Charitable giving in the UK is both generous and widespread. In 2024 alone, donors gave more than £15 billion to good causes. Yet recent coverage in The Times highlights a growing disconnect between generosity and efficiency particularly among higher- and additional-rate taxpayers.
As the article notes, many people who are eligible to reclaim tax relief on charitable donations simply don’t realise they can, or don’t know how to do so effectively. The result is that millions of pounds of potential relief go unclaimed each year, and charitable giving is often less impactful than it could be.
At Terraverde, addressing this gap is central to our work.
The Problem Isn’t Willingness — It’s Awareness and Structure
The Times article makes an important point: most people don’t give to charity for tax reasons — but that doesn’t mean tax efficiency should be ignored.
Gift Aid alone can increase a donation by 25% for charities, yet higher- and additional-rate taxpayers are also entitled to reclaim further relief personally. Despite this, only a fraction of eligible donors actually do so.
With frozen income tax thresholds pulling more people into higher tax bands, this issue is becoming more widespread, not less. Many donors now qualify for relief without realising their tax position — and without any change in their behaviour or income.
Why This Matters for Donors and Charities
When charitable giving isn’t structured properly:
donors may pay more tax than necessary
charities may receive less support than they otherwise could
long-term giving becomes harder to sustain
By contrast, when donations are planned efficiently:
charities receive larger, more reliable funding
donors feel confident increasing or maintaining their suppo
generosity becomes sustainable rather than ad-hoc
This is where Terraverde adds real value.
How Terraverde Helps Turn Generosity Into Impact
Terraverde works with higher-rate taxpayers, limited company owners, self-employed professionals and corporates to ensure charitable giving is both meaningful and efficient.
We help donors:
✔️ Understand What Relief They’re Entitled To
Many donors simply don’t know what they can reclaim — we make this clear and actionable.
✔️ Structure Donations the Right Way
Whether giving personally, through a company, or using a blended approach, we ensure the structure benefits both donor and charity.
✔️ Integrate Giving Into Wider Financial Planning
So charitable donations complement income, business profits, tax planning and longer-term goals.
✔️ Support Sustainable, Ongoing Giving
Helping clients move from one-off donations to well-planned, long-term support for the causes they care about.
Beyond Lifetime Giving
The Times article also highlights declining levels of charitable giving through wills — despite clear inheritance tax advantages. This reinforces the need for joined-up thinking around philanthropy.
Terraverde helps clients consider:
lifetime giving
business-led philanthropy
legacy and estate planning
So charitable intent is preserved — and amplified — over time.
A Shared Goal
The message from recent media coverage is clear: the system already rewards generosity — but too often, people don’t access those rewards.
Terraverde exists to help change that.
By helping donors give more efficiently, we:
strengthen charities
empower donors
and ensure generosity achieves everything it should
If you want your charitable giving to work harder — for you and for the causes you support — Terraverde can help.
Set up a call with one of our mentors to talk through how Terraverde can help, sign up with your email address at https://www.terraverde.org.uk/
