Gift Aid Envelopes

Offering envelopes can be used in relation to Gift Aid donations in two ways:

Firstly, you can issue envelopes to regular givers and donors. These envelopes will usually incorporate a reference linking the donation to the donor for whom there is a separate Gift Aid declaration. Such envelopes may also contain a printed date for each week or month. This can encourage more regular offerings, even when an individual is not able to attend on a given Sunday.

Secondly, you can make available envelopes which incorporate a Gift Aid declaration form. These envelopes are often used for one-off donations. These envelopes must be retained for six years after the end of the accounting period in which the donation was made.

For audit purposes, the congregation is advised to keep a representative sample of used envelopes given during a period of at least one month per year for four years, including envelopes used for donations not eligible for Gift Aid. For example, a church may decide to keep every general giving envelope received throughout the month of August each year. After a period of four years, the church will hold four months' envelopes, all received during August for the preceding four years. This would continue on a rolling basis.

Most Gift Aid envelope suppliers can also provide weekly recording systems to help a Treasurer or Gift Aid Convener with record-keeping.

Dated envelopes may, of course, be used by non-Gift Aid donors to help maintain regular giving habits. It is important, however, to keep track of which numbered envelopes are eligible for Gift-Aid and which are not. Some congregations use different coloured envelopes to distinguish between the two categories.

Please continue to encourage regular givers to give by monthly or weekly standing order from their bank account rather than through weekly envelopes. Standing orders save time, money and trees, and lead to more reliable income and consistent cash-flow. Offerings given by standing order are eligible for Gift Aid, subject to the usual parameters of the scheme. A downloadable standing order form is available.