax on your charitable giving, you will need to complete a Stewardship Gift Aid declaration. The tax reclaimed will then be added to your Guest Gift or to your Giving Account as appropriate. 

 

4. Privacy

Prior to making a Guest Gift or Topping-up your Giving Account, please make sure to review our privacy notice.

 

5. The Online Service: Terms of Use

Using the Online Service

Our Online Service includes the option to make a Guest Gift on a Partner or Fundraising page of our website, as well as online account access if you choose to open a Giving Account and provide a valid email address. 

If you open a Giving Account, we will provide you with login details to get you started, but for security reasons, you may be asked to change these details when you log into your account for the first time. Don’t forget to keep your login details secure and confidential. 

We have certain procedures in place to help protect you against unauthorised access to your account, but if you become aware of unauthorised access, or if you think your login details may have been compromised, we recommend that you change them immediately or contact us on 020 8502 8560. 

Please note that you are responsible for the accuracy and genuineness of all instructions and information sent to us, from log in to log off. This means that you must ensure that all instructions and information are carefully checked before being sent to us. 

From time to time, it may be necessary for us to restrict access to the Online Service, for example when we need to do some maintenance to the site, or to make improvements or changes. We will always do our best to notify you if the service becomes unavailable for any reason, but we reserve the right to withdraw or amend this service without notice and will not be liable if access to the service is unavailable at any time, or for any period.  See https://www.stewardship.org.uk/account-service-status for information on planned maintenance. 

When using our Online Service, you must comply with our Acceptable Use policy below. Please note that accessing any part of the Online Service constitutes your agreement to be bound by these Online Service Terms of Use, as well as our privacy policy, available at https://www.stewardship.org.uk/transparency/privacy, which may be updated from time to time. 

Intellectual Property Rights

The data and information you can access using the Online Service is protected by copyright, database and other laws relating to intellectual property. All rights in relation to such data and information and the design of the system (including but not limited to the organisation and layout of our Online Service and the underlying software code) are reserved by ourselves.  

You may access, print off and download such data and information provided they are only used for your own informational purposes. 

We grant you this permission as a personal, non-exclusive and non-transferable download licence, which is given on the basis that no documents or related graphics on the Online Service are modified in any way, and copyright and trade mark notices appear in all copies. 

Other than expressly provided in these terms, you may not otherwise access, download, copy or use any of the data or information on the Online Service, and under no circumstances may you sell it or otherwise seek to derive value from it, directly or indirectly.  Similarly, except as provided in these terms, no part of the Online Service may be reproduced or stored in any other website or included in any public or private electronic retrieval system or service without our consent. 

 

Information provided by third parties

Information about Partners may be provided by them and we disclaim all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on such information.  

Where we provide links to other sites and resources provided by Partners or other third parties, these links are provided for your information only. We have no control over the contents of those sites or resources, and accept no responsibility for them or for any loss or damage that may arise from your use of them. 

Our liability

Whilst we will endeavour to ensure that information provided by us is up to date and accurate we do not provide any guarantees, conditions, warranties or other terms in this regard (including, without limitation, the conditions implied by law of satisfactory quality, fitness for purpose and the use of reasonable care and skill), in each case to the maximum extent permitted by law.

To the extent permitted by law, Stewardship (and each of its trustees, officers, directors, employees, contractors, shareholders or agents) hereby expressly exclude:

• All conditions, warranties and other terms which might otherwise be implied by statute, common law or the law of equity.
• Any liability for any direct, indirect or consequential loss or damage incurred by any user in connection with using the Online Service or in connection with the use, inability to use or results of the use of information provided about their Giving Accounts or other material including, without limitation, any liability for:
  • loss of income or revenue;
  • loss of business;
  • loss of profits or contracts;
  • loss of anticipated savings;
  • loss of data;
  • loss of goodwill;
  • loss or damage caused by viruses that may infect your computer equipment, software, data or other property on account of your access to, use of, or browsing the Online Service or your downloading of any material from the Online Service or from any websites linked (directly or indirectly) to the Online Service; or
  • wasted management or office time; and
  • for any other loss or damage of any kind, however arising and whether caused by tort (including negligence), breach of contract or otherwise, even if foreseeable.

• We will adopt security and anti-virus practices routinely used and adopted as a matter of good practice by other similar charities in the UK. Nevertheless, it is important you understand that every internet site, every computer that connects to the internet and all internet communication is susceptible to attack by computer hackers and the ever-increasing variety and sophistication of computer viruses. Stewardship will do all it reasonably can to protect the Online Service, but it cannot be held responsible for any losses attributable to your own failure to take precautions to prevent interception of or interference with any communications including failure to use and/or keep up to date firewalls and anti-virus software on your own computers.

This does not affect our liability for death or personal injury arising from our negligence (as defined in the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977) nor our liability for fraud, fraudulent misrepresentation or misrepresentation as to a fundamental matter nor any other liability which cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law.

Information about you and access to your Account online

We process information about you in accordance with our Privacy Notice, which is available at www.stewardship.org.uk/privacy. In general, we process information about you where it is necessary to do so in order to administer your giving.

Providing information

Whenever you make use of a feature that allows you to provide information about yourself or your organisation you must comply with the content standards set out in our Acceptable Use policy. You warrant that any such contribution does comply with those standards, and you indemnify us for any breach of that warranty or for any claim from any other party that the information provided by you constitutes a violation of their intellectual property rights, or of their right to privacy. In the event of such a claim by a third party and in line with our Privacy Notice we reserve the right to pass your details to the third party.  

Other than personally identifiable information, which is covered under our Privacy Notice, any material you upload or information you provide will be considered non-confidential and non-proprietary, and we will have the right to use, copy, distribute and disclose to third parties any such material for any purpose. We will not be responsible, or liable to any third party, for the content or accuracy of any information or material provided by you or any other user whilst using the Online Service. 

We have the right to remove any information or material which you have provided if, in our opinion, such information or material does not comply with our Acceptable Use policy.

Whenever you make use of a feature that allows you to provide information about yourself or your organisation you must comply with the content standards set out in our Acceptable Use policy. 

Viruses, hacking and other offences

We will report and pursue to the full extent of the law any unlawful or malicious activity, including unauthorised access to data, introduction of malicious software, or disruption of service to the appropriate authorities under the Computer Misuse Act 1990.

