
The state of SME charity giving in the UK: The results are dismal
Only 2% of all UK charity income currently comes from the business sector, and with SMEs making up over 99% of all businesses in the UK, it means that smaller businesses are not pulling their weight when it comes to having a charitable policy.“There are 5.7 million SMEs in the UK, and annual charitable giving in total currently stands at ?10.3 billion.” ? InformiTo resolve this, it’s up to business owners themselves to incorporate charitable giving into their business planning, and for entrepreneurs who are starting a new business to drill it into the bones of the business from the outset.
Why should SME owners care? Here are four reasons why

What types of tax advantage are available through charitable giving, for me and my business?
Businesses can make donations from their sales or profits. These donations are deductible from the business? total profits in the year during which the donations are made.?Donations by businesses are offset against their profits, meaning that they can pay less corporation tax. If, however, you aren?t profitable, you cannot access this tax relief. We?d like to see cash giving incentivised, either through increasing the rate of tax relief on donations made so that the tax refund outweighs that of general business expenses, or through using a tax credit approach, so that businesses who are not in profit are also motivated to give.? ? Steven Drew, Informi?
You have to set up a CPA to give charitably as a business
Businesses have a legal obligation to set up a Commercial Participation Agreement (CPA) with every charity they intend to support. These exist to help protect charities? brands from being inappropriately leveraged by businesses for their own financial gain without the charity?s consent. Here is some additional advice about why setting up a CPA can benefit your business commercially?and operationally as well as helping you to fulfil charitable objectives.Share this story