Bridging the Income Gap for a Sustainable Future: Strategic Fundraising Review for TaxAid

“Since joining TaxAid, I have learnt that the people we are helping, although tax is their common problem, it’s really about the difference we make to somebody’s life. Their gratitude is proportionate to the relief we have given them from the burden that they have been carrying. It’s really not a tax problem, the problem is individuals’ lives who are in a very precarious and personally challenging positions, and we bring them a resolution. Our story is the difference we have made to people’s lives, it just happens to be through tax.” 

Valerie Boggs, TaxAid CEO

Challenge

TaxAid’s mission is to relieve financial worries and in doing so, change lives. In 2024/25 TaxAid supported over 18,000 people to address financial burdens. TaxAid supports people who need help understanding their tax so that they do not have to face this challenge alone. When people turn to TaxAid, they are often in crisis tackling wider financial issues. TaxAid provide practical support and advice to make tax less complicated. TaxAid is itself a charity who came to us to help redefine the fundraising strategy, to consider the future funding model and sustainability.

Response

We worked closely with the Board and Senior Leadership Team to understand the operating model and the mission. We undertook a review of TaxAid’s current fundraising strategy with input from a wide range of stakeholders. This involved our team reviewing the case for support, donor pipeline, donation history over several years as well as the current fundraising resources (including systems, finances and people). We also took a look at how TaxAid is perceived in the wider charity marketplace, using our expertise and competitor analysis, as well as a SWOT analysis to inform our recommendations. This work will enable TaxAid to not only fill the gap in revenue, but exceed it – together, we have created a more sustainable future.

Impact

The advice we developed and the set of realistic, actionable recommendations to address income challenges and future plans will enable TaxAid to go on helping more people at times of great strain. It often only takes one phone call for TaxAid to have a life-changing impact on someone’s life. For example Tess made the simple mistake of including her housing benefit in her tax returns, which is not taxable. Tess overpaid tax on income less than £10,000 for years. With TaxAid’s help, Tess received over £1,000 through a claim for overpayment relief. This was a simple correction, and all it took was a phone call. Through our partnership, TaxAid will go on to help many more people like Tess.