Linking to the Online Service

You may link to our Online Service, provided you do so in a way that is fair and legal and does not damage our reputation or take advantage of it, but you must not establish a link in such a way as to suggest any form of association, approval or endorsement on our part where none exists. 

You must not establish a link from any website that is not both operated by you or on your behalf and controlled by you. You must not remove, distort or otherwise alter the size or appearance of any graphics or logos, or create a frame or any other browser or border environment around that website. 

Our facility must not be framed on any other site, nor may you create a link to any of our facilities other than the Online Service. We reserve the right to withdraw linking permission without notice. The website from which you are linking must comply in all respects with the content standards set out in our Acceptable Use policy. 

 

Helpdesk

We will provide assistance and support to Users through our Helpdesk and you can find our usual opening hours at https://www.stewardship.org.uk/about-us/contact-us. However, we will not be liable for any loss resulting from interruption to this service.

 

5.1 Acceptable Use Policy

This Acceptable Use policy sets out the terms between you and us under which you may use the Online Service. This Acceptable Use policy applies to all users of the Online Service.

Prohibited uses

You may only access the Online Service for lawful purposes. You may not access, post or transmit to your Giving Account or the Online Service:

• In any way that breaches any applicable (civil or criminal) local, national or international law or regulation;
• In any way that is unlawful or fraudulent, or has any unlawful or fraudulent purpose or effect;
• For the purpose of harming or attempting to harm minors or any other person in any way, or to cause any infringement on the rights of any other person;
• To send, knowingly receive, upload, download, use or re-use any material which does not comply with our content standards;
• To transmit or procure the sending of any unsolicited or unauthorised advertising or promotional material or any other form of similar solicitation (spam); or
• In any way that is technically harmful, including without limitation to transmit any data, send or upload any material that contains (without limitation) viruses, Trojan horses, worms, time-bombs, keystroke loggers, spyware, adware or any other harmful programs or similar computer code designed to adversely affect the operation of any computer software or hardware.

You also agree:

• Not to reproduce, duplicate, copy or re-sell any part of our system in contravention of the provisions of our Terms of Use;
• Not to access without authority, interfere with, damage or disrupt:
  • any part of the system;
  • any equipment or network on which the system is stored;
  • any equipment or network or software owned or used by any third party; and
• Not to take any action that imposes an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on our website or related infrastructure.

Content standards

These content standards apply to any and all material which you contribute to the Online Service and to any interactive services associated with it (including but not limited to the Online Service messaging facility between Givers and Partners and messages of support on a Fundraising page). You must comply with the spirit of the following standards as well as the letter. The standards apply to each part of any contribution as well as to its whole. 

Contributions must:

1. Be accurate (where they state facts);
2. Comply with applicable law in the UK and in any country from which they are posted;

 Contributions must not:

1. Contain any material which is threatening or defamatory of any person;
2. Contain any material which is obscene, offensive, hateful, blasphemous, inflammatory or prejudicial to the administration of civil or criminal justice;
3. Contain sexually explicit material;
4. Promote violence;
5. Promote discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age;
6. Infringe any copyright, database right, trade mark or privacy rights of any other person or organisation;
7. Be likely to deceive any person;
8. Be made in breach of any legal duty owed to a third party, such as a contractual duty or a duty of confidence;
9. Promote conduct that would be considered a criminal offence, give rise to civil liability, or otherwise be contrary to the law of or infringe the rights of any third party, in the UK or any other country in the world;
10. Harass or annoy any other person;
11. Be used to impersonate any person or organisation, or to misrepresent your identity or affiliation with any person or organisation;
12. Give the impression that they emanate from us, if this is not the case;
13. Advocate, promote or assist any unlawful act such as copyright infringement or computer misuse.

Suspension and termination

We will determine, in our discretion, whether there has been a breach of our Acceptable Use policy through your use of the Online Service. When a breach of this policy has occurred, we may take such action as we deem appropriate.  

Failure to comply with our Acceptable Use policy constitutes a material breach of the Terms of using the Online Service and may result in our taking all or any of the following actions (which may include but are not limited to): 

• Immediate, temporary or permanent withdrawal of your right to use the Online Service;
• Immediate, temporary or permanent removal of any posting or material uploaded by you;
• Legal proceedings against you for reimbursement of all costs (including, but not limited to, reasonable administrative and legal costs) resulting from the breach;
• Closing your Giving Account;
• Further legal action against you;
• Disclosure of such information to law enforcement authorities as we consider reasonably necessary.

We will not accept liability for any costs, damages or expenses incurred by you as a result of actions taken by us in response to breaches of this Acceptable Use policy. The responses described in this policy are not limited, and we may take any other action we reasonably deem appropriate.

 

6. Other General Terms

1. Stewardship may act upon requests and information that it believes in good faith have been made by you (or an Authorised User). 

2. Stewardship may provide general guidance about charitable giving for information purposes only.  We do not offer tax, legal or investment advice and, if required, you are encouraged to seek advice from a qualified professional on your specific situation. 

3. As all amounts in your Giving Account and funds used to make a Guest Gift are owned by Stewardship, we owe no duty of care to you in relation to any Guest Gifts or Top-ups or income in your Giving Account under our Terms of Use or in law.  As such (subject to the following paragraph) Stewardship will not be liable to you for any loss, costs, damages or expenses, including (but not limited to) any loss caused by fluctuations in exchange rates or in the value of non-cash assets gifted to us. Any duty of care that Stewardship owes in relation to your Guest Gift(s) or amounts in your Giving Account are owed to the charitable beneficiaries of Stewardship. 

4. Nothing in our Terms of Use limits or excludes Stewardship’s liability for death or personal injury resulting from our negligence or any damage or liability incurred by you as a result of fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation by Stewardship or its trustees, or for any matters for which the limitation or exclusion of liability is prohibited by law. 

5. To the extent that our liability is not lawfully excluded by our Terms of Use, our total liability to you in contract, tort (including negligence or breach of statutory duty), misrepresentation, restitution or otherwise arising in connection with the performance, or contemplated performance or failure to perform under or in respect of these terms of use shall be limited to the amount deducted from your Guest Gift(s) and your Giving Account in order to pay our charges, costs, contributions or expenses during the year in which the liability arose. 

