🔔 Every penny counts

Following on from last week’s ‘Remember a charity week’ aimed at inspiring people to leave a donation in their Will, we look at charities and how they could benefit from expert advice on cash.

According to the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), the UK public donated £9.7 billion to charities in 2016, with legacies currently the largest single income sourced and worth over £2.4 billion a year.

As more and more charities compete for donations, it really is the case that every penny counts. Yet many charities could be missing out on thousands of pounds of interest every year by leaving funds languishing in low or zero interest paying accounts, despite the fact they could be earning much higher returns if they moved their money elsewhere.

The Concierge Cash Team at Savings Champion works with a variety of global, national and local charities, advising them on the best savings accounts.

One of our clients, The Gibraltar Naval Trust, for example, has earned more than £18,300 in additional interest over the past year after turning to Savings Champion for advice, even after fees for the service have been deducted.

Lieutenant Commander Duncan Phillippo, trustee and fund manager for the Gibraltar Naval Trust, which supports service personnel and their dependent family members with grants and short-term accommodation while they are serving in Gibraltar, said;

“We didn’t want to take a high-risk approach and we needed to maintain the capital whilst earning as much interest as possible. Our priorities were that the money is secure, but also that we have flexibility to get the funds out when we need them. The charity’s money has been spread across a number of providers to ensure protection from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The FSCS protects savings of up to £85,000 per person or charity/business, per banking licence, so if a savings provider runs into financial difficulties, funds up to this limit will be safe.

We all know it’s important for everyone to make their cash work as hard as possible, but arguably it’s even more essential for a charity to earn as much interest as it can to maximise the value of the generous donations it has worked so hard to raise, until the money is used.

The Concierge Cash Service at Savings Champion is available to charities, businesses and individuals with more than £100,000 of savings, so call us today on 0808 164 6466 or download our Concierge Cash Services Guide for individuals or for business and charities and learn more about how we can help you.