Australia
Workplace Giving
Your company can stand up
It is easy for your company to make a real impact with the children of the world. All you have to do is set up a “Workplace Giving” program. Your employees will then be able to give to Save the Children through their pay. The admin is simple. The cost to the business is minimal. But your staff will thank you PLUS it’s a great way to show your commitment to the broader world. As a positive force for good in Australia and globally, Save the Children protects millions of children daily who are missing out on life’s essentials – security, water, food, basic health care, education. The benefit for your company: A Workplace Giving program is a cost effective way for your company to stand up and do something that truly makes a difference.
Supporting Save the Children at your work
If a gift of $5 a week sounds small to you – maybe it’s time to think again. Let’s say there are 200 people at your work. If you all give $5 a week – less than $1 a day - then that $5 each, amounts to $52,000 per year! And for Save the Children, that’s real money. It’s a new way of supporting us, called ‘Workplace Giving’ and it’s very rewarding!
Now, it costs you less: How would you feel if your $5 weekly contribution was costing you only $3.43? That’s what happens with Workplace Giving because it comes out of pre-tax dollars. (The example is assuming you are in the 31.5% tax bracket). You get an instant tax deduction, plus the good feeling of reaching out to the children of the world.
An easy way to give
Workplace Giving is an easy way of regularly donating to Save the Children out of pre-tax income. Organised through your employer, each donation is taken out of your pay automatically. It is so easy. And every cent you give, reaches Save the Children because your employer covers the low admin costs. With Workplace Giving, rather than giving and waiting for the tax deduction at the end of the year, the deduction is instant. And it means that giving costs you less than you think.
What are the steps for making it happen
Step 1. Employer begins a ‘Workplace Giving’ program by completing the on-line Contact Details Form and emailing it to Save the Children.
Step 2. Employee chooses an amount to give to Save the Children out of every pay (It’s a ‘set and forget’ system - but the amount can be changed at any time).
Step 3. The donation is taken out of the employee’s pay before tax is taken out (it’s a pre-tax donation).
Step 4. The amount of tax paid is reduced which means that the employee gets an immediate tax benefit.
Step 5. At the end of the tax year, the employer gives the employee a full record of the total amount of money donated to Save the Children through the year (there is no need for receipts along the way).
Frequently Asked Questions
How does the tax benefit work?
With Workplace Giving, you are giving a pre-tax donation. Your donation is taken out of your pay before tax is taken. Your taxable income is reduced. You pay less tax.
How much do you have to give?
Save the Children is happy to accept any amount. It’s completely your choice. No amount is too small to make a positive difference to the lives of disadvantaged children. The average Save the Children Workplace Giving donation is about $1 a day.
Do I get a receipt?
At the end of the tax year, your employer will give you a complete record of your donations. Save the Children does not issue individual receipts to employees. We issue each employer with a receipt (including an annual payment summary) for all payments received.
Employer Information: A great way to support your staff
Workplace Giving is a simple and practical way for your company to demonstrate its commitment to corporate social responsibility.
• A practical way to support your staff.
• An effective way for your staff to support Save the Children.
It is a simple low-cost and highly visible way of showing your company’s support for the world we live in.
Matching gifts
Some companies choose to match employee donations. You can match your employees ‘dollar-for-dollar’, or you can pay a percentage of the total they raise. It is a great way to offer added support to your staff. By matching employee contributions, employees know that their charitable donations go further and that their employer equals their commitment to community development.
How are donations receipted?
Once your Workplace Giving program is operating, employers advise employees of the annual amount they each donate. The employer can provide each employee with a letter or email that advises the total amount or, the information can be included on pay slips or yearly employee Group Certificates.
Confirming Save the Children status
If you want, you can easily check the tax deduction status of Save the Children. You can do this via the Australian Business Register at www.abr.gov.au or by phoning 1300 130 248. You’ll need to quote our ABN number which is: 99 008 610 035
Employees – a new way to get involved
You can now give to Save the Children through your pay office at work. Your donation to us comes out of your pre-tax pay. Workplace Giving is a simple yet powerful way for you, as an employee, to be involved in protecting vulnerable children through the work of Save the Children. Just look at the impact you can have with a regular donation:
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$20 per month - South Africa: Buys a blanket, shoes or school uniform which is distributed to child headed households. Blankets are vital in the highland areas where there is constant winter snow.
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$30 per month - Ethiopia: Support a child for a year to get treatment for pneumonia.
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$40 per month - India: Provides equipment for classrooms - blackboards, posters, learning aids in a Save the Children Education Centre.
A little contribution each pay, means the world to vulnerable children. What starts as small regular deductions can grow to a significant contribution especially if multiplied by a number of employees. How do I get started?
1. Firstly, your employer must have a Workplace Giving program. This is not difficult for employers to establish, so why not suggest it?
2. Once a Workplace Giving program is in place, all you have to do is contact your pay office. It’s that easy.
Banking Information
You can make payments to Save the Children by direct deposit/EFT or by cheque. Our preferred method is by EFT - as this keeps our administration costs low. In the reference field you must remember to include your company details so that we can reconcile your payments.
Save the Children Overseas Aid account BSB: 083-347 Account No: 57027-4193
Need more Information?
More information about Workplace Giving is available from the Australian Tax Office. Phone 13 28 66, or click on the link www.ato.gov.au/businesses/content.asp?doc=/content/34483.htm
Contact Us
As an employer, all you have to do is contact us. We’ll email you without delay with all the information you need. If you’d like to speak with someone at Save the Children about Workplace Giving we’d be delighted to hear from you. Please contact our Customer Service Team on:
• Phone 1800 76 00 11 or (03) 9811-4999
• Email workplacegiving@savethechildren.org.au
Please click here to download a workplace giving information pack [Adobe PDF, 281 Kb]