6. If Stewardship delays in exercising or fails to exercise a right or remedy under or in connection with these terms of use, this shall not constitute a waiver of, or prevent or restrict future exercise of, that or any other right or remedy we may have. Similarly the single or partial exercise of a right or remedy shall not prevent or restrict the further exercise of that or any other right or remedy. 

7. If any term of our Terms of Use is found by any court or body or authority of competent jurisdiction to be illegal, unlawful, void or unenforceable, such term shall be deemed to be severed from these terms of use and this shall not affect the remainder of these terms of use which shall continue in full force and effect. 

8. Our Terms of Use (and any non-contractual obligations arising out of or in connection with them) are governed by English law and are binding upon both you and upon Stewardship (and each of our successors, permitted assigns and permitted transferees). 

9. Each of us agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales in relation to any action, proceeding, claim, dispute or difference arising out of your Guest Gift or your Giving Account or otherwise in connection with your Guest Gift or your Giving Account. 

10. Our Terms of Use may be varied by Stewardship from time to time and where possible, we will always notify you in advance of any changes. 

11. As well as our charges, we may be required to deduct amounts from your Guest Gift or your Giving Account which may be required to be paid to HMRC for any reason in relation to your Guest Gift or your Giving Account (including, without limitation, costs caused by any breaches of any requirements, including the ‘donor benefits rules’, which apply to Gift Aid). 

 

7. Helpful Explanations

• 18-25 Account: A Giving Account specifically for those aged 18 to 25. 

• Anonymous: Givers can ask to remain anonymous when requesting a Guest Gift or Gift to a Partner, which means we will not provide Giver details to the Partner. 

• Available funds: The balance on a Giving Account with Stewardship is referred to as available funds i.e. the net of cleared Top-ups less Gifts paid out. 

• Close Relatives: When a Giver requests a Guest Gift or Gift to an Individual Partner, there are certain tax and charity rules that apply to how the Partner can use these funds if the Giver is a Close Relative of the Partner.(see 8.3) 

• Corporate Giving Account: A Giving Account specifically for limited companies. 

• Counterparties: Parties with which Stewardship undertakes investment transactions, for example banks, investment managers, custodians, bond issuers and borrowers

• Donor Advised Fund: A type of Giving Account for Givers who wish to give £25,000 or more in a year. 

• Eligibility of Partners: We need to determine whether the work of a Partner i.e. church, charity or individual continues to be eligible to receive Guest Gifts and Gifts from us. We do this at the outset when a Partner completes an application and at other times to verify their continued eligibility. 

• Fundraising platform: Stewardship’s Fundraising platform provides a space for individuals to create and share their own Fundraising pages, for Individual Partners to raise financial support online, and for churches and charities to create secure donation and fundraising pages.   

• Gift: This is the payment from a Giving Account to a Partner Account in response to a Giver's request.  

• Guest Gift: This is a gift from a donor who selects ‘Give as guest’ on a Partner or Fundraising page, together with the corresponding payment to the Partner Account the Giver wishes to support, 

• Gift Aid declaration: Where a Giver is eligible and has completed a Gift Aid declaration, we reclaim tax on their Guest Gifts and Top-ups from HMRC under the Gift Aid scheme. 

• Giver: A giver (also known as donor) is an individual or organisation who makes a gift to Stewardship by making a Guest Gift or Topping-up their Giving Account. 

• Giving Account: Givers (unless they make a Guest Gift) are provided with a Giving Account to help manage their charitable giving. 

• Grant: When a Giver’s request to support a Partner is approved, a Gift is made to a Partner Account, funds accrue and at an agreed frequency, a bulk payment is made by Stewardship to the Partner’s bank account. We call this payment a grant. 

• HMRC: HM Revenue & Customs, the UK tax authority. 

• Linked Top-ups: When a Giver Tops-up their account, they can ask us to automatically Gift the Top-up and the Gift Aid to a Partner. This is referred to as a Linked Top-up.  

• Living costs: In respect of the “Close Relative” rules for charity and tax purposes, living costs are defined as: accommodation costs, food and other general living expenses. 

• Ministry expenses: In respect of the “Close Relative” rules for charity and tax purposes, ministry expenses are defined as: the cost of equipment, training, materials, travel for ministry purposes and other facilities relating directly to an Individual Partner’s ministry work. 

• Online Service: Online access to your Giving Account and Stewardship’s Fundraising platform, as well as the option to make a Guest Gift. 

• Partner: Those receiving Grants from Stewardship (usually funded by Guest Gifts or Top-ups from Givers) are called partners. Examples are a charity, a charitable project, a church, a Christian worker or a Bible College student. Stewardship and its Partners are not ‘partners’ within the meaning of the Partnership Act 1890. 

• Partner Account: In order to facilitate the distribution of Grants, we set up an account for each Partner. This also enables the Partner to keep track of the individual Guest Gifts and Gifts made into their account, as well as the accumulation of these into  Grants paid to them by Stewardship. 

• Philanthropy Fund: A type of Giving Account for Givers wishing to establish a fund of £500,000 or more. 

• Project fund: Where a Partner has set up a fund within their Stewardship Partner Account for a specific aspect of their charitable activities, e.g. a Building Fund. 

• Reclaimed tax: This is the tax reclaimed by Stewardship from HMRC under the Gift Aid scheme.  

• Top-up: An irrevocable, outright gift of money or other financial assets by a Giver to Stewardship. Top-ups are credited to the Giver's Giving Account. Once given, a Top-up to Stewardship forms part of our charitable funds and cannot be returned to the Giver. Users: a) Primary user - An individual who sets up a Giving Account with us is the Primary User (or account holder) of that account. b) Authorised user(s) - A person(s) (not the Primary user) who has been authorised to help manage a Giving Account, e.g. a spouse. 

8. Making a Guest Gift 

8.1 Making payment 

You can use your debit or credit card, Apple Pay or Google Pay to make your Guest Gift online.  We cannot accept Guest Gifts by phone. For your protection and to guard against fraud the online process may include additional security checks by card providers. 

8.2 Gift Aid on Guest Gifts 

What is Gift Aid? 

Gift Aid is a tax relief for those who pay income and/or capital gains tax, designed to benefit charities (and community amateur sports clubs). Gift Aid effectively increases the value of your Guest Gift because we can reclaim the basic rate of tax on your eligible Guest Gifts and donate this reclaimed tax to the Partner you are supporting. 

