Manifestos for philanthropy

Angela Smith MP (Labour),
minister for the Third Sector, Cabinet Office

Understanding the value of community has long been at the heart of Labour’s mission. In government, we’ve recognised the unique contribution made by philanthropists in helping to foster and support strong communities, both at the national and local levels.

Modern philanthropy is, however, not simply about giving money – important though that is – it is also about giving your time or your expertise. The decision to volunteer or to donate is a private one. However, I believe government’s role is to  acilitate the growth of a culture of giving: to help people build regular giving into their everyday lives, so that they can contribute to the causes that matter to them.

I’m proud of the fact that Labour extended Gift Aid so that every donation made by the taxpayer was eligible for tax relief – part of a package of measures which also abolished the ceiling on donations through the payroll, offered a 10% top-up on those donations, and encouraged gifts of shares.

Recognition and celebration of giving is immensely important, and government, as well as donors, charities, beneficiaries, fundraisers and intermediaries can play their part. We should recognise that people in the UK are extremely generous and we are proud that giving levels in this country are amongst the highest in Europe.

I believe that government should be open to new perspectives on supporting a culture of giving. Our Volunteer Brokerage Scheme and National Talent Bank are providing volunteering opportunities to some of the people most affected by the global economic downturn.

Nick Hurd MP (Conservative),
shadow minister for charities, social enterprise and volunteering

Britain is a relatively generous nation. We give away 0.7% of our national wealth, and millions of people give time to help others.

However I think we can do better. My party is committed to exploring how government can help create new ‘social norms’ around higher levels of giving, both of time and money. It is part of our mission to encourage people to feel a greater sense of social responsibility and depend less on ‘big government’.

If we could help create the conditions where it is considered normal to give away 1% of your income, if you can spare it, we could unlock so much potential for charities to help more people. I am not sure that tax is a big driver, although we have said that we will look at reforming Gift Aid to make it more efficient, and tax breaks to stimulate social investment in the most deprived areas.

I think it is about finding ways to inspire more people to connect with the joy of giving, and helping them do that on a systematic basis. I am interested in encouraging more to be done through the workplace, with the help of progressive employers who see the commercial benefit of a really effective community programme. There is much more we can do to connect local wealth generators with the opportunity to help their local community. We need to encourage more role models from different walks of life to inspire and motivate others to follow their lead.

Jenny Willott MP (Lib Dem),
shadow charities spokesperson

There has been an 11% fall in the total amount of giving over the last year, in particular driven by a substantial fall in the average size of donations from higher earners. At this difficult time, the government has a role to play in doing more to encourage a culture of giving, irrespective of the country’s economic health. 

Most giving is impulsive. So, minor barriers can be a major deterrent. The government would encourage giving by minimising the hassle factor.

They could promote and support the integration of taxeffective charitable giving accounts with mainstream banking, so that donors can give money and claim Gift Aid far more easily, especially through online banking. By offering this to anyone with a savings account, the ease of giving would be advertised to the vast majority of the population, and once people get into the habit of giving they tend not to stop.

We know that people who volunteer for a charity are subsequently far more likely to donate in the future, so reducing barriers to volunteering encourages long-term relationships with charities.

However, we are currently seeing more barriers rather than fewer. The recession has created a veritable army of potential volunteers: people seeking work who want to maintain existing skills and develop new ones. They are too often given misinformation and told that if they volunteer, their benefits will be cut. This needs to be cleared up, as the volunteers of today are the philanthropists of tomorrow.

Linda Fabiani MSP (SNP)

From the Glasgow Victorian community leaders who sought to improve public health to presentday Scottish entrepreneur philanthropists who fund povertyalleviation projects both at home and overseas, the tradition of giving to improve the welfare of others is entrenched in Scottish society.

The breadth of such giving is immense – community theatre to Scottish Opera; small local business teaming up with a local voluntary care organisation; the work of the Wood Family Trust in Scotland and Africa.

This commitment of course should also apply to any government, to any political Party which is privileged to be given power to make decisions which affect so many people. So, for maximum advantage, non-replication and focus on desired objectives it makes sense that, where possible, national and local government works with – directly or in parallel – those who volunteer financially or in kind.

