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Team Teesside

BE THE CHANGE

Donate the spare pennies from your salary to help make positive change happen in our communities.

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By contributing just a small amount each month, you can help to support local charities and community groups – and even have a say on where the funds are used.

What is Be the Change?

Be the Change is our brand-new workplace giving scheme, designed to support a wide range of local charities and community groups who are doing fantastic work in our region.

Become a change maker and donate the pennies from your salary each month to help make a real difference to people's lives across the Tees Valley.

Through your contributions, we can provide grants of up to £500, four times a year, to selected organisations to offer additional support to our community.

Be the Change will also be supported by additional matched funds from the University, with an initial £5,000 contributed to kickstart the scheme. By giving a little, together we can achieve a lot right here in the Tees Valley – keep an eye on this webpage for further updates on the impact our community fund has made across the year.

To find out more about Be the Change, or if you have any questions, please email bethechange@tees.ac.uk.

Do you know a good cause that needs financial support?

Do you know of a local foodbank in need of extra funds?

A community group which requires additional support?

Or perhaps there is a local sports team in desperate need of new kit or equipment?

That's where Be the Change can help.

As a member of Be the Change, you can put forward suggestions to help support the local causes that you care about.

Send your suggestion

How does it work?

By participating in Be the Change, the pence from your payslip will be rounded down to the nearest pound – meaning it will never cost you more than 99p a month.

If you sign up to the scheme, then every month the pence amount shown on your payslip will be donated to the Be the Change Community Fund.

Your monthly donation will vary depending on the pence amount shown on your payslip – but will never be more than 99p per month.

For example, if you earned £1856.82 after tax and other deductions, then 82p would be donated to Be the Change and you would be paid £1856.00.

You can also choose to make a Gift Aid declaration so that Be the Change can claim an extra 25% tax relief on your donation and boost our fundraising efforts still further.

What will happen with my money?

Your contributions will be put into our Community Fund which will provide additional financial support to the local projects and charities which matter to you.

Grants of up to £500 will be distributed four times a year to selected organisations, with an independent staff panel meeting to decide which causes we are able to support.

Be the Change is an opportunity to celebrate the difference Team Teesside can make in our region and champion the causes that are important to us.

How can I nominate a charity or worthy cause?

Applications for funding will be open at intervals throughout the year; look out for updates in your inbox advertising our latest call for applications.

As a member of Be the Change, you can submit funding applications for up to a maximum of £500 to support charities or community interest companies making a different in our region by completing this short form and you will be notified via email of the decision.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why should I sign up to Be the Change?

Donating pennies from our salary is a great way for us to give a small amount individually to leverage a much bigger amount across the whole University, maximising the impact we can have collectively on charities and our local community. By donating the pennies from your salary, together we can raise money for all sorts of important causes in the Tees Valley and beyond.

How much will it cost me?

Your salary will be rounded down to the nearest pound, so the scheme will never cost you more than 99p each month. For example, if you had a net pay of £1000.60, you would receive £1000, and 60p would go towards the scheme.

How do I sign up?

Sign up now

Don't forget to tick if you are eligible for gift aid – this allows us to claim an extra 25% on your donation to maximise our impact even further. We will then pass your request onto payroll, and your donation will be taken from your pay automatically each month until you leave the scheme.

How is the University supporting the Be the Change Community Fund?

The University is committed to supporting the impact we can make in our region through the Community Fund, and has invested an initial £5,000 of match funds for 2023, a figure that will be topped up as membership to the scheme grows in the future to build on the contributions made by staff across the institution.

Can I opt out later on?

You can opt out of the scheme at any point by emailing bethechange@tees.ac.uk.

Who will it benefit?

Your giving will benefit a whole range of charities and community impact projects supported by our colleagues making a difference to our local communities here in the Tees Valley, with successful grants celebrated publicly across the University. All activities supported will be registered charities and community groups operating here in our region, so we'll be making sure your money is going where it matters most.

How is this different to the old Every Penny Helps scheme?

Be the Change replaces our previous workplace giving scheme, Every Penny Helps, but with a greater focus on helping important causes in our community and celebrating the positive impact Team Teesside can have in the region. The funds within Every Penny Helps will be migrated over to Be the Change.

Will my donation be eligible for gift aid?

As long as you pay the basic rate of tax and make the donation from your own funds you should be eligible for gift aid, meaning the University can claim an additional 25% back from HMRC to maximise your donation. For more information on gift aid, see here.

Are there any terms and conditions?

Yes – see terms and conditions.

Can a charity be supported more than once?

Charities or groups may be supported more than once, particularly in relation to different campaigns or activities, though it is unlikely the same organisation will be funded more than once within the same financial year. The University's financial year runs annually to 31 July.

When will the money be deducted from my payslip?

If you sign up to become a change maker, the date of the first deduction from your payslip will depend on when your registration is processed.

If you register before the payroll cut-off date of the tenth day of the month, then the first deduction should be made from your payslip at the end of that same month. For example, if you register on 9 February your first deduction should appear on your February payslip.

However, if you register after the tenth day of the month, then the first deduction should appear on the following month's payslip. For example, if you register on 11 February your first deduction should appear on your March payslip.

Thereafter, deductions will be made on a monthly basis for the duration of the period of your membership of the scheme.

Your donations are making change happen

Sign up

Don't forget to tick if you are eligible for gift aid – this allows us to claim an extra 25% on your donation to maximise our impact even further.
You can sign up to Be the Change here

We will then pass your request onto payroll, and your donation will be taken from your pay automatically each month.
Terms and conditions

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