Who is Eligible For Gift Aid? 

If you have paid sufficient Income and/or Capital Gains Tax to cover the amount we are due to reclaim, you may be eligible for tax relief on your Guest Gifts. 

The Gift Aid Declaration 

If you select ‘Yes, claim Gift Aid’ we will ask you to complete a Gift Aid declaration.  By completing the declaration, you are agreeing to the following: 

• You want to Gift Aid your Guest Gift. 

• You are a UK taxpayer and have paid enough Income Tax and/or Capital Gains Tax in this tax year to cover the amount reclaimed on your Guest Gift and any other Gift Aided charitable donations you make in this tax year. 

• You are making the Guest Gift from your own money and confirm that the funds have not come from anyone else, including family members, nor from a collection or on behalf of a corporate body. Your Gift Aid declaration should be based only on the tax paid by you personally. 

• The money you are giving is not the proceeds from sales of goods or services (e.g. cake sale, auction, car wash), nor from the sale of tickets. 

• You are not receiving anything in return for your Guest Gift, e.g. an entry ticket to an event, a raffle ticket or whereby you gain a membership to a scheme.

• If you pay less Income tax and/or Capital Gains Tax than the amount of Gift Aid claimed on all your charitable giving in that tax year, it is your responsibility to pay any difference back to HMRC. 

How Our Gift Aid Claims Work 

If your Guest Gift is £25,000 or less, we provide an ‘Instant Gift Aid’ service under which we underwrite the value of the reclaimed tax so that this additional amount (less our administration fee) is immediately gifted to your chosen Partner’s Stewardship Account. For a Guest Gift of more than £25,000, the reclaimed tax (less our administration fee) will be gifted to your chosen Partner once we receive it from HMRC. 

• Gift Aid is always claimed at the basic rate of tax. However, if you pay tax at the higher or additional rate, you can claim further relief on your Gift Aided Guest Gifts directly from HMRC. You need to contact HMRC to reclaim this tax. 

Please note that once a Guest Gift has been given to Stewardship, we will not usually be able to adjust the tax status of the Guest Gift. However, in exceptional circumstances, or where we have made an error, this may be possible. 

8.3 Other information on Guest Gifts 

Close relatives and connected persons 

In line with Gift Aid regulations, the following restrictions apply when you want to make a Guest Gift to support Individual Partners: (1) Guest Gifts with Gift Aid to support Individual Partners (Christian workers, Bible College Students and Retired Christian Workers) who are Close Relatives of you or your spouse can only be used for the individual’s personal ministry expenses and not for their living costs; and (2) It is therefore important for Close Relatives to liaise with the Individual Partner before making the Guest Gift to ensure that your gift is within their approved ministry expenses threshold. (3) Close Relatives givers can give without Gift Aid towards the individuals living costs or personal ministry expenses. 

(Close Relatives and connected persons are defined as referring to: a child, grandchild, parent, grandparent, brother, sister, or the spouse or civil partner of any of these, or a company under the control of the Giver, or under the control of connected persons). 

 

Grants For a Specific Purpose 

Guest Gifts to support charitable organisations will normally be applied to their general funds. However, you may request that your Guest Gift is allocated to a specific purpose by selecting a Partner’s Project Fund or providing a specific reference in the ‘message of support’ field. 

Timing 

We make payments to Partners on a weekly or monthly basis, depending on their preference. If we haven’t made a grant to a Partner before, or for several years, we will check that they are eligible to receive funds from us. This can sometimes mean that the Guest Gift you have requested is delayed. 

Large Guest Gifts 

We may need to undertake extra due diligence checks in relation to the Partner and the purpose of the Guest Gift. Stewardship must follow protective legislation to ensure that Guest Gifts and Grants out are checked which means that on some occasions, there may be a delay. Where there is a long delay or we are unable to arrange your Guest Gift, we will always keep you updated. 

8.4 Our fees for Guest Gifts 

We deduct a fee for administering your giving usually from the tax we reclaim from HMRC. This covers our costs and helps us to continue pursuing our charitable objectives. The amount of our fee will be shown in your ‘gift summary’.  For more information, please see https://www.stewardship.org.uk/fees.   

8.5 Anonymity  

If you do not wish us to provide Partners with your name and contact details, you can tick the box to request that your Guest Gift be handled anonymously. 

 

9. General Guidance: Giving Accounts

Whether you want to organise your personal giving, or you’re a company looking for a more flexible way to support the causes you care about, our Giving Account is the ultimate way to organise your giving in a simple, convenient way. 

The following information is relevant for all our Giving Accounts and there is also additional information about specific account types in the sections that follow. 

 

9.1 Putting money into your account

You can put money into your Giving Account at any time, either regularly or with one-off Top-ups. The Top-up will be credited to the balance of your Giving Account as soon as cleared funds have been received in Stewardship’s bank account. When you Top-up your account, depending on how you choose to do so, you can request that a Gift is made to a Partner, with or without any reclaimed tax, as soon as the Top-up has cleared. Adding the Gift Aid to the Gift is called a Linked Top-up. 

Direct Debit 

The simplest way to credit your account is to set up a Direct Debit from your bank account. You can set up your Direct Debit Instruction securely online, or you can contact us for a paper form. Once in place, you can choose the date and the frequency of one-off or regular Top-ups to suit your circumstances. With a Direct Debit you always stay in control, because any changes are initiated by you. And in the unlikely event that things go wrong, you’re protected by the Direct Debit Guarantee. Once the Direct Debit is set up, you can quickly arrange Top-ups online, or contact us by phone, email or letter. 

Debit/Credit Card 

You can also use your debit or credit card online to Top-up your Giving Account on a one-off basis. We cannot accept debit or credit card Top-ups by phone. For your protection and to guard against fraud the online process may include additional security checks by card providers. Please note that if the records we hold for you are not full and complete, your card transactions may not pass all validation checks. 

Apple Pay and Google Pay 

You can use Apple Pay or Google Pay to Top-up your Giving Account online. 

Cheque 

If you do not have online access, you can send us a Top-up by cheque, although we do set minimum Top-up amounts and a minimum charge to cover our processing costs. For details, please see stewardship.org.uk/fees. 

 

9.2 Gift Aid 

What is Gift Aid? 

