How to have a charitable Christmas, without breaking the bank
November 01, 2003
As both a registered charity and an authorised bank, it is able to offer the following tips to help celebrate a charitable Christmas and an ethical New Year:
How to have a less taxing Christmas. Corporations wishing to act in a way that is socially responsible are often thwarted by the small returns this provides to the bottom line. By investing in Charity Bank, companies can invest in charities and community enterprise throughout the UK – meaning that the money really works to help improve the lives of people and communities in which we all live. Money invested in Charity Bank’s Community Investment Tax Relief Account (CITRA) receives a 5% tax break every year for 5 years (that’s 25% tax relief over 5 years!) plus up to 2% gross interest – meaning that it also works for the investor.
Top Christmas wishes. “I want to feel that I’m actually making a difference”. As an HR tool, CSR can be very effective as it gives employees the satisfaction of working in a company that is socially and morally good. Charity Bank regularly reports on how invested money is working in the community, thus enabling the company to communicate the benefits of its investment. Charity Bank’s UK wide portfolio also affords opportunities for employee volunteering and engagement.
Christmas Past. There is a myth that supporting community development finance is all about money and nothing about volunteer time, skills and enthusiasm. With Charity Bank there are lots of ways that employees can get involved from skill sharing to raw muscle. Employees can also have their own deposit accounts, leveraging the activities of their company.
Christmas Present: Christmas bonuses with a bonus. Many organisations in the city are giving Christmas bonuses with the proviso that a certain percentage is used charitably. Investing the Christmas bonus in Charity Bank means that the money can work for the common good, and may be eligible for a tax break if left for 5 years, until such time as longer term spending plans are made.
Christmas Future: Change the way you think about banking.
Conventionally, money invested in a bank is channelled to companies, often known only by their share price or ethical policy. Charity Bank funds local and national charities, mainly unknown beyond their communities, to help them maintain and develop their critical facilities for disadvantaged or under-invested communities. Corporate investment in Charity Bank earns more than pounds and pence – a price cannot be put on opportunity, social justice, trust or hope. The real return comes from supporting projects and people that can transform our communities. Even Ebenezer Scrooge came to see the value of social as well as financial capital.
If Charity Bank is seen as just another bank, it will have failed. Charity Bank has been created to show that credit can be a power for good, and that banking can be a tool for communities rather than merely a facility for business and self-interest.
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