At Work

Forming a partnership with LIFE, the pregnancy care charity, is a great way for your organisation to generate some positive PR by supporting a cause that helps some of the most vulnerable individuals in our society.

What's more, there are plenty of ways to get involved in raising money, whilst having a laugh with your colleagues at the same time. Here are some ideas:

• Organise a sponsored bike ride for your team or department. You could even pick a route linking up different LIFE projects if you wanted.  If each team member raises £200 in sponsorship, the money will soon add up
• Join your organisation's payroll giving scheme - or ask your HR/payroll dept to set one up if you haven't already got one
• Join in one of LIFE's existing events - and help promote it around your building with posters, on your intranet, in your staff newsletter, etc
• Remember some companies have a matched giving policy, meaning they will match some or part of the money you raise yourself to increase your overall donation to LIFE
• Find out more about getting involved in volunteering for LIFE
• Visit a LIFE shop if there's one in your area to donate some items or to snap up a bargain
• Find out what your company's ‘corporate responsibility policy' is. Most larger organisations will already have one, and perhaps run a “Charity of the Year” programme or similar. If so, find out how LIFE can be considered for future support, and tell Susie Murray, LIFE's Head of Fundraising, on susanmurray@lifecharity.org.uk
• If your company doesn't already have a policy, there may still be a less formal way it could support us. Again, Susan Murray would be delighted to meet with whoever might be appropriate to discuss things further

Payroll Giving

This is a tax-effective donation scheme, where a small amount of money each month comes straight from your monthly salary to the charity of your choice. The tax-effective bit comes as the taxman views the sum of money that you are choosing to donate as exempt from tax. So, your gift gets taken from your gross salary, rather than the net. 

Simply put:

• If you are a standard rate taxpayer (20%), the immediate tax relief means that a donation of £10 will cost you just £8.
• If you are a higher rate taxpayer (40%), a donation of £10 will cost you just £6
• If you are a highest rate taxpayer (50%), a £10 donation will cost you £5

In 2005 Payroll Giving donations in the UK reached almost £100million!!! To help LIFE receive a portion of this in 2010, sign up today!

If you have a scheme already in place, all you will need to do is fill in a mandate form, which someone in HR or payroll should be able to give you. This takes an amount that you set direct from your gross salary every month, just like your National Insurance contribution, until you say otherwise.