Gift Aid is a tax relief for those who pay income and/or capital gains tax, designed to benefit charities (and community amateur sports clubs). Gift Aid increases the value of payments into your Giving Account by the basic rate of income tax because as a registered charity, we can reclaim the basic rate of tax on your eligible Top-ups. 

Who is Eligible For Gift Aid? 

If you have an individual Giving Account and have paid enough tax on your personal income and gains to cover the amount we are due to reclaim, you may be eligible for tax relief on your Top-ups under the Gift Aid scheme. The reclaimed tax is then added to your Giving Account. If you are a corporate giver, we will not be able to claim Gift Aid on your Top-ups, however you may be eligible for tax relief on your giving via your Corporate Tax Return. 

The Gift Aid Declaration 

In order for us to reclaim tax on your giving, you will need to complete a Gift Aid declaration. This can be done when you open the account or at a later date. Gift Aid can only be claimed on Top-ups by you as an individual and will require you to have paid sufficient tax. By completing the declaration, you are agreeing to the following: 

• You want to Gift Aid any Top-ups to your Giving Account in the future (or in the past 4 years, if requested). 

• You are a UK tax payer and have paid enough Income Tax and/or Capital Gains Tax in any one tax year to cover the amount reclaimed on your giving to Stewardship and to any other organisations that may be making Gift Aid claims on your behalf in that year. 

• You are making the Top-up from your own money and confirm that the funds have not come from anyone else, including family members, nor from a collection or on behalf of a corporate body. Your Top-ups should be based only on the tax paid by you personally. 

• The money you are Topping-up is not the proceeds from sales of goods or services (e.g. cake sale, auction, car wash), nor from the sale of tickets. 

• You are not receiving anything in return for your Top-ups to Stewardship, e.g. an entry ticket to an event, a raffle ticket or whereby you gain membership to a scheme.

• You must keep Stewardship updated with your current home address to ensure that Gift Aid claims are valid. 

• If you pay less Income and/or Capital Gains Tax than the amount of Gift Aid claimed on all your charitable giving in that tax year, it is your responsibility to pay any difference back to HMRC. 

If you complete a Gift Aid declaration, we will automatically reclaim tax on all Top-ups into your account unless you specifically tell us otherwise. If your circumstances change (e.g. you retire and no longer pay enough tax to cover the Gift Aid on your charitable giving) and Stewardship should not claim Gift Aid on your behalf, it is your responsibility to let us know. You can cancel your declaration at any time – just let us know. 

How Our Gift Aid Claims Work 

If your Top-up is £25,000 or less, we provide an ‘Instant Gift Aid’ service under which we underwrite the value of the reclaimed tax so that this additional amount (less our administration fee) is immediately credited to your Giving Account and, if applicable, Gifted to your chosen Partner. For a Top-up of more than £25,000, the reclaimed tax (less our administration fee) will be credited to your Giving Account once we receive it from HMRC and, if applicable, will be Gifted to your chosen Partner. 

Other Information 

• Gift Aid is always claimed at the basic rate of tax. However, if you pay tax at the higher or additional rate, you can claim further relief on your Gift Aided Top-ups directly from HMRC. You need to contact HMRC to reclaim this tax. 

• Please note that once a Top-up has been given, we will not usually be able to adjust the tax status of the Top-up. However in exceptional circumstances, or where we have made an error, this may be possible. 

 

9.3 Making Gifts From Your Account

We are able to support the majority of UK registered Churches and charities, as well as many full-time Christian workers, students at UK Bible Colleges and overseas charities. This is part of what makes Stewardship unique – we have thousands of Partners and you can support a full-time Christian worker who is eligible to register with us, tax effectively. 

Who can I make Gifts to? 

Broadly, we can support most general charitable purposes and there are many charities already registered with us. As we are a Christian charity, we are not able to support charitable activities that oppose the Christian faith or advance another faith. You can use our online search facility to check whether a Partner is already registered with us; simply log into your online account. Alternatively, you can contact the team with the Partner details and we will be able to check for you. 

New Partners 

If we have not made a grant to a particular Partner before, we will need to determine their eligibility by sending them a Partner application form. We will follow a thorough eligibility process to check this out for you. As a result, this may take a few weeks, particularly if the Partner is located outside the UK. 

How to Request Gifts 

You can request Gifts from your account as and when you choose. They can be set up, changed and cancelled at any time using your online account and also using our Fundraising platform. You can contact us by phone, email or letter with the details of the Gift and the Partner you would like to support. 

Linked Top-ups 

Depending on how you manage your giving, you can request that your Top-up into the Giving Account, and the Gift Aid (less our administration fee), are linked to the Gift from your Giving Account. This means that the Gift Aid will automatically be Gifted to your chosen Partner(s) proportionately. Alternatively, the reclaimed tax can simply be added to your account balance, ready for future Gift requests. 

Anonymity 

If you do not wish us to provide Partners with your name and contact details when your Gift is arranged, you can request Gifts to be anonymous. 

Close relatives and connected persons 

In line with Gift Aid regulations, the following restrictions apply when you want to make a Guest Gift to support Individual Partners: (1) Guest Gifts with Gift Aid to support Individual Partners (Christian workers, Bible College Students and Retired Christian Workers) who are Close Relatives of you or your spouse can only be used for the individual’s personal ministry expenses and not for their living costs; and (2) It is therefore important for Close Relatives to liaise with the Individual Partner before making the Guest Gift to ensure that your gift is within their approved ministry expenses threshold. (3) Close Relatives givers can give without Gift Aid towards the individuals living costs or personal ministry expenses. 

(Close Relatives and connected persons are defined as referring to: a child, grandchild, parent, grandparent, brother, sister, or the spouse or civil partner of any of these, or a company under the control of the Giver, or under the control of connected persons)

Special Situations 

• Available Funds/Balance: Sufficient cleared funds need to be held in your Giving Account for Stewardship to process a Gift. 

• Grants For a Specific Purpose: Gifts to charitable organisations will normally be applied to their general funds. However, you may request that your Gift is allocated to a specific purpose by selecting a Partner’s Project Fund or providing a specific reference to this effect. This can be noted as you process your Gift online. 

Other Information 

• Timing: We make payments to Partners on a weekly or monthly basis, depending on their preference. If we haven’t made a grant to a Partner before, or for several years, we will check that they are eligible to receive funds from us. This can sometimes mean that the grant you have requested is delayed. 

