Press Release
EMBARGOED TO 00:01 on 27 August 2008
Lynne Jones MP for Selly Oak calls on local
Mosques and community organisations to make the most of this Ramadan by registering a
charity
Ramadan is a time
when many community organisations and Mosques benefit from the generosity of Muslim
people. Many organisations don’t realise that by registering with the Charity
Commission, the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales, the money they
are given could go even further, helping them to make an even greater impact on their
communities.
This Ramadan Lynne
Jones, MP for Selly Oak is encouraging organisations that think they might have charitable
status to contact the Charity Commission on 0845 300 0218 to find out how they can
register.
There are many
benefits of registering as a charity. Charities
registered with the Charity Commission:
·
Have
the benefit of a charity registration number and the badge/brand of charity, increasing
public trust and confidence in their organisation.
·
Can
maximise the financial benefit of donations through Gift Aid arrangements. This means that
currently for every £1.00
donated through Gift Aid charities can claim back up to 28p from the government.
·
Benefit from
generous tax breaks – they do
not normally have to pay income/corporation tax, capital gains tax, or stamp duty, and
gifts to charities are free of inheritance tax.
·
Have
access to free expert advice and tailored guidance from the Charity Commission.
Registering
as a charity is not a complicated process, visit the Commission’s website: www.charitycommission.gsi.gov.uk or
call 0845 300 0218 for further information.
Lynne Jones, MP for
Selly Oak said:
“Selly Oak is
home to 3 registered Muslim charities and I’m sure there are many more unregistered
organisations, all of which make a huge contribution to our community. This Ramadan I’d
encourage anyone who has not yet registered their group as a charity, to visit the Charity
Commission’s website and find out how becoming a registered charity could help you
maximise the impact your organisation makes with the funds it raises during Ramadan.”
Ends.
Notes to editors:
1.
The Charity
Commission is the independent regulator for charitable activity in
England and Wales. See www.charitycommission.gov.uk for more
information.
2.
Commission
spokespeople are available for interview and comment. Contact the Commission’s press
office on 020 7674 2333 for further information.
3.
For
information on how to register your organisation as a charity, visit the Charity
Commission’s website: www.charitycommission.gov.uk.
Summaries of advice on registering as a charity are available in English, Urdu, and
Arabic.
4.
If
you are a UK charity you can claim back basic rate tax relating to Gift Aid donations from
individuals, from HMRC Charities. In practice
this means that for every £1.00 donated through Gift Aid you can claim back 25p. In
addition HMRC will automatically pay you a further 3p for every £1 Gift Aid donation made
to you between 6 April 2008 and 5 April 2011; this transitional relief has been provided
by Government to allow charities to adjust to the fall in basic rate tax (from 22 per cent
to 20 per cent) from 6 April 2008. This means that for every pound donated under the Gift
Aid scheme the charity will continue to receive 28p. For more
information about the Gift Aid Scheme, visit the HM Revenue and Customs website: www.hmrc.gov.uk
5.
There are an
estimated 1,398 Muslim charities on the
Charity Commission’s Register of Charities. These have a combined income of £221 million. Our
research so far, which is based on information charities have given us, has identified
that at least 29,495 charities are either expressly set up to advance religion or have a
faith-based approach to their work. The combined income of these charities is £8.2bn.
6.
In 2007, the
Charity Commission set up The
Faith and Social Cohesion Unit. This is a dedicated team within the Commission which:
·
works to improve the Commission’s and
society’s understanding of faith-based charities;
·
engages with faith communities to identify and
support organisations that could be but are not currently registered with the Commission;
·
assists faith-based charities to improve their
standards of governance and accountability and thereby increase their effectiveness; and
·
works collaboratively to achieve and promote
well run and effectively regulated faith-based charities.
The team are
initially working with Mosques and other Muslim charities. A Project Board including
representatives of the Mosques and Imams National Advisory Body (MINAB) has been
established to direct and evaluate the team’s work and to provide specialist advice.
For more information about the Faith and Social Cohesion Unit, please see the Commission’s
website.
back to top |
