GB2423959A - Donation card - Google Patents

Abstract

A donation card 10 comprises a cover 11, connected to a main part 13 of the card by a fold line 12, and a counterfoil 14 separated therefrom by a perforated severance line 15. The card is marked with pre-printed wording indicating the charity, certification information, and tax related information on the counterfoil, and fields for completion of financial amounts and messages from the donor to a recipient to show that a donation has been made by the donor in recognition of the recipient. The card may have a further tear off strip and a foil or hologram security mark.

Description

Donation Card l'his invention relates to a donation card, being an article

of stationery, which is adapted to be used to facilitate payments to charitable organisations for example as acknowledgement of or a mark of gratitude for a favour, kindness, or service performed by a third party, and to inform the third party that the donation has been made.

There exist a number of schemes for charitable donations such as the sale of greetings cards, whereby the recipient of the card is made aware of the sender's good wishes and also that a donation has been made to a charity. The proportion of the selling price of the card which reaches the charitable organisation, after production and marketing expenses, and profit margins is however from the point of view of the donor disappointing, and public awareness of the relative inefficiency of such cards as a means of donating to charity is growing.

Charity contributions may also be made by electronic payment by credit card or debit card, for example by an additional payment made when buying goods at a supermarket or other retail outlet, or by a religious organisation using a collection plate which incorporates a reader for credit or debit cards. These latter however are essentially impersonal transactions, and make no provision for citation or commemoration of a third party.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a donation card which is suitable to enable the making of a donation and to make known to the dedicatee or other third party the making of the donation. It is also a preferred object of the invention to enable completion of formalities enabling the beneficiary of the donation to obtain any fiscal advantages offered by tax or other law.

According to the invention, a donation card being an article of stationary comprises a leaf of sheet material having two faces, and being arranged to display:- information concerning the charity to which a donation can be made using the card; a space to indicate the amount of the donation; and space to enter a message to the dedicatee.

Preferably the card comprises three parts, defining a cover, a main part and a counterfoil, characterised in that the cover and main part are separated by a fold line, and the main part and the counterfoil are separated by a severance line which is preferably weakened as by scoring or by perforations to enable the counterfoil to be detached.

Preferably, the cover provides a front face which is printed to indicate the name and/or emblem of the recipient charity, appropriate message headline, and an emblem certifying the scheme and that the card will genuinely facilitate donation to the intended charity.

The inner side of the cover may be blank, and the side of the main part which is exposed by folding out the cover may be printed to display a message of thanks with a space for insertion of the amount of the donation, from the charity concerned; a space for a message of thanks to the recipient, and preferably to facilitate handling and identification a unique identifier which may comprise an identification or serial number and/or a bar code, and a security mark.

The reverse (outer or back side) of the main part may be blank or carry a message to the recipient.

The counterfoil part, which is separated from the main part by the severance line may provide suitable wording to enable the beneficiary of the donation to reclaim tax on the donation (or other appropriate fiscal advantage in the jurisdiction concerned).

The intended use of the card is that the donor, who may wish to express gratitude for a favour, or charitable act by another person, for which it is not felt appropriate to "reward" with a possibly unsuitable gift, pays the vendor the amount of the donation, and after writing a suitable message sends the card, less the counterfoil, to the person who has prompted the gratitude, to show that a donation has been made to the charity concerned.

The counterfoil after completion by the purchaser will be detached by the vendor and sent with the donation to the charity office who will then undertake the formalities necessary to reclaim tax or other fiscal advantage.

The vendor may retain an agreed proportion of the donation to cover his costs, and provide a margin of profit.

Some embodiments of donation card according to the invention will now be described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:- Figure 1 is a view of the front of a first embodiment of donation card; Figure 2 is a view of the inside of the card; Figure 3 shows the rear of the card; Figure 4 shows a modified embodiment of the donation card; Figure 5 is a view of the front of a further embodiment of donation card according to the invention; Figure 6 is a similar view of the front of a further embodiment of donation card according to the invention; and Figure 7 is a view of the front of a final embodiment of donation card according to the invention.

A donation card according to the invention comprises an article of stationery, made from a rectangular piece 10 of card or stiff paper.

The card comprises a front page or cover 11, joined to the main part of the card by a fold line 12 which also thereby defines the cover or front page 11.

The cover 11 when closed hides a main part of the card comprising a message page 13 and a counterfoil 14 separated from the message page 13 by a severance line 15, which in the preferred embodiment comprises a line of perforations. However this may be a crease or line of weakness which, like the perforations facilitates tearing off of the counterfoil 14.

The front page 11 of the card may carry, in print or otherwise.

1. A charity trade mark, at 20; 2. Athanksmessage,at2l; 3. A charity emblem and/or appropriate picture at 22; 4. A picture of a rose (acronym for Recognition Of a SElfless act of kindness) at 23.

