May 15 2020 Small Business Grant Scheme to provide support for charities Categories: CharitiesCOVID-19 The Scottish Government has announced that they are extending the Small Business Grant Scheme to eligible charities who occupy rateable properties and meet the specific criteria. This will allow charities to apply for grants of up to £10,000 for properties which are in receipt of any Charitable Rates Relief or Sports Relief, but are otherwise more
Apr 27 2020 Supporting our charity of the year, SAMH, with our #TwoPointSixChallenge Categories: CharitiesPeople The cancellation of thousands of fundraising events up and down the country due to the ongoing pandemic has resulted in the loss of billions of income through fundraising events meaning many charities are facing unprecedented challenges. Some of the UK’s leading charity event organisers worked together to create the 2.6 Challenge to raise funds for the more
Apr 14 2020 Charities are encouraged to apply for the Wellbeing Fund Categories: CharitiesCOVID-19 There has been growing concern that some charities are facing unprecedented financial hardship due to the impact of COVID-19. On 8 April, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a £750m package to keep struggling charities afloat and also reiterated that they were eligible for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. The Scottish Government had previously pledged a £350m more
Apr 2 2020 COVID-19 guidance for charities published by OSCR Categories: CharitiesCOVID-19 Charities are understandably concerned about what to do during the COVID-19 pandemic and are having to rapidly adapt their operations to keep their organisations safe. Most charities will need to change the way they work during the outbreak and to help with this the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) have published COVID-19 guidance for charities, providing information more
Mar 30 2020 The impact of COVID-19 on the charity sector Categories: CharitiesCOVID-19 As the coronavirus continues to affect individuals, companies and charities alike, our specialist EQ Charities team have been supporting our diverse client base with their questions regarding the ongoing crisis. OSCR has been issuing guidelines which are updated regularly. This information can be viewed here, however, we know that there is no one size fits all more
Jan 31 2020 The guiding principles for protecting your charitable business against fraud Categories: Charities As mentioned in our previous article, fraud is an underlying problem for charities and raising awareness is key to combating the issue. During ‘Charity Fraud Awareness Week 2019’, the Charity Commission published a one-page summary detailing the 8 guiding principles on tackling fraud in charities. They are as follows: Fraud will always happen – simply being more
Dec 6 2019 Gift Aid – are you maximising claims on fundraising activities? Categories: Charities Charities need to know whether or not Gift Aid can be claimed on donations received from fundraising events to ensure that they maximise their income and to avoid making claims on any ineligible donations. Whilst there is a need for charities to understand Gift Aid requirements, such as receiving a valid declaration, this article will more
Oct 24 2019 The first steps to protecting your charity against internal fraud Categories: Charities You may be surprised to read that fraud in charities is an underlying problem. Higher profile cases such as Birmingham Dogs Home, where the chief executive was imprisoned for stealing £650,000 from the charity, are thankfully few and far between. The majority of chief executives and Trustees enter the charity sector to make a difference more
