Gift Aid would not have happened were it not for the Duke of Edinburgh, says CAF

Duke of Edinburgh visits CAF new Kings Hill offices
Duke of Edinburgh visits CAF new Kings Hill offices

Gift Aid would not have happened were it not for the Duke of Edinburgh, the Chief executive of Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) has said.

The Duke of Edinburgh had been the patron of CAF, which helps to get resources into the charity sector, since it was founded as an independent organisation in 1974.

When he stepped down from public life in 2017 the CAF was one of the few charities that the Duke chose to remain a patron of and in paying tribute to him the charity thanked the Duke for his “irreplaceable and invaluable contribution”.

One such contribution is that of Gift Aid, which Neil Heslop, Chief executive at CAF, said would probably have not happened without him.

“He played a very important role in the middle eighties, he brought together a number of people in an initiative that ultimately led to the creation of gift aid, which was an incredibly important reform that was implemented in tax arrangements, channelling an enormous amount of funding.

“That may or may not have happened without him, I suspect not,” he told the Telegraph.

In 1985, the Duke presided over a meeting to look at how to increase corporate support for charitable organisations and public understanding of the sector.

Some of those at that meeting went on to form the Council for Charitable Support, whose members encouraged the government to create what is now known as Gift Aid.

Gift Aid was introduced in the Finance Act 1990 for donations given after 1 October 1990, but was originally limited to cash gifts of £600 or more.

The scheme is now available to charities and Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCs). It means they can claim an extra 25p from HMRC for every £1 you donate.

Gift Aid means millions of pounds extra go to the charity sector and Mr Heslop said the Duke’s contribution is “counted literally in the billions of pounds”.

Last year, CAF worked with philanthropists and corporations to get in excess of 700 million pounds into the sector into roughly 70,000 charities and 100 countries.

Mr Heslop continued: “He has been a key part of building the organisation up to that kind of level of contribution.

“His contribution was quite profound. I genuinely think his contribution has been unique. I certainly can't think of another example of an individual who made the kind of contribution that he did.”

Mr Heslop said the money the Duke helped raise has had a “very direct, profound impact for millions and millions of people around the world.”

The Duke was patron, president or a member of over 780 organisations, which even after his retirement he continued to be associated with, although he no longer played an active role by attending engagements.

In a tribute posted on their Twitter account CAF said: “The Duke of Edinburgh has been our Patron since 1974.

“He was a respected and much loved supporter of the Charities Aid Foundation as well as hundreds of other charities and organisations. His irreplaceable and invaluable contribution to CAF and our nation will be sorely missed.”