News for fundholders

This page carries useful news which to support fundholders in their role. Please bookmark it as a favourite and check for updates.

To find out more about any of these topics please get in touch with Ruth Bishop, Special Purpose Funds Manager at Guy’s and St Thomas' Charity on +44 (0) 20 7188 1204, or e-mail: ruth.bishop@gsttcharity.org.uk

Frequently asked questions
This is a new, regular feature which we hope will answer some common questions

How quickly will I get payment?

  • Help us minimise delays by enclosing your original receipts or invoices under cover of one of the pink 'request for payment' forms
  • We have a weekly cheque run. All pink forms should be received and processed by Wednesday morning for inclusion. Cheques are sent out early the following week.
  • Please allow extra time at busy periods, particularly in the run up to Christmas.

Can I ask for a consultancy or speaker's fee to be paid into a fund?

  • Unfortunately we cannot accept this type of fee directly from your client. This is because it is not a voluntary donation but a payment for a service for which, potentially, you may be liable to pay tax. You are free to accept the fee and then make a personal donation to the fund. The added advantage of this is that you can take advantage of gift aid.

Staff leaving presents
Under the latest version of the regulations for special purpose funds, retirement and leaving presents for staff may not be purchased from the funds. For further information please see page 20 of the Guy's and St Thomas' regulations (version 4) or page 26 of the PCT version (January 2008).

In addition, you should not pay any collections for staff that are leaving into a special purpose fund.

The Charity has a scheme for staff leaving or retiring after long service. Details are available here.

Results: Fundholder's questionnaire 2008
Thank you for responding to the 2008 fundholder's questionnaire. This has given us valuable feedback about fundholder's views.

What we are doing well:

  • Fundholders seem happy with our guidance in general – 88% found the written guidance either very good or good and 90% found contact with our staff very good or good in resolving queries.
  • 84% found our forms for authorizing expenditure and paying in donations either very good or good.

What could be improved:

  • There was a slight drop in the percentage finding the guidance on dealing with donations either very good or good compared to last year. We are investigating what we might do to improve this.
  • There was also a slight drop in the percentage who answered very good or good to being asked how easy they found it to comply with the regulations for special purpose funds. Thank you to fundholders who have helped with feedback on this issue.

The prize draw was won by Jill Robinson, so £100 has been credited to the Menopause Research fund. Congratulations!

Christmas Gifts and Parties
The Special Purpose Funds Committee, which oversees all the funds have decided we should confirm the Charity's policy on Christmas expenses. For more details please see the relevant sections of the special purpose fund regulations.

Can my fund support a staff or patient Christmas party?
Staff entertaining is not in itself charitable. However, the charitable object of some funds would allow this, for example, if the fund is for the benefit or staff or for the department/ward in general. This is permissible as the staff members work falls within the charitable object of the fund and the provision of benefits (such as a party) may be seen as furtherance of the charitable purpose of the fund.

Parties for patients may be supported by funds which are for patient welfare or for the general support of wards/clinical units.

How much can the party cost?
The party costs should not go beyond what a good employer should provide and should be modest. Our subsistence rates for special purpose funds are £32 a head - this is a maximum. The event should be accessible to all staff or patients eligible to benefit from the fund and the costs of other guests (e.g. partners, friends) cannot be charged.

How can the costs be charged?
Please send in receipts for reimbursement or invoices under cover of one of the pink request for payment form signed by the fundholder. On the pink form, please state the number of people attending so we know the amount per head.

Can I arrange another party at another time?
Unless the primary object of the fund is entertaining, we would not normally allow another party.

Can I buy staff or patients a Christmas gift from the fund?
Funds for staff welfare may be used to purchase very modest gifts for all staff of a certain grade/group eligible to benefit from the fund. Funds for patient welfare or for the general benefit of a ward/clinical unit may be used to purchase gifts for all eligible patients.

Gifts must not cost more than £10 per person and must not be in the form of cash or gift vouchers.

Help grow donations via gift aid
Please keep sending us your donor's names and addresses. We can then send them a pre-completed gift aid form for them to sign and return allowing us to add an extra 28p to the fund for every £1 they donate.

Thanks to the names and addresses you have been sending us gift aid recovery remains high. Of the donations from individuals to special purpose funds (excluding the Evelina appeal) in 2006/07 64.3% of donations were gift aided and in 2007/8 62.9% were gift aided.

If you'd like to know what the gift aid donations are for your fund, please contact Ruth ext. 81204.

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