Percent for Good is a new movement that makes it easy for professionals to donate 1% of their salaries to charitable causes, thereby contributing to the long-term improvement of society as a whole. The organisation’s aim is for 50% of employees and 100% of senior managers in partner firms to participate in the scheme.
Why Is This Charity So Important?
The number of people donating to charity has dropped by over 10% during the last eight years, with the top 1% of UK earners donating on average less than 0.2% of their incomes to charitable causes. For those in a relatively privileged financial position, now is a great time to commit to donating to underappreciated charities. Percent for Good offers simple giving solutions to make it easy for scheme users to target their donations.
How It Began
Percent for Good is the brainchild of Mark Lyttleton, whose 20 years of experience working in the City of London led him to recognise the importance of ‘giving back’ to society. While working, Mr Lyttleton had regularly used payroll schemes to give to charitable causes but found he didn’t have sufficient time to properly research the organisations his donations were going to. This was the spark that eventually led to the formation of Percent for Good, allowing ‘time-poor’ professionals to regularly donate to impactful charities that they feel a connection with.
Percent for Good’s Cause Portfolios
To help people identify the cause(s) they wish to support, Percent for Good has curated a number of Cause Portfolios, each of which is made up of carefully chosen, high-impact charities selected according to the organisation’s stringent criteria. Each of the charities must do great work on the ground, possess strong governance, have limited resources, have strategic partnerships in place and boast a compelling vision. These portfolios are currently The Nature and Environment Portfolio, The Social Mobility Portfolio, The Cost-of-Living Crisis Portfolio, The Health & Wellbeing Portfolio, and The Education & Arts Portfolio.
How Does It Work?
Percent for Good facilitates both giving as an individual and Payroll Giving for employees. Regarding the latter, employees simply need to sign up for the scheme, choose one or more Cause Portfolios, and then select a percentage of their salary they wish to donate each month. Changes can be made or membership cancelled at any time. It’s a very tax-efficient means of giving and allows donors to give in confidence. For employers considering signing up to the Percent for Good scheme, doing so can help retain and engage employees, boost wellbeing and even increase productivity.
For more information about the benefits of charitable giving, take a look at the embedded PDF.