Island Life Magazine Ltd February/March 2010 | Page 90

life

LOCAL BUSINESS

February/March 2010

Charities and Not for
Profit Organisations
Moore Stephens (South) LLP
9 St John's Place
Newport
Isle of Wight
PO30 1LH
Tel: [phone]
Photo: Kevin Cooper

Kevin Cooper heads the Charity and not
for profit services within Moore Stephens
South, and sits on the firm’s national
charity group. He holds the Diploma
in Charity Accounting awarded by the
Institute of Chartered Accountants on
England and Wales, and enjoys working
with many charitable and not for profit
organisations.
The current economic climate is certainly
creating issues and challenging the minds
of Charity Trustees and those responsible
for the management of not for profit
organisations. Most are now grappling
with demonstrating “public benefit”
under the Charity Commission guidelines.
With pressure of finances, charities
are revising their marketing strategies
and focussing on building deeper donor

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engagement. BDRC, a market
research agency has recently
reported that 24% of regular
charity givers plan to reduce their
donations in the coming months. Cash
donations to UK charities fell by £400m
from 2007 to 2008, and it is predicted
that legacy income will fall by 10% to
15% in 2009.
Recent indications suggest that Charities
who operate with local and central
government funding, and who have,
through good management accumulated
some unrestricted reserves, are being told
to face likely funding cuts. Being clear on
reserve policies is therefore essential.
Trustees also need to be aware that
the time limits for making claims for tax
refunds under gift aid are shortening, and
the amount of gift aid eligible to recover
is being reduced as the transitional
arrangements (from the reduction in basic

rate of tax) comes to an end in 2011.
VAT is the main tax cost paid by
charities, and maximising the potential
benefits and savings offered to not
for profit entities by UK VAT rules are
essential.
For charities a review of strategy,
funding and financial management might
also be very worth while, if not essential,
to meet the challenges ahead. Kevin, who
is based at the Newport office on 825000,
would be delighted to hear from Trustees
looking for a fresh approach, or for
registering for our forthcoming mailing
and spring seminar event.
In difficult times, we should probably
all consider how we can best help our
favourite charities, whether by volunteer
support or tax-efficient planned giving.

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