The promotion of payroll giving, which is high on the agenda of the independent Philanthropy Review  (as reported in Philanthropy UK's last bulletin) and government, was also the focus of the Institute of Fundraising’s (IOF) conference held this week (Wednesday June 29^th).

Unity and reform were the themes of the IOF’s Payroll Giving conference, held at the Home Office, where a call for fundraisers and charities to stand together to promote and reform payroll giving was made.

Controversy preceded the conference when the Institute’s chair and British Red Cross director of fundraising Mark Astarita was dropped as keynote speaker for his own comments about whether payroll giving can bring in significant income for charities.

He expressed his frustration with payroll giving, suggesting the model disenfranchised charities and that government should stop "bleating on" about it.

In her plenary speech, Tanya Steele, director of fundraising at Save the Children and an IoF trustee, said that while government support and commitment for payroll giving is good, “we also need the same level of commitment from our own members”.

While not referring to Astarita specifically, she and others backed the sentiment of his comments.  “The Institute has recognised for some that it hasn’t reached its potential,” she said. The Institute will be reviewing the recommendations of its 2008 report into payroll giving and lobbying for reforms, she added.

There is much demand within the sector for a significant overhaul of the system.  At the conference it was emphasised that the time to act on payroll giving reform is now, given the government interest in promoting it.

Economic secretary to the Treasury Justine Greening reiterated the government’s commitment to making payroll giving a norm, but agreed reforms are needed. “Payroll giving is a huge opportunity that almost needs to be dusted off and looked at again fresh,” she said.

In the same week of the conference a new online platform for payroll giving was announced.

Big Change, created by CCWorks, enables charities to set up their own payroll giving web pages in order to promote and process payroll giving via their corporate partners.

Charities are able to access their donor data directly and will not be charged processing fees – which will be charged to corporate partners at £25 per month - but pay a £50 set-up fee.

The site has launched with some high-profile charity partners, including Make-A-Wish, Help the Hospices and the British Red Cross.