CHY3 & CHY4 Forms - Tax Relief on Donations Revolutionised

One of my pet hates is when people say something "will revolutionise fundraising"...but this will revolutionise fundraising (in Ireland): it's the new CHY3 and CHY4 forms for tax relief on donations.

We all know and love their older brother CHY2 and the changes that came in to effect this year will mean charities should get more in the long run (although will probably see a dip in income in 2013).

The CHY3 & CHY4 forms have a similar result: you get tax relief on donations over €250 in the calendar year but there are some differences which will change everything you do:


The Forms Can Be Signed At Anytime
This is huge - you no longer need to wait until the following year to get the donor to sign the form. Instead, they can sign it at the time of donation (or in fact before their donation).

So at the point of any face-to-face recruitment you should also be attempting to get one of these forms completed, saving you trying to contact your donor months or years later. This should increase the amount of secured forms from 30-50% up to over 90%.

Similarly, any donations through DM, on-line or Telephone present an opportunity to get the form signed that week, rather than having to wait. This will impact how you construct all of your DM pieces and what you send out to any other donors.


The Forms Don't Specify Donation Amount
This is a weird one, because it means you now have the opportunity to get consent from donors who may not look like they're going to give €250, because you don't know what they're going to do in the future. If I commit to give you €100 this year are you going to ask me to sign a CHY form because I might end up giving you more? And how do you handle that conversation without seeming cheeky?


CHY3 Forms Last For 5 Years
The CHY4 lasts for a year and the CHY3 form last for 5 years - you can keep the donor's PPS number on file for this time. This is incredible because once the donor signs a CHY3 form you won't need to chase them up for 5 years (although it's important to keep their contact details up-to-date for when the form does expire).


They Can Be Renewed By Phone/Text/On-Line
But even when they expire the good news is they can be renewed by recorded phone, text or on-line if a record is kept.


Refunds Will Be Staggered
Apparently refunds will be staggered through the year - PAYE donors mostly in the first half of the year and Self-Assessed in the second half of the year.


How else is this going to affect your organisation?


I'm still pulling together information on these changes and I won't be held responsible for any mistakes in my interpretation of the changes! Special thanks to Bruce Clark of The Good Form and Richard Dixon of Concern for tweeting information on this!