• Large Gifts: We may need to undertake extra due diligence checks in relation to the Partner and the purpose of the Gift. Stewardship must follow protective legislation to ensure that Top-ups in and Grants out are checked, which means that on some occasions, there may be a delay. Where there is a long delay or we are unable to arrange your Gift, we will always keep you updated. 

 

9.4 Our fees and other deductions

Why we charge a fee

We deduct a charge from your Giving Account for administering your giving. This covers our costs and helps us pursue our charitable objectives which include the provision of Christian, Biblically-led educational material on generosity. Our Trustees’ Annual Report and accounts are available each year on our website and provide up-to-date information on all of Stewardship’s activities.  

In the event that we make a surplus from any of our activities, this will always be put back into our charitable work and to further our charitable objectives. See https://www.stewardship.org.uk/fees for examples. 

How much we charge 

Information about our current charges structure can be found at stewardship.org.uk/fees, and is subject to change. Where we incur additional costs, perhaps for processing unusual or exceptional transactions, we may deduct a further one-off charge from your Giving Account balance to pay for this but will always discuss this with you first. 

How and when our fees are taken 

If you are giving under the Gift Aid scheme, the charge is taken from the reclaimed tax, and not the initial Top-up. For non-Gift Aid Top-ups, the charge will be deducted from the initial Top-up. Charges are shown clearly when making a Gift online and also on your Statement of Account. 

 

9.5 Your Account Online

To help you manage your giving, we have an Online Service which enables you to access your account at any time. 

How do I access my Giving Account online? 

When you open a Giving Account, as long as you have provided us with a valid and current email address, we will automatically send you details to enable you to login to your account online. Once you’re logged in, you can Top-up your account and set up one-off or regular Gifts quickly and easily. 

Logging in 

If you cannot find your login details, your login details won’t work or you have any questions about our Online Service, you can contact the Giving Services Team who will be able to provide you with help and support during working hours. 

 

9.6 Fundraising platform

Stewardship’s Fundraising platform provides a space for individuals to create and share their own Fundraising pages and for churches and charities to create and maintain online giving pages. 

How it works 

It couldn’t be easier to set up your Fundraising page and start making an impact for your favourite Partner. If you already have a Giving Account, you can login and create your page from there. If not, simply sign up for the Fundraising platform using our simple online form and start fundraising straight away. 

Choose your charity and build your page  

It’s free, only takes a minute or two and you get to choose your very own Fundraising page address.  Read the guidance at https://www.stewardship.org.uk/transparency/fundraising-regulator to help you fundraise responsibly. 

Tell the world about your page 

Share your Fundraising page with family, friends and colleagues, by email and across all your social networks. 

Let the gifts start rolling in  

The only things you need to worry about are the messages your friends leave and making sure you reach your fundraising total. We’ll reclaim Gift Aid on all eligible giving and add it to the pot we create to support your favourite charity. 

 

9.7 Communication

You can contact us by phone, email or letter and we will go through our security procedures before discussing account details.  We will communicate with you by email unless you request otherwise.   

Statements 

You can access your account information online, at any time. Your statement will include a summary of your giving, which can be particularly helpful if you are a higher or additional rate taxpayer and complete a Self-Assessment tax return. 

Publicity and Announcements 

If the Partner you are supporting would like to make any public announcements in relation to a Stewardship grant you have requested, for example, the naming of a building, please let us know in advance so that we can make sure that this is done in a way that complies with our legal obligations and our internal policies and procedures

9.8 Account Users

Primary Users 

An individual who sets up a Giving Account with us is the Primary User (or account holder) of that account. Where Gift Aid is applicable to a Top-up, it will always be claimed in the name of the Primary User, therefore all Top-ups must be from the original account holder who (if relevant) signed the Gift Aid declaration. 

Authorised Users 

We offer the ability for you to add another person(s) as an Authorised User on your account. This does not make it a joint account, but the other user(s) will be given their own online access and will be able to arrange Top-ups on behalf of the Primary User, make Gift requests, make changes and discuss details with us. To add or remove an Authorised User, log into your account online or call the Giving Services team.  To keep your information secure, only Primary Users and Authorised Users will be able to use the Online Service or discuss the account with the Giving Services Team. 

9.9 Closing your account

How do I close my account? 

You are free to close your account at any time. Simply let us know and we will aim to cancel (within 30 days) any regular giving you may have set up. If there is a balance in the account, please make sure this is Gifted out to partners before you request to close the account. 

What happens to my balance? 

Because the funds in your account have been gifted to us charitably, they form part of our charitable funds. As such, they cannot be returned to you and will need to be Granted to registered Partner(s). Alternatively, they may be applied generally for Stewardship’s charitable purposes. 

Other reasons for account closure 

In addition to voluntary requests from you to close your Giving Account, Stewardship will also have the right to close your Giving Account if there are any material and ongoing breaches of these Terms of Use by you (and/or Authorised Users). We will always try to discuss any problems with you first, but if these cannot be resolved, we will have the right to close your Giving Account and apply the funds for charitable purposes (which may include our general funds). 

9.10 Dormant Accounts

What happens if you stop using your account? 

If your Giving Account has no regular Top-ups or Gifts, after four months of inactivity, your Giving Account will be classified as “dormant” and we will attempt to get in touch with you to remind you about the availability of your account. 

What happens if we cannot get in touch with you? 

If your account remains inactive, we will make further attempts to get in contact with you. If we are unsuccessful, we may need to close your account. After a period of seven years from account closure, if we are unsuccessful in making contact and we cannot determine your wishes, we will apply any outstanding funds for charitable purposes (which may include our general funds). For clarity, any deduction of our fees, costs, contributions or expenses will not be considered a Gift from a Giving Account for these purposes. We will always do what we can to stay in touch with you, so please keep us updated with your current contact details. 

 

9.11 JustSow

JustSow Giving Ltd (“JustSow”) operates an independent platform on which eligible Partners can promote their ministry in order to seek financial support through Gifts requested by participating Givers. If you notify us that you have become a “sower” with JustSow, we may act upon a Gift request received from JustSow in respect of your Giving Account as if the request had been made by you or an Authorised User. We will share with JustSow the outcome of any Gift request originating from the platform, your name, the name of the Partner and the amount of any Grant made as a result of the request. 

