Charity begins at work: How Payroll Giving can create a giving culture in your company
If you’re looking for a quick corporate social responsibility boost and develop a giving culture in your organisation, Payroll Giving could be the answer.
Company values have never been more important
According to KPMG International, more than 60 per cent of millennials expect their employers to contribute to a social cause. With around 12m millennials in the UK right now, this means that company values and culture can play a major role when it comes to swaying prospective employees.
How companies can recognise and respond to this important challenge
This generation of younger workers don’t only consider their job as a way to pay the bills, they also want to contribute their time, energy and hard earned income to meaningful causes. They want to see their employers give back and they are more likely to choose to work for a thoughtful and caring organisation.
Companies, therefore, need to respond to this by cultivating a reputation for social responsibility with a strong charitable giving programme for employees that includes volunteering and opportunities to donate.
In return, they’ll find that employees who participate in charitable causes are more likely to develop bonds of loyalty with their employer, which in turn raises morale and
productivity.
How to engage employees with charity partnerships and Payroll Giving
At Cancer Research UK, we are regularly invited to discuss the benefits and challenges of working with organisations to deliver an outstanding charity partnership.
Choosing a charitable partner should be a rigorous process and
include some ‘must haves’, such as the alignment of values, resonance with your workforce and appropriate feedback to all stakeholders about the fruits of their work.
Additional benefits could include opportunities for secondments and career development. But employees may also have their own personal causes they want to support outside of an official charity partnership. Payroll Giving is a great way to accommodate this as it’s free to set up and requires minimal maintenance.
Donations are taken directly from your employees’ salary, after national insurance but before tax, so charities get the most out of the donations and it costs less to payroll givers, as the donation the charity receives includes tax relief. For example, a donation of £10 will only cost the giver £8, as the other £2 is the tax they would have paid to HMRC.
A win-win-win situation
For employees, Payroll Giving is a quick, easy, secure and tax-efficient way to give regularly to the causes they want to support. For charities, it provides regular and reliable income, and the opportunity to recruit ambassadors and supporters with a longer-term loyalty to their cause.
And for companies, it can play a vital role in your CSR strategy and promotes a feelgood factor that can help to boost workplace morale.
To learn more, visit: cruk.org/payrollgiving or email lucie.bosse@cancer.org.uk
Lucie Bosse is a payroll giving manager at Cancer Research UK