New guide for businesses: Harnessing the social impact of Payroll Giving

Read time: 3 minutes

We have created a guide to help businesses understand how Payroll Giving can create a positive company culture and invaluable funds for good causes.

Payroll Giving is a unique form of tax-effective that has raised a total of over £2 billion for charities to date.

What makes the scheme truly special is that it benefits everyone involved – donors can benefit from tax relief that makes giving cheaper, charities receive invaluable funds, and businesses can use it to bolster CSR/ESG programmes.

And yet, despite the many benefits Payroll Giving has to offer, the number of employers offering the scheme has dropped from over 5,000 to 4,000 between 2017 and 2023. To turn this around, we have co-created this guide with charities, Payroll Giving Agencies (PGAs), Professional Fundraising Organisations (PFOs), and the Department of Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) to inspire more businesses to adopt the scheme and use it to its full potential.

What’s included in the guide?

The guide covers everything a business needs to know about how to adopt Payroll Giving and use it to increase their social impact and foster a positive company culture. It includes:

A foreword from Stephanie Peacock, Minister for Charities endorsing Payroll Giving and encouraging businesses to adopt it;

An overview of how Payroll Giving works;

A step-by-step guide on how to adopt the scheme and embed it into existing processes;

The business case for adopting Payroll Giving and how it can help organisations reach their goals;

Ideas and examples of how to promote the scheme and bolster existing CSR/ESG initiatives;

Tips, advice and case studies from companies using the scheme right now to make a positive difference, including Morrisons, The Entertainer and Natwest.

How do I use the guide?

The guide is designed to be used by anyone who wants to raise awareness of Payroll Giving. For example:

Charities can use it to strengthen existing corporate partnerships

PGAs/PFOs can include it their client resources

HR/CSR and payroll managers can use it to win buy-in for the scheme from their senior leadership

Campaigners can promote it at relevant industry events

We hope this guide gives you the inspiration and information you need to promote Payroll Giving, so together we can make sure every PAYE employee has the opportunity to give tax-effectively.

If you have any questions, please contact policy@ciof.org.uk.