The message page 13 may carry in print or otherwise:- 1. A message reading "(charity name) would like to thank you for a ( value) donation, made on your behalf in Recognition Of a SElfless act of kindness, at 25; 2. A security mark to prove authenticity and prevent copying, at 26; 3. Space for a message from the sender to the recipient at 27; 4. A unique serial number and/or bar code at 28.

Further, the counterfoil 14 should also have:- 1. The unique serial number and/or bar code at 29; 2. necessary wording for completion by the purchaser to allow the charity to recover tax or obtain other fiscal advantage, at 30; and at 38, "I wish Gift Aid to apply to this donation", with a tick box.

Below this box 37 contains a description of the qualification criteria for payment of tax on the donation to the charity.

3. A tick box 31 to allow permission for details to be kept and used.

The counterfoil 14 will be returned to the charity by the retailer; 4. Summary of selfless act of kindness, to be completed at 34.

Finally, the rear of the card may carry messages at 32 such as:- "This token gift is not intended to be a monetary representation of your "Selfless act of Kindness" It is to offer a reflection of the sentiments which you have shown through a gift which has tremendous potential to improve the lives of others".

The rear of the counterfoil 14 may carry at 33, the name and address of the benefiting charity.

At 35, on the card and 36 on the counterfoil, the words "date of issue" and space for the date to be hand-written or stamped should be available.

Figure 4 shows an optional feature that facilitates a record of the donation to be kept by the purchaser. This comprises a detachable strip 38 on which can be written or printed the name of the charity, the purchasers name, the unique serial number (as at 28), value of the donation, date of issue and a tick box to indicate whether gift-aid applied. The reverse of this strip may have printed therein words such as "if you pay tax at the higher rate you can use these details to claim further tax relief in your Self Assessment tax return.

A person wishing to express gratitude to another for some kindness or favour may go to a suitable outlet such as a card retail chain, charity shop, religious bookshop or the like, and buy a card with a payment as a donation towards a selected charity (J)ossible examples being Oxfam, Christian Aid, or a major Cancer Charity). The purchaser will complete the message at 27 and post the card to the recipient, whilst the retailer completes the amount in the card and in the counterfoil. The counterfoil will be completed by the purchaser at 30, 31, 34, 36 and 38 detached by the retailer and sent with the donation to the charity who will reclaim tax or other fiscal advantage.

For higher-rate tax payers, the name of the charity and the serial No. can be noted and quoted on their tax return to allow them to claim the difference between basic and higher rate tax.

The recipient will be infonned that a donation has been made in their name to the charity, the sender will express gratitude, and the retailer may arrange with the charity to recoup expenses and provide a reasonable profit margin from the reclaimed tax.

The card may be modified to provide a general donation acknowledgement card, or to celebrate other causes for donations, for example as a memorial gift in place of funeral flowers, or to commemorate an event such as an anniversary, or a donation in lieu of a gift for other occasions such as a birthday etc. A further embodiment is shown in Figures 5 and 6.

As shown in Figure 5, a first modified embodiment of donation voucher or token according to the invention comprises a rectangular sheet 10 of for example card or stiff paper or alternative material including plastics, having a counterfoil 14 attached thereto by a severance line 15 which may be defined by perforations or a scored line.

The main body of the card provides a security mark 26, to prove authenticity and prevent or deter copying, a unique serial number and/or bar code 28, the charity name at 45, and an indication, in words and/or numerals of the amount of the donation, which may be a fixed value at 39.

The counterfoil 14 has at 46 a repetition of the charity name and 39a of the amount, and a space 30 setting out wording for completion by the purchaser to allow the charity to recover tax or obtain any other available fiscal advantage. Below this, at 38, "I wish Gift Aid to apply to this donation" with a tick box. Space 37 contains a description of the qualification criteria for payment of tax on the donation to the charity, e.g. such as "for your donation to qualify for gift aid, you must pay an amount of income tax or Capital Gains Tax at least equal to the tax that the charity reclaims on your donation in this tax year", or other such message as may be appropriate from time to time. A tick box 31 is provided to allow the donor to give permission for details to be kept and used.

At the foot of the counterfoil, space 40 offers an option to reproduce the security mark also provided at 26, and a space 29 reproduces the unique serial number and/or bar code also provided at 28.

At 35, on the voucher, and 36 on the stub, the words "date of issue" and space for the date to be hand written or stamped should be available. Also at 43 (centre of the voucher) a space for a hand-written or printed dedication should be available.

The voucher or token shown in Figure 6 is a mirror image of the card of Figure 5, laterally reversed so that the counterfoil 14 is at the right as shown in the drawing, instead of at the left. The same reference numerals as in Figure 5 indicate corresponding wording or spaces, which are generally speaking arranged as a mirror image, as to the position of the wording or spaces in Figure 5.

