Each year, we have to plug the gap between subscription income and the costs of providing football for our membership. And the costs are going up each year, mainly due to increased charges for pitch use and equipment costs..
So… we’d like your help with raising some additional funding for Raiders. We’re introducing a new initiative to raise some additional income and help plug that gap.
Travel expenses and GiftAid
We already claim GiftAid on part of the Raiders subscription fee. Charities can generate additional income from GiftAid by paying expenses to volunteers who then pay back the value of their expense claim as a donation to the club. This reciprocal payment benefits from a GiftAid contribution of 25% of the donation. This is how it works:
- Volunteers claim mileage at 45p per mile on travel related to their involvement in the Charity.
- The Charity reimburses the volunteers.
- Volunteers then make a matching donation to the Charity. The Charity benefits by receiving a GiftAid payment at 25% of the value of the donation.
At Raiders this can apply to an appointed volunteer who travels to fulfill a volunteer role to support the Club:
- Trustees
- Committee Members
- AGCs
- Managers
- Assistant Managers
- Match Day Delegates
- Parent referees
Is this legal?
Yes! You can read the Government guidance in full. Here’s an extract:
- You can reimburse a volunteer for costs they have had to pay because of their work. Once you pay a volunteer, they can keep the money or pay part or all of it back to the charity as a Gift Aid payment.
It’s a practice that many major charities have adopted. For example, the RNLI reimburses its volunteers for travel expenses. The volunteers then pay back the same amount to the RNLI as a donation at the end of the year. It is also operated by several major football clubs that are charities. Another major youth club is raising £10,000 per year, using this approach. Managers, assistant managers, parent referees all claim mileage for travel to games, to meetings, to club related events where they help out. They then make reciprocal donations to the club.
What are we asking you to do?
Attached is a Raiders travel claim form, as an Excel spreadsheet.
- Keep a record, using this spreadsheet, of travel that you undertake as Raiders volunteer. This could be home and away matches, club, league or FA meetings at which you fulfil a volunteer role.
- The spreadsheet will calculate the travel claim payment at a rate of 45p per mile.
- At the end of the season, you submit the travel claim spreadsheet to the Raiders Administrator.
- The Raiders Administrator makes a BACS payment to the volunteer’s account or provides a cheque.
- At the same time, the volunteer provides a cheque for the matching amount, and a completed GiftAid form.
- Raiders then claims 25% of the donation though GiftAid.
So, it’s not too onerous, has the potential to raise significant funds for the club, enables us to keep our subscription rates down and continue to invest in facilities.
It’s not obligatory. But the more that participate the more funds we will raise.