Agency agreement

Retail Gift Aid looks like ordinary Gift Aid and is not. Donated goods are not a gift of money, so they cannot be Gift Aided directly.

The agency agreement makes the charity the donor’s sales agent. The charity sells the goods for the donor, and the donor then donates the net proceeds — which is a cash gift and can be Gift Aided.

The agreement is the foundation of the whole mechanism, and it brings notification duties once proceeds pass the applicable limit. See retail Gift Aid.