Using such a voucher or token, the donor would be free to choose any available card on the market, using a card according to Figures 5 or 6 as a separate donation voucher or token.

A person wishing to make a tax efficient donation to a nominated charity, and receive immediate acknowledgement from the charity may go to any suitable outlet, such as a retail chain, charity shop, religious bookshop or the like and buy a donation voucher with a payment as a donation towards the selected charity.

The purchaser will receive a voucher or vouchers with a security mark, confirmation of the value and acknowledgement/thanks from the charity. The counterfoil will be completed by the purchaser and detached by the retailer and sent with the donation to the respective charity, which will reclaim tax or other fiscal advantage.

The voucher as shown in Figures 5 or 6 may be provided in small books and the counterfoil may be either detached individually or remain attached as a stub which may be returned to the charity when the whole book has been sold, together with the total moneys raised by multiple donations.

The security mark provided on of the voucher is intended to certify that the voucher is a genuine one issued by or on behalf of the charity named and that the donation will be received by the charity and not channelled into fraudulent or commercial uses.

Figure 7 shows an optional feature that facilitates a record of the donation to be kept by the purchaser. This comprises a detachable strip 44 upon which is written or printed the charity name, a space for the purchaser's name, the unique serial No, value, date of issue and a tick box to indicate if gift aid applied.

The rear of the strip 44 is printed with the words, "if you pay tax at a higher rate you can use these details to claim further tax relief in your self assessment tax returns".

The modified donation card is intended to benefit from synergy with the production and processes that exist for general gift tokens. This approach will optionally allow existing gift token arrangements to be used to provide for cost effective production and administration. The counterfoil details can be scanned and automatically converted into text so that a database can be produced for tax claims.

Whilst existing gift voucher processes will allow searches to be based on the serial number, searches of name and post code fields could also be arranged for. This will satisfy the requirement for auditable records of gift aid declarations to be met, as the scanned counterfoil can be located.

To enable a person to make a tax-efficient donation to charity, without reference to any specific occasion, or action of a third party or dedicatee, a card would be provided which is modified with respect to the donation card particularly described, mainly by deletion from the card references to a rose or "Recognition Of a SElfless act of kindness and the emblem of a rose, at 23 and 25, and the summary of an act commemorated at 34 would also be deleted and the message at 32. Sending the card to another person would be optional, and space at 32 could be left for a personal message.

A person wishing to make a tax efficient donation to charity and receive an immediate acknowledgement from the charity may go to a suitable outlet such as a card retail chain, charity shop, religious bookshop or the like, and buy a card with a payment as a donation towards a selected charity. The purchaser will receive a card of thanks from the charity, whilst the retailer completes the amount in the card and in the counterfoil. The counterfoil will be completed by the purchaser and detached by the retailer and sent with the donation to the charity who will reclaim tax or other fiscal advantage.

The purchaser will make a tax efficient donation to charity and receive a card for personal display or sending on to others as proof of donation. The retailer may arrange with the charity to recoup expenses and provide a reasonable profit margin from the reclaimed tax.

The security mark is intended to certify that the card is a genuine donation card issued by the charity named and that donations will be received by the charity and not be channelled to commercial or fraudulent uses.

It is of course to be understood that the invention is not intended to be restricted to the details of the above embodiments which are described by way

of example only.

Claims (11)

1. A donation card being an article of stationary comprising a leaf of

sheet material having two faces and being arranged to display:- information concerning the charity to which a donation can be made using the card; - a space to indicate the amount of the donation; and - a space to enter a message to a dedicatee

2. A card according to claim 1 comprises at least two parts, that is a main part and a counterfoil which are separated by a severance line.

3. A card according to claim 2 wherein the severance line is weakened by scoring or perforations to enable the counterfoil to be detached from the main part.

4. A card according to claim 2 or 3 further comprising a cover which is connected to the main part by a fold line.

5. A card according to claim 4 wherein the cover provides a front face which is printed to indicate the name and/or emblem of the recipient charity, an appropriate message headline, and an emblem certifying the scheme and that the card will genuinely facilitate donation to the intended charity.

6. A card according to claim 4 or 5 wherein the inner side of the cover is blank and the side of the main part which is exposed by folding out the cover is printed to display the message of thanks with a space for insertion of the amount of the donation from the charity concerned, a space for a message to the recipient and a unique identifier.

7. A card according to any one of claims 2 to 6 wherein the counterfoil provides suitable wording to enable the beneficiary of the donation to reclaim tax on the donation.

8. A card according to any preceding claim further including a tear off strip for retention on which relevant details may be recorded.

9. A card according to claim 8 wherein the tear off strip is provided along one edge of the card.

10. A card according to claim 8 wherein the tear off strip is between two major parts of the card.

11. A card according to any preceding claim, wherein a foil or hologram security marks is provided to prove authenticity and prevent copying.