 

Now you know all about how the account works, take a look at the relevant section below to find out other important information about your Giving Account that is relevant to you.

 

10. Guidance for Specific Account Types

10.1 The 18-25 Account

All the regular features of our standard Giving Account, but with added perks to help boost your giving! Support your church, friends in Christian ministry and the charitable causes you care about, all in one place, with online access – change your giving whenever and wherever you choose. 

10.2 The Donor Advised Fund and the Philanthropy Fund

If you are looking to give more than £25,000 per year into your Giving Account, our Donor Advised Fund may be suitable for you.  Our Philanthropy Fund is for those wishing to establish a Giving Account with £500,000 or more. You may be a higher or additional rate taxpayer looking for tax-effective ways to give to charity, be considering alternatives to a charitable trust, or perhaps you have a single, large amount that you wish to donate. 

A Donor Advised Fund or Philanthropy Fund is the single place for all your tax-effective giving with no need for trustees or annual returns, and no legal costs – all the benefits of a charitable trust but without the usual complications. In addition to all the great features of the Giving Account, the Donor Advised Fund and the Philanthropy Fund also offer additional options, explained below, for those who may be in a position to give more. 

Cash Balances 

Stewardship may (at its discretion) allocate interest in respect of cash balances in Donor Advised Funds and Philanthropy Funds which are not allocated to a specific investment option.  This allocated interest is based on interest rates which are set by Stewardship and are subject to change.  The interest is calculated on the daily cash balance in the Donor Advised Fund or Philanthropy Fund on a non-compounding basis in the month and allocated to the account on the 1st of the following month in arrears. 

Stewardship Investment Portfolios 

As a Donor Advised Fund or Philanthropy Fund holder, you are able to request that all or part of the balance in your account be allocated to one or more of Stewardship's Investment Portfolios. They are managed by external asset managers who are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in line with Stewardship’s Investment Policy. 

Information on minimum transfer amounts and Stewardship’s fees, can be found at https://www.stewardship.org.uk/philanthropy-services-fees. Further details on the Stewardship Investment Portfolios can be requested from the Philanthropy Services team. 

It should be noted that all investments carry investment risk and the value of any balance allocated to the Stewardship Investment Portfolios can go down as well as up.

Stewardship is not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and  does not provide investment, tax or legal advice, nor recommendations in relation to investments. Any conversations held with you, or information provided to you, will only be in relation to your Gifted or to-be-Gifted funds and do not constitute a recommendation or advice in relation to funds you may have outside of Stewardship. If you do require financial advice, you will need to consult a regulated financial adviser. All investment decisions are made at the discretion of Stewardship’s Trustees, and any investment made from the balance of your Donor Advised Fund or Philanthropy Fund is made by Stewardship as principal. Any income distributions from the Stewardship Balanced Portfolio and the Stewardship Equity Portfolio (previously the Stewardship Growth Portfolio) are credited to accounts each month.  The Stewardship Sustainable Investment Portfolio is invested on an accumulation basis, whereby no income distributions will be made.  

While funds may be returned from one or more of the Stewardship Investment Portfolios to your Donor Advised Fund or Philanthropy Fund for the purposes of your giving, funds cannot be returned to you personally. 

Other Top-ups 

As well as ‘cash’ Top-ups into your account, you may wish to Top-up your account with gifts of shares, securities, land and buildings. Special tax reliefs are available for gifts to charity of shares and securities and for gifts of land and buildings. 

Shares, securities, land and buildings gifted to Stewardship will usually be sold promptly, any proceeds denominated in a foreign currency will be converted into Sterling, and the funds will be credited to your Donor Advised Fund or Philanthropy Fund. However, Stewardship has discretion to retain gifted assets in their gifted form where there is reason to do so.  As noted above, Stewardship will not be liable to you for any loss caused by fluctuations in exchange rates or in the value of non-cash assets gifted to us. For more information about how to gift non-cash assets, please contact the Philanthropy Services team. 

Where your Donor Advised Fund or Philanthropy Fund includes non-cash assets used to Top-up your account, it remains your responsibility to ensure that there are sufficient cash funds in the account to meet any Gift requests that you may make from time to time. Please contact us if you would like to discuss one of these types of Top-up. 

Due diligence checks 

From time to time, particularly where large Top-ups are made or Gifts requested, we may contact you, and/or your chosen Partner(s), to discuss your requests in further detail as part of our due diligence processes and to ensure a charitable use of funds. 

Fund name 

With a Donor Advised Fund or Philanthropy Fund, you can personalise your giving even further by choosing a fund name for your account. 

Additional applicants 

If a second person (such as your spouse), who is already an Authorised User on your Donor Advised Fund or Philanthropy Fund, would like to Top-up your account from their own personal income, they can contact us to set up their own Giving Account so that any Top-ups by them will automatically be transferred to your Donor Advised Fund or Philanthropy Fund. 

Additional features of the Philanthropy Fund 

Our Philanthropy Fund offers bespoke giving solutions, tailored to you, including personalised solutions for complex giving arrangements and additional investment options. If you are interested in this service, please contact the Philanthropy Services team and we will be happy to arrange a meeting to discuss your needs. Bespoke services may be subject to additional fees and additional terms and conditions. 

Nominated Investment Option 

We are pleased to offer you the flexibility to ask us to invest part of the balance of your Philanthropy Fund in one or more nominated investments of your choosing, subject to the approval of our trustees. It should be noted that all investments carry investment risk and the value of any balance allocated to a Nominated Investment Option can go down as well as up. Stewardship does not provide investment advice or recommendations in relation to investments and is not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.  Any conversations held with you, or information provided to you, will only be in relation to your Gifted or to-be-Gifted funds and do not constitute a recommendation or advice in relation to funds you may have outside of Stewardship.  If you do require financial advice, you will need to consult a regulated financial adviser. All investment decisions are made at the discretion of Stewardship’s trustees, and any investment made from the balance of your Philanthropy Fund is made by Stewardship as principal.  While funds may be returned to your Philanthropy Fund for the purposes of your giving, funds cannot be returned to you personally.  If you request a Nominated Investment, you will be asked to sign a letter setting out our additional terms and conditions for this option. 

