Retail Gift Aid
Retail Gift Aid lets us claim an extra 25% on the sale of your donated items. So, if your donations sell for £10, we'll receive £12.50, helping us provide vital care for more patients and families.
What is Gift Aid?
Gift Aid is a government scheme that makes your donation worth 25% more at no extra cost to you. If you're a UK taxpayer and have paid sufficient Income Tax or Capital Gains Tax, we can claim this extra support to help more patients and families.
How to Gift Aid your shop donations
Step 1: Download our Retail Gift Aid declaration form
- Download, print and complete a retail Gift Aid declaration form and bring this along to one of our charity shops with your first donation
- Or fill out a form on the day
- We ask that you pre-book your donation slot so that one of our colleagues can be ready to assist you with your drop-off
- We will never share your details with third parties
Step 2: Tag your bags and donation items
- When you give your signed declaration form to one of our retail colleagues, they will provide you with a Donor ID and Gift Aid tags for your donations
- This ‘tag your bag’ method helps us track your items and claim Gift Aid when they sell
- You can also download and print our tags at home
- You only need to complete a declaration form once, but each time you donate items to any of our shops, please remember to ‘tag your bag’ or inform a member of our retail team that you are signed up to Gift Aid
Step 3: Keep us updated
If your tax status changes or you stop paying taxes, let us know. We want to ensure we are always compliant with HMRC regulations.
For further guidance on Gift Aid, notification of any changes, or to withdraw from the scheme, contact the Fundraising Team at giftaid@hokh.co.uk or call 01622 792200.
Thanks to Gift Aid, we received an additional £139,000 last year. This included £69,000 from donations and £70,000 from items donated to our charity shops, up 53% on the previous year.
Retail Gift Aid FAQs
If I’ve already signed a Gift Aid declaration with another charity, is that enough?
You can sign up to Gift Aid with lots of different charities but you will need to sign a Gift Aid declaration form for each of them.
Will you send me lots of marketing materials if I sign up for Retail Gift Aid?
When you sign up to Gift Aid you can optionally choose to receive other updates from us, for example about fundraising events in your area, or news about our work in the community helping terminally ill people. If you do not opt into these then we won't send them. As part of the rules of operating a retail gift aid scheme, we are required to tell you how much your items have raised each tax year. We currently do this once a year by email or letter.
Will Retail Gift Aid cost me anything?
No. As long as you are a UK taxpayer, and have paid enough income tax to cover the amount of gift aid we claim, adding Retail Gift Aid to your donation won't cost you anything.
How do you track my donations?
When you sign up to Retail Gift Aid, we create an account in our till system that lets us match you to your items. Every item you donate is then labelled with unique Gift Aid number, which is scanned when they get sold.
What happens if I lose my unique Gift Aid number?
Don't worry, we can still add Retail Gift Aid to your items. When you donate, tell the shop team you're already registered for Retail Gift Aid and they'll take some details to allow them to match your items to your Retail Gift Aid account.
I am not a UK taxpayer and my personal tax circumstances have changed. How do I contact you to change my personal details?
Unfortunately, you'll need to be at least a basic rate UK taxpayer to be able to add Gift Aid to your donation. If your circumstances change and you no longer pay tax, please contact us at your earliest convenience to let us know. If you have paid insufficient tax to meet the Gift Aid claimed by Heart of Kent Hospice, HMRC may seek to recover this sum from your directly, as it is your responsibility to pay any difference. You can send your Retail Gift Aid enquiries to gift.aid@hokh.co.uk or call our Fundraising Team at 01622 790195.
Is Retail Gift Aid the same as gift aid on cash donations?
The principle is the same but, as there are additional agency terms and conditions for Retail Gift Aid, the two are operated separately. If you've previously added Gift Aid to a cash donation or a sponsorship form, you'll also need to sign up to Retail Gift Aid separately. You can find out more about Gift Aid on cash donations by clicking the button below:
Gift AidI have signed up for Retail Gift Aid with another charity, do I still need to sign up with Heart of Kent Hospice?
Yes. Each charity will have their own Terms and Conditions, so it's important you're aware of these when you make a new Retail Gift Aid declaration. Each charity will also provide you with your unique Gift Aid number.
Get in touch
If you have any questions about Retail Gift Aid or you would like help completing your form, please contact us at gift.aid@hokh.co.uk or call our Fundraising Team at 01622 790195.