Managing Gift Aid declarations (UK only)

ChurchSuite's Giving module enables churches and other organisations to easily keep track of the Gift Aid declarations of their givers. The Giving module makes it easy to upload and store a digital 'scan' of a paper declaration, eliminating the need to retain paper copies.

Adding declarations in ChurchSuite

Working within the Givers section of the Giving module search or navigate to the giver's profile page and click on the Declarations tab. Click Add declaration.

On the Add declaration pop-up, complete all the details as appropriate. Typically, a Gift Aid declaration is likely to be in respect of all donations made by a giver, i.e. All Funds, but note the option to select a specific Fund if the declaration supplied is fund-specific e.g. just for donations for your 'Building Project' fund. Add the declaration's Start Date (required), which may not be the same as the date the declaration was signed. For ongoing (enduring) declarations, where the giver has not specified an End Date, you can leave this field empty.

Once you are happy with all the details, click Save to add the declaration. The newly added declaration is now listed on the giver's profile in the Declarations section. There's no limit to the number of declarations that can be added for a giver. Note the Action menu options to Add file (see next section) or to further Edit or Delete a declaration in the list. Note that deleting a declaration will also delete the uploaded declaration file and set previously claimed Gift Aided donations as 'overclaimed' (unless covered by another declaration).

Selecting Add file from a declaration's Action menu opens the file uploader. Drag and drop a suitably prepared PDF, JPEG or PNG file into the drop zone or click to browse your device and select the file.

The file is immediately uploaded to your ChurchSuite account against the declaration. Click to View file at any time - which will open in a new browser tab - ideal if you need to print the file using your browser's "Print" option.

Select View changes to see a "changes" log maintained whenever a declaration is edited or changed. Note also the option to Remove file - enabling you to remove the current file, perhaps to upload a new file. Since a Gift Aid declaration is an official document required by HMRC, you may need to print a copy of a declaration before removing the file. Removing a file is immediate, permanent and irreversible!

Declarations auto-added by ChurchSuite Donate

ChurchSuite Donate enables churches and charitable organisations to receive online donations - see the related support articles for further information about setting up and using Donate.

As part of the process of making an online donation, a giver can optionally "Gift Aid" their donation, requiring them to complete full details of their name, address and postcode, from which an electronically-signed Gift Aid declaration is auto-added against the giver's profile in respect of the donation(s) made.

Let's look at the giver "user experience" and then we'll look at the giver profile and Gift Ad declaration created in the Giving module. Using your Donate form, the giver will enter their donation amount, select the fund (if there is more than one fund), and specify the frequency of their donation and the method by which they are giving. For funds set as "Gift-aid-able", the giver can optionally tick to Gift Aid their donation and, depending on your Giving module settings, the giver can be invited to increase their donation to cover the online payment processing transaction fees so that you receive their full donation.

Donate will collect all the HMRC-required information (if not already held), such as the giver's name, address and postcode to create their giver profile. A digitally signed declaration will also be added to their giver profile in respect of the donation being made.

Once a giver's donation has been processed through Donate, the Giving module is updated accordingly. Where Donate matches an online giver to an existing giver profile (based on email address), the donations and Gift Aid declaration are added to their existing profile. For recurring donations, and if the matched giver already has an existing Gift Aid declaration covering the fund and date of the donation, a new Gift Aid declaration is not added. For one-off donations, and if the matched giver already has an existing Gift Aid declaration covering the fund and date of the donation, a new Gift Aid declaration is always added and the donation and declaration are linked. Where Donate is unable to match to an existing giver, a new unlinked giver profile is added to the module and the donations and Gift Aid declaration are added too.

Clicking to view the file displays the full declaration, which can be printed if desired.

Remember, the electronic declaration added is only ever in respect of the donation(s) made through Donate. Donate is unable to add declarations backdated for 4 years to cover any previously made donations. It is also not possible for Donate to create "All funds" declarations - declarations are fund-specific for the fund selected in Donate by the giver.

For one-off donations, a one-day declaration is added covering the donation's date and fund only. For recurring donations, an enduring declaration is added with a start date for the same date as the donation date and the donation's fund, with no end date added.

Adding declarations in My ChurchSuite

Givers with My ChurchSuite access can view a list of active (and expired) declarations in their My Giving section. The Declarations section is only shown if declaration management is first enabled in the Giving module settings.

From the cogwheels icon in the top-right corner of the module, click on the My ChurchSuite Options tab and check your Settings and Enable My ChurchSuite access is enabled.

Scroll down to the Declarations section and click Edit to make changes and Enable declaration management.

Optionally tick to Allow new declarations to be added - without which, givers will only be able to view their existing declarations and will be unable to add new declarations. An optional Message can be added to provide further information to your givers about Gift Aid and declarations - the message is displayed on the Declarations tab when a giver is viewing their My Giving details.

Once enabled, and perhaps when running a stewardship campaign, it's really easy to direct givers with My ChurchSuite access to respond and Add a declaration. In compliance with HMRC Gift Aid rules, givers using My ChurchSuite are only able to add a declaration if they have a valid UK address recorded in the My Details section of their profile.

Within the My Giving section of My ChurchSuite, members can add Gift Aid declarations, including specifying which fund the declaration applies to, clicking Add declaration.

On the Add declaration pop-up, they'll select the Fund (or --All funds--) and the declaration start date. The system will allow the start date to be backdated up to 4 years in line with the current HMRC Gift Aid rules that permit charitable organisations to reclaim Gift Aid on donations made in the previous four years. The end date is optional - if left blank, the declaration will run indefinitely until a member chooses to end their declaration.

Once added, the only change possible by a giver is to End Declaration - perhaps if their tax circumstances change and they no longer pay sufficient tax for you to continue to claim Gift Aid on their donations. Ending a declaration sets the declaration's end date to today. If the giver wishes their declaration to be ended on a different date they will need to communicate with your finance office to have the request processed by a Giving module User.

Identifying missing Gift Aid declarations

In addition to viewing reports of Active and Deleted declarations, the Giving module's reports section includes a Declarations Missing report to help identify Gift Aid declarations that may be potentially missing for your givers (UK customers only).

Running the Declarations Missing report you can view all active givers without a current Gift Aid declaration on file. You can filter by specific funds or tags. This helps you to identify who you may wish to contact to enquire whether they are willing to Gift Aid their donations.