At national government level in Scotland this is recognised and encouraged: ‘Inspiring Scotland’ was set up to bring together investment by philanthropists, grant-making trusts and foundations, business investors and government funds to target teenagers not in education, employment or training: The Scottish Government’s International Development programme actively seeks business-partnership funding for support projects in Malawi: ‘Arts in Business’ is funded by government to match local businesses with arts and culture groups and projects in their areas.

Promotion of a culture of giving is fine and good, but we have to recognise and celebrate that there are advantages on both sides of the equation – benefits to the recipients and extraordinary rewards to the donors.

Margaret Ritchie MLA for South Down (SDLP),
minister for social development, Northern Ireland.

As minister for social development, I welcome this opportunity to acknowledge the enormous contribution made by philanthropists to the process of peace building and civil society in NI. To name but a few, the investments of Atlantic Philanthropies, Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust and the Community Foundation NI have made a significant impact over the years.

Much remains to be done to build a ‘Shared Future’ for everyone in NI. People acting together will achieve this, whether that is through donating their time as volunteers, ideas, enthusiasm, leadership or money. I continue to champion volunteers who make a difference to so many lives and communities donating that very valuable commodity – time. I am currently developing the first ever NI Volunteering Strategy.

A step change is required to achieve a Shared Future for NI – it is our biggest and most important challenge for all other success depends upon it. This will demand efforts on the part of every person in NI and political leadership. I will play my full part and have begun a conversation with the people of NI through a series of public meetings across the region on social development and a Shared Future. There is a valuable role for philanthropists in providing ‘external challenge’, acting as a catalyst for some of the ‘uncomfortable’ and difficult issues we as a community must address. Many people here have taken risks for peace but we still need people, including philanthropists, to take risks for progress to a genuinely Shared Future for everyone.

Dai Lloyd AM (Plaid Cymru)

The lifeblood of Plaid Cymru is its army of volunteers. The membership of Plaid Cymru is made up of ordinary, hardworking people who are active in their communities.

The party’s primary source of income is received from its membership, on average members give £4 a month, which sustains the party’s work throughout the years. It is the volunteerrs of Plaid Cymru, who give their time and money that was so crucial in securing a successful referendum on devolving power to Wales.

One of the benefits of devolution (despite the limited settlement) is that charitable and other voluntary organisations now have a focal point for their activities which is closer to their communities. The National Assembly is an institution which is open and responsive to the ideas of the voluntary sector. This, I believe, has provided a boost to the voluntary sector and helped to create a more participative and stronger civic society in Wales.

While I value the important work done by charitable organisations and the acts of kindness and humanity by philanthropists I would urge a note of caution. Plaid Cymru believes that governments have a responsibility to provide universal public services to all. We do not buy into the theory that the state should be rolled back so that the charitable sector can take over. The charitable sector has an important role to play in supporting vulnerable people but it is not an excuse for rolling back state services as those on the right of the political spectrum would argue.

Jean Lambert MEP for London (Green Party)

Giving is not solely about money. Greens want to encourage a culture of giving time to the community. We want to sustain funding to local and national organisations that support and promote volunteering. We could encourage more of a culture of philanthropy in the UK if we had more of a culture of communities working together. The reason people give is they believe collective action will make a difference. They know that such donations are going to organisations in the third sector which are responsive to human relationships, to the needs that are not always identified or prioritised by government or society in general. We need a budget process, city by city and town by town, that involves communities deciding budgets together. Unused buildings could be given to community groups to develop for their own uses. We would like to use schools out of hours as community centres. These initiatives would encourage people to give their own time, to develop skills, and for local groups to manage resources locally.

Yes, the government could change the tax system, but a longer-term fix would be to abandon the policies that have cut back the state and result in public service provision being passed on to charities that then need more donations to achieve “full cost recovery.” An emphasis on encouraging community activism might lead to more local giving for immediate effect. Stronger and moreempowered local communities will also be able to find innovative solutions to issues like peak oil and climate change.