Out delivering leaflets recently, I was asked about charity bags and  given 18 which had been delivered in the last few months to take away.

Charity collectors need a licence from the local authority, though the biggest charities are licensed nationally by the Home Office.

People wonder which are the best charities to give to. The answer seems to involve charities that have well known shops, like the Red Cross and the British Heart Foundation. Charities that aren’t noticeably active locally might well have an arrangement with a clothing dealer who gives them, say, £ 30 a tonne to use their name. These dealers, being commercial organisations, don’t need to be licensed.

If you really want to give impact to your gift, and can deliver the goods to their shop yourself, Oxfam add 28% to the value of your donation if you fill out a GiftAid form and use their tags on later donations.

There is a Stroud District Council factsheet here. For further information on the national scene, look here.

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