How do the Gift Aid envelopes work?

These envelopes have been produced centrally by the Grand Charity to meet the Inland Revenue criteria.  These will be supplied on demand at no cost to the Lodge, Chapter or Province or member.  Variations should not be produced locally without agreement in advance from the Grand Charity.

Once a member completes a Gift Aid Declaration, he will receive a quantity of personalised labels from the Grand Charity.  These labels are uniquely coded with his own Grand Charity reference number and should be stuck to the front of the Standard Gift Aid envelopes for all donations that are destined for the “Essex 2011” Relief Chest. The only things that the member has to do is put money (or a cheque payable to “The Grand Charity”) into the labelled envelope and hand it to his Charity Steward.  Grand Charity will then do the rest.

Remember that each brother’s labelled envelope is unique to him.  It is not therefore possible for one brother to use another brother’s envelopes.  If a brother runs out of envelopes or mislays his stock of them, he should ask for a further supply.  If he mentions this to his Lodge Charity Steward, the Charity Steward will no doubt arrange it for him.

These personal labelled envelopes have the following information on them;

·        The member’s Grand Charity reference number;

·        His name.

·        His Address.

All donations intended for Essex 2011 should be paid directly into the Essex 2011 Relief Chest.  Both the brother and his nominated Lodge will be credited.

Visitors’ envelopes

Visitor’s Envelopes are identical to the member’s envelope but without the personal details.  All Visitors to your lodges, who can sign a Gift Aid declaration, should use one of these.  These envelopes contain their own Gift Aid declaration and the require the following additional information.

·        The full name and address of the donor including his postcode;

·        A tick in a box to indicate that he is a UK taxpayer and pays enough tax to cover the enclosed donation.

Again, the donation should go direct to the Essex 2011 Relief Chest if is given for that purpose.  It should only go to the Lodge Relief Chest if it is meant for general charitable purposes of the Lodge.  The Lodge is free to transfer funds to Essex 2011 at a later date if it so resolves.

If a non-Lodge member does not wish to make a Gift Aid declaration, there is no need for him or her to use an envelope.  These donations can be collected and lumped together for depositing into the Essex 2011 Relief Chest if given for that purpose or the Lodge’s own Relief Chest if given for general charitable purposes.  You should be encouraging all visitors to your lodges to support us by signing a Gift Aid Declaration if possible.

What should I do after collecting the envelopes?

The envelopes should be collected and opened by a member of the Lodge, Chapter or Province who receives the money on behalf of The Grand Charity.  He should note the amount each envelope contains on the top right hand corner of the envelope. 

Because in normal circumstances only the Charity Steward has knowledge of amounts given by individuals, this task should normally be performed by the Charity Steward.

Donation Verification – As most donations given in this manner will frequently be cash, it is assumed that the Lodge, Chapter or Province will bank the cash proceeds and issue a cheque to cover the total amount.  To adhere to Inland Revenue guidelines, the source of the donations covered by such a cheque not drawn on the donor’s own account will need to be verifiable.

To make this process as painless as possible, a form has been designed and attached to these notes.  Click here to download a copy.  This form must be completed by the member of the Lodge, Chapter or Province who has collected and opened the envelopes (usually the Charity Steward).  It should then be sent to The Grand Charity Relief Chest office

A submission should consist of:

·        the completed form;

·        all completed envelopes;

·        any cheques received from donors (making sure they are payable to The Grand Charity”); and

·        the Lodge cheque representing the cash receipts.

·        The Relief Chest number that the funds are to be credited to.  This will normally be the Essex 2011 relief chest E1004B or the Lodge Relief Chest number

·        The name and number of the Lodge / Chapter that is to be credited with the donation for Honorific purposes.

Without this schedule Grand Charity will not be able to reclaim tax, even if the envelopes have been correctly completed.

For further information regarding the Envelope scheme, in the first instance, contact your Area Representative who will be able to assist you. For the full Grand Charity Guidance notes click here

As a last resort the helpline will assist you by telephone or e-mail.

Need help with organising your Lodge? In the first instance email your enquiry to:

Essex 2011 Festival email helpline help@essex2011.org.uk  or phone helpline 01206-385364 (24hr answerphone)

All information on this website should be considered as copyrighted.  No information should be published without the express permission of the organising committee or its members.

"Essex 2011" Provincial Grand Charity Relief Chest number: E1004B