Dedicated team 

The Philanthropy Services team has a dedicated phone number and email address, supported by a team of advisors specially trained to help you manage your Donor Advised Fund or Philanthropy Fund. The Philanthropy Services team is supported by a professional team of accountants, legal and investment specialists to make sure you have the philanthropy advice and guidance you need to make your giving as effective as possible. 

From time to time, we may offer further bespoke, tailored options and activities to Donor Advised Fund and Philanthropy Fund holders, and we will let you know if additional terms and conditions apply to these. For information about our Donor Advised Fund and Philanthropy Fund service, including contact details for the Philanthropy Services team, please go to  https://www.stewardship.org.uk/philanthropy-services. 

10.3 Legacy Giving

Whether you are thinking of leaving a legacy Top-up to charity in your will, or you view your lifetime giving as your legacy and have intentions as to how you envisage any balance being handled on your death, the Stewardship legacy options can cater for you 

Leaving a legacy 

If you leave a legacy Top-up to Stewardship in your will, the Top-up will be exempt from inheritance tax as a charitable gift and could therefore reduce the tax otherwise payable by the deceased’s estate. 

HMRC allows additional tax breaks where more than 10% of an estate is given to charity – see https://www.gov.uk/inheritance-tax-reduced-rate-calculator. We do recommend that you seek legal advice on the preparation of your will and any charitable Top-ups that you may wish to include. We have a helpful document to guide you through this at https://www.stewardship.org.uk/legacy-and-estate-giving 

Top-ups by Deed of Variation 

If you have recently become entitled to a legacy gift from someone else, you can ‘divert’ part or all of your inheritance to a Stewardship Giving Account using a Deed of Variation prepared by your legal adviser. 

A Deed of Variation may also be used to reduce the rate of inheritance tax applying to the remainder of the estate. 

There are legal rules that apply and suitable professional advice is strongly advised. 

Expression of Wishes 

An Expression of Wishes is a letter to Stewardship, providing us with your requests as to how you would like us to Gift funds in your Giving Account, whether accumulated during your lifetime or from a legacy Top-up in your will. 

Our Expression of Wishes form available at https://www.stewardship.org.uk/expression-wishes/forms provides three main options for you to choose from, or you may choose a combination of options: 

• Specified Gift to charities: Request that your legacy Top-up is Gifted to charitable causes immediately, or regularly over a specified time period. 

• Pass it on to another Stewardship Giving Account: Request that your legacy will be used to fund Giving Accounts for successors (family members, friends or trusted others), for them to request Gifts to charitable causes. 

• Entrust it to Stewardship: Request that your legacy Top-up will be used by Stewardship to support high impact causes operating under three key themes of Christian evangelism, justice and mercy, generosity. 

In the majority of cases, Stewardship will be able to carry out your wishes. However, we cannot make Gifts to charities whose aims fall outside our charitable objectives. If this is the case, we will contact you after you have submitted the Expression of Wishes to explain and ask you to amend your wishes. 

If no Expression of Wishes has been left at the date of your death, or if one of the Partners named in your Expression of Wishes is no longer eligible to receive grants from Stewardship, the funds in your Giving Account will be used at Stewardship’s discretion to pursue its charitable purposes. 

Whilst not obliged to do so, in deciding how to deal with the funds in your Giving Account, we may consider the pattern of Gift requests (if any) that you made from your Giving Account in a period of up to three years prior to your death. 

10.4 Company giving

We can make it really easy for your company to give by offering a simple, effective way to make the most of all your company’s giving from one, secure, online account. 

As a charity, we know the giving business inside out, but we won’t profit from your generosity. Light on administration, low on cost, supported by our highly skilled team of giving services advisors; you can trust us to ensure that your giving enhances, and doesn’t burden, your business. 

Who is this account for? 

The Corporate Giving Account can be set up for a UK Private or Public Limited Company. If you are a Sole Trader, please complete the application form for individual givers and Gift Aid can be claimed on your giving. 

Unfortunately, we cannot receive Top-ups from a Partnership (or LLP). However, if you are an individual partner who wishes to give in your sole capacity, you can complete our Giving Account application form for individuals. 

For companies who intend to give £25,000 or more in a year, a Corporate Donor Advised Fund offers some added benefits. Please see https://www.stewardship.org.uk/donor-advised-fund. 

Putting money into your account 

Topping-up your Corporate Giving Account works in exactly the same way as the individual Giving Account, except that any Direct Debit, Debit or Credit card transaction or cheque payment will need to be made from your company bank account. 

Gift Aid applies differently to company giving compared with giving from individuals. As a company, you may be eligible for tax relief on your company’s charitable giving, which would be claimed on your corporate tax return. 

Due diligence checks 

From time to time, particularly when more significant Top-ups are made, we may need to contact you to ask for confirmation of company Top-ups from the relevant parties before accepting the Top-up. 

Usually this would take the form of a Directors’/Board Minute and a solvency statement, but we can provide guidance where relevant. 

Authorised users 

A Director of the company will be the Primary User of the Corporate Giving Account. 

The Corporate Giving Account application form provides opportunity for the Primary User to nominate another individual as an Authorised User for the account. 

To keep your information secure, only Primary Users and Authorised Users will be able to use the Online Service or discuss the account with the Giving Services Team. 

Change of Primary User on change of Directors 

If the Primary User of the Corporate Giving Account ceases to be a Director of the company, we may remove that individual from the Corporate Giving Account and instead appoint a current Director of the company as Primary User. 

If you anticipate a change in the control of the company, please contact us in advance so that we can agree appropriate handling of the Corporate Giving Account. 

Closing the account 

You can close your corporate Giving Account at any time by contacting us to let us know. If there are funds in the balance of the account, we will discuss the Gifting of these funds to registered partners with you before closing the account. We will be unable to return funds to the company, as they will need to be applied to charitable purposes. 

If we establish that a company which holds a Corporate Giving Account with us ceases to operate all, or substantially all of its business, enters into administration, administrative receivership or liquidation (or any steps are taken in relation to the insolvency of the company or enforcement of any of its assets), or the company starts negotiations or other arrangements with any of its creditors with a view to rescheduling any of its debts, then depending on the circumstances, we may be able to continue to allow Gifts requested by an Authorised User on the account. If we are not able to establish contact with an Authorised User, after six months, the funds in the account will become part of the general funds of Stewardship, to apply towards its charitable purposes. 

 

 

These terms were last updated November 2023.