Donations: Gift Aid

Donations: Gift Aid

Gift Aid helps eligible UK charities increase the value of donations by claiming additional funding on qualifying gifts. Funraisin supports Gift Aid by allowing supporters to opt in during the donation process, making it easy to capture the information needed for reporting and claims.

This article explains how to enable Gift Aid, report on Gift Aid opt-ins, and automate claims using the optional Swiftaid integration.

Jump to:

What is Gift Aid?

Gift Aid is a UK government tax incentive that allows eligible charities to claim an additional 25p for every £1 donated by eligible UK taxpayers. This means eligible donations can be worth 25% more at no additional cost to the donor.

Gift Aid can only be claimed on eligible donations and cannot be claimed on registration fees, merchandise, or raffle tickets.

Donors are responsible for opting into Gift Aid only if they are eligible UK taxpayers. Gift Aid cannot be claimed when a donation is made on behalf of someone else.

For more information about Gift Aid and eligibility, visit the UK Government website: https://www.gov.uk/claim-gift-aid

Enabling Gift Aid Opt-In

Gift Aid can be enabled at the platform level and displayed on supported donation forms across the platform, including sponsored fundraising pages, general donation forms, and optional donation forms on registrations and shop sales.

To enable Gift Aid Opt-In:

1

Navigate to Admin > Platform Setup > Platform Settings.

2

Scroll to the Gift Aid Settings section.

3

Tick Enable Gift Aid Opt-In.

4

Click Save.

Once enabled, the text displayed to supporters can be customized using the following settings:

• Opt-In Checkbox Label: The wording displayed for the option to add Gift Aid.
  • Default text: Yes, I want to add Gift Aid
• Opt-Out Checkbox Label: The wording displayed for the option to decline Gift Aid.
  • Default: No, I don't want to add Gift Aid

The following field is not editable, as it is required by law:

• Opt-In Confirmation Message: The declaration displayed beneath the opt-in option.

If you are using the Swiftaid integration, an additional sentence is required to meet Swiftaid compliance requirements.

If you would like to request a change to the Opt-In Confirmation Message, please submit a support ticket via your platform:

Once enabled, Gift Aid is displayed as a dedicated step during checkout on supported donation forms.

Claiming Gift Aid

Once Gift Aid has been enabled and donors have opted in, charities can claim Gift Aid in one of two ways:

• Manage claims internally by exporting Gift Aid donation data from Funraisin and submitting claims directly to HMRC.
• Automate claims with Swiftaid, which submits eligible Gift Aid claims to HMRC on your behalf.

If using the Swiftaid integration, eligible Gift Aid declarations are submitted automatically to Swiftaid, and approved claims are paid directly to the charity. More information about connecting Swiftaid can be found later in this article.

Gift Aid reporting

Gift Aid opt-in information can be included in a standard donation data export.

When creating a new data export, select Data Source Type: Donations.

Add the Gift Aid export field to identify whether each donor opted in to Gift Aid. The field displays:

• Y: The donor opted in to Gift Aid.
• N: The donor did not opt in to Gift Aid.

For recurring Gift Aid reporting, a Smart List can be used to automatically filter the export to only include donors who have opted in.

A Smart List is a dynamic list of entrants or donations that match specific search criteria. Smart Lists automatically update as new records meet the criteria.

To create a Smart List that includes only donors who have opted in to Gift Aid:

1

Navigate to Fundraising > Donations > Donations Options > Search Donations.

2

Expand the Donor Details section.

3

Select Yes for Gift Aid.

4

Click Search.

5

Enter a name in the Create New field.

6

Click Save List.

Once saved, the Smart List can be applied to any donation data export.

Applying a Smart List to a Donation Data Export:

1

Navigate to Reporting > Data Exports.

2

Click the edit icon next to the data export.

3

On the Export Fields tab, in the Filters section, select the Smart List from the Smart List dropdown.

4

Click Save.

Once saved, future downloads of the data export will only include donors who opted in to Gift Aid.

If managing Gift Aid claims internally, the donation data export can be customized to match the format required by HMRC. When modifying the export, follow HMRC's import requirements as closely as possible to simplify the claims process.

What is Swiftaid?

Swiftaid is a third-party platform that automates Gift Aid claims submitted to HMRC.

When integrated with Funraisin, eligible Gift Aid declarations can be submitted automatically for donations where a donor has opted in. Swiftaid can be used with all donation forms that support Gift Aid.

For more information about Swiftaid, visit their website.

Registering with Swiftaid

Before enabling the Swiftaid integration in Funraisin, you must first register with Swiftaid and complete its verification process.

Registration can be completed through the Swiftaid website.

Verification typically takes up to 10 working days. If additional documentation is required by Swiftaid or HMRC, the process may take longer.

To avoid delays, it is recommended that registration and verification are completed before configuring the integration in Funraisin.

Funraisin Swiftaid integration fee

When using the Swiftaid integration, Funraisin charges a fee of 2.25% of the Gift Aid amount associated with each eligible donation sent to Swiftaid. This fee is in addition to any standard optional contribution fees.

For example, for a £10 eligible donation:

• Donation: £10.00
• Gift Aid: £2.50
• Funraisin Swiftaid integration fee: £0.06 (2.25% of the £2.50 Gift Aid amount)

The charity still receives the full £2.50 Gift Aid payment from HMRC. The Funraisin Swiftaid integration fee is charged separately via a monthly invoice.

Enabling Swiftaid

Once your charity has been approved by Swiftaid, the integration can be enabled in Funraisin.

To enable Swiftaid in Funraisin:

1

Navigate to Admin > Platform Setup > Platform Settings.

2

Scroll to the Gift Aid Settings section.

3

Tick Enable Gift Aid Claiming.

4

Enter your HMRC ID in the HMRC ID for Swiftaid Account field.

5

Click Save.

After enabling Swiftaid in Funraisin, you will also need to connect your Funraisin account to Swiftaid.

To connect Funraisin to Swiftaid:

1

Log in to your Swiftaid account.

2

Navigate to Donation Platforms.

3

Click Add Donation Platform.

4

Select Funraisin from the list of available platforms.

5

Agree to the connection terms and authorize the connection.

6

Once connected, a confirmation message will appear, and Funraisin will be displayed in your dashboard.

How Swiftaid claims work

Once Swiftaid has been enabled, eligible Gift Aid declarations are automatically submitted to Swiftaid when a donor opts in to Gift Aid.

The integration supports both one-off and recurring donations. If an eligible donation is refunded in Funraisin, the corresponding Gift Aid claim is automatically updated in Swiftaid.

Swiftaid also allows Gift Aid declarations to be backdated, enabling eligible donations made within the previous four years to be included in a claim.

Swiftaid reporting and support

Additional reporting for Gift Aid claims is available within the Swiftaid platform.

If assistance is required with the Swiftaid platform or the status of a Gift Aid claim, refer to the Swiftaid Charity FAQs. If the information needed isn't available, contact Swiftaid directly through the support options available in the platform.