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It’s a simple process to Gift Aid your donations—and it makes a world of difference
What’s so great about Gift Aid? You can increase the value of your donation by 25% without paying a penny more. When you choose to Gift Aid, charities receive an extra 25% from the UK government on top of your donation, provided you’re a UK taxpayer. This means, if you sponsor one child for one year, Compassion can receive an additional £96 in Gift Aid income at no extra cost to you.
For many of us, deciding to Gift Aid our donation is as easy as ticking a box. But for the children and families Compassion serves, that simple decision can be a lifeline.
Gift Aid funds Child Survival Interventions
Our Child Survival Interventions enable local church partners to provide vital support to pregnant mothers and babies during their early years. Expectant mothers are given access to antenatal check-ups and trained birth attendants, as well as provision of nutritious food and safe water. In addition, families are offered mentoring and parenting workshops. Over the last year, Gift Aid helped us to support 2,054 mothers and babies to have a healthier start.
Gift Aid funds enable us to continue helping mothers like Adjowa who says, “I still can’t believe the project paid for all our medical expenses! My daughter and I wouldn’t have made it if Compassion hadn’t helped.”
Adjowa was one month pregnant when her husband, Antoine, was involved in a car accident, leaving him seriously injured. Soon after, Adjowa was laid off from her job as a cleaner. The family suddenly had no income—and no prospects for earning.
Unable to pay their rent, they were evicted. Eating became a luxury they could only afford every couple of days.
One day, Adjowa’s sister-in-law heard about a Compassion project at the local church that was helping mothers and babies, so she encouraged Adjowa to go and find out more. “The first support I received was a food kit,” says Adjowa. “I will never forget it. For the first time in months, we ate normally, and weren’t obliged to skip meals for days.”.
She also received support for medical care, starting with a prenatal check. The project paid for all medical fees and supplied her with clothes and hygiene items. Baby Eyram was born in hospital and survived thanks to swift interventions by the medical staff.
“I will never forget what Compassion has done for me,” says Adjowa. “The workers and the other mothers from the programme have become my family. I’m so grateful to have them.”
Gift Aid funds food crisis programmes
As we watch inflation and food prices continue to rise in our own supermarkets, costs of basic commodities are skyrocketing around the world. This has presented very real challenges for our local church partners as funds don’t go nearly as far as in previous years.
Gift Aid funds can allow us to bridge the gaps caused by inflation and rising costs. Thanks to Gift Aid, we’ve been able to use £4.5 million in the last two years to fund both short-term food relief, and longer-term food stability initiatives, such as drought-resistant seed and livestock. Over £1 million has supported food crisis relief in Ethiopia, where mum of three, Samiya, says, ‘”Every day is a struggle.”
Mum of three, Samiya, was so desperate, she considered taking her own life as she thought it would be better for her children to receive insurance money to help them survive their severe food shortage. Thankfully, staff from her local church heard of her need and surrounded the family with support and provisions. ”I smile amid all the crisis because of the Compassion project,” Samiya says. “Life remains challenging, but through all the struggle, knowing I have a place to run to and people who care for me is a great comfort.”
Gift Aid supports innovative approaches to serving children
Last year, thanks to Gift Aid, 6,363 children received support across 24 projects using an innovative new approach. In Rwanda, Uganda and Ghana, Compassion is partnering with local churches to start programmes that involve collective support rather than one-to-one sponsorship.
This new way of working accelerates our ability to serve more children more quickly. Gift Aid allows us to fund these projects which are designed by local churches to best serve the specific needs of their own communities.
Emmanuel Ahimbisibwe, the National Director of Uganda, is already seeing transformation in some of their most vulnerable communities. ”Originally, school enrolment was one of the causes of high illiteracy rates and one of the greatest challenges. We are glad to report that our school enrolment for programme participants in one community is at 100% with all the 252 children and youth [now] enrolled in school. For the first time, we also have a child who will be sitting Primary Seven level this year.”
What your Gift Aid means
Lives are changed when you choose to Gift Aid your donations. Gift Aid allows us to respond to needs as they arise, and to expand the reach of our work even further.
Every £1 donated to Compassion will be worth £1.25 if you choose to Gift Aid your donations. This can work out as being £96 if you sponsor a child for a year.
How can you help?
Please let us know your Gift Aid status. You can do so by going into your myCompassion account and clicking on the button in the Gift Aid box. Or, if you’re a Compassion UK App user, you can navigate to ‘Account Details’ and select ‘Sponsorship Preferences’.
Still have questions?
If you’re unsure whether you are eligible to Gift Aid your donations, we’ve put together some answers to Frequently Asked Questions. Click on the button below to read through them.
If you have further questions, our friendly team are available to help you out. You can phone, email or live chat; find all our contact details here.
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