Many charities actually dont need the sophistication that fundraising databases offer. There is room for mamy flavours.

I would also say that our database compliments any fundraising database by concentrating on its core delivery – accurate Gift Aid/Tax claims by inbuilding HMRC rules and regulations.

However recording Gift Aid is the only income stream that leaves charities open to direct penalties from HMRC.

Having been involved with the development of Gift Aid RE from v7+ to V8+ I totaly understand the issues that RE has faced in developing its Gift Aid moudules.

Personally I feel RE is a robust piece of fundraising software. I also feel it adequately fulfills its place as a fundraising tool.

Phil

I don’t know your software but it is certainly interesting to see software dedicated to Gift Aid. The problem is that while it is certainly good at dealing with Gift Aid it may not cover the other areas a good fundraising software needs. This leads those who use your software with the dilemma of needing to integrate with their fundraising system.

As it happens the latest release of Raiser’s Edge from Blackbaud while perhaps not the most elegant of solutions does make it much easier to work with Gift Aid than earlier versions. They have solved point 4 above (which in many cases was a show stopper). Clearly I am unable to compare to other software as I am not familiar with other software but they are certainly getting there (just slowly).

It also handles many of the HMRC rules and regs.

We would be happy to discuss all things software / gift aid

Kind regards

Ms Phil Robson

A client of mine had a meeting with Blackbaud about these issues. I was not at the meeting but from what I understand Blackbaud had said that it was never actually their intention to remove the ability to use the regular adjustment process for non-Gift Aid related changes. (This raises questions about their QA process). They said that they were aware of the recurring gift issue now and that they would look into. They also suggested that links between gifts were not really that necessary. After all it was only two clicks away to the other gift. They also said that they were very busy and that it would probably not be fixed until the next release i.e. 7.84! Apart from that they said that they were pleased with the way it was working. They had spent a long time consulting with HMRC and they too were please with the process.

It is all very well that Blackbaud spent such time with the HMRC. The last thing we would want is for the process not to be legal. However the HMRC do not have to use Raiser’s Edge. They just need the reports it provides. It is a shame Blackbaud did not consult more with their clients about the whole process.