There's just a week to go, at the time of writing, until the doors open for donorflex's much-anticipated special Gift Aid seminar at Aston Business School Conference Centre.
Though the subject matter couldn't be more serious, and will be delivered with insight and detail, we've once again followed our instinct to avoid being po-faced throughout the day.
So, although the House Full signs have been out for more than a fortnight – give or take the odd fluctuation resulting from the odd cancellation that's quickly been filled from our waiting list – today we're introducing two additional attendees.
Friends and colleagues who joined us at 2009's Regional User Group roadshows will already know Julie and Bob, the backbone of Linking Hands' fundraising operation.
They'll be at Aston with a very straightforward message – which will be revealed on the big day itself.
We're still receiving thoughts from users about the kind of Gift Aid questions they'd like to be answered at the Friday, January 29, event.
If there's a particular issue that you'd like to see covered, please e-mail and let us know what it is.
Don't forget, as the agenda below reminds you, we're delighted that one of HMRC's most experienced charity auditors, Mark Toner, will be helping us set the scene and answer any Gift Aid-related questions:
- 10.00am: Registration
- 10.30am: Welcome and donorflex introduction
- 10.45am: Mark Toner, HMRC auditor: Mark will give a presentation on the dos and don'ts of Gift Aid, and he'll take questions from the floor on any aspect of the subject – most importantly the impending changes to the six-year rule that's bringing us together
- 11.45am: Refreshments
- 12.00am: How donorflex manages Gift Aid: Jo Davies and Steve Mason will prepare you for the focused afternoon session with an hour looking at how donorflex manages Gift Aid, from recording a declaration status all the way to the day you record the payment of your claim by HMRC
- 1.00pm: Lunch
- 1.45pm: Six becomes four... we'll introduce you to a new clutch of donorflex reports and guide you through the prescribed procedure for making sure that you make the very most of your supporters' Gift Aid potential before the six-year rule passes into history
- 2.45pm Refreshments
- 3.00pm: Six becomes four... we conclude our presentation, provide you with the all-important takeaways so that you can hit the road running when you return to your office, and offer a chance to ask some questions
- 3.45pm: Carriages. It's our intention to close proceedings so that you can be ahead of the rush
We'll be sending out an alert to delegates via dmailer early next week, but – thinking ahead to any dietary needs we haven't been told about – bear in mind that you can update your booking(s) by asking your donorflex Liaison Manager to log in to www.donorflex.com's Client menu, click the Events and bookings link, and head for the Gift Aid seminar booking form.
Finally, delegates at any of the past three Children's Hospices UK conferences will already know their way to the conference centre at Aston Triangle, Birmingham B4 7ET. Whether you're travelling by road or rail, it's not hard to find.
If you're travelling by car and want to plan your parking, make sure you've logged in to the website, then click back on this article to download the Aston Business School map.
