We know you may want to learn more before getting involved. Here, you’ll find answers to the most common questions about our work, sponsorship, and how your support makes a difference.
Whether you sponsor a girl or a boy, you’ll help projects focused on equal opportunities for all children. We know girls are the most vulnerable and we ensure that boys play an important role in building secure communities that value girls.
No. When you sponsor a girl, your donations support her entire community. With more than 80 years of experience, we know that the best way to help every child unleash their potential is to engage families and entire communities in the change, so they can carry on – and further – the positive impact for many years to come.
No, it’s not. The girl you sponsor has a family of her own, but your words of encouragement play an important role for her and her community. Letter writing also helps girls learn about other cultures and improve their literacy skills.
Our Supporter Care Team would be delighted to answer all your questions about sponsorship. You can reach them on 1800 829 829 or email at info@plan.ie.
Yes. Please be assured that the data shared between Plan International Ireland and our fundraising agency is done securely and is encrypted.
Child Sponsorship is a regular gift of €22 or more via direct debit. Once you sign-up to become a Sponsor you will receive a Welcome Pack in the post with an introduction to you Sponsored Child and their community. A Sponsor is uniquely linked to a specific Sponsored Child and their family and letters, messages, photographs and drawings can be exchanged to build a strong and lasting relationship. Child Sponsorship nurtures meaningful relationships with communities, families, children and Sponsors to enable Plan International to make a lasting impact in strengthening children’s rights and equality for girls.
Child Sponsorship is a regular gift of €22 or more via direct debit. Once you sign-up to become a Sponsor you will receive a Welcome Pack in the post with an introduction to you Sponsored Child and their community. A Sponsor is uniquely linked to a specific Sponsored Child and their family and letters, messages, photographs and drawings can be exchanged to build a strong and lasting relationship. Child Sponsorship nurtures meaningful relationships with communities, families, children and Sponsors to enable Plan International to make a lasting impact in strengthening children’s rights and equality for girls.
No, it’s not. The child you sponsor will have a family of their own, but your words of encouragement play an important role for them and their community. Letter writing also helps children to learn about other cultures and to improve their literacy skills.
When you sponsor a child, your contributions benefit the whole community rather than going directly to the child you are sponsoring. 95% of your donation supports programmes benefiting children and families. 5% supports administration, fundraising and governance.
If you have kindly donated more than €250 to Plan International Ireland in a calendar year, you can authorise Plan International Ireland to claim up to 45% tax back on your generous donation(s). You can download a CHY 3 tax form from Revenue via the link at the top of the page. Please include your PPS number and signature and return your completed CHY3 form to Plan International Ireland, 11 Harrington Street, Dublin 8. Unfortunately, you cannot submit this to Revenue yourself, as it needs to come from a registered charity.
You donation will be worth an additional 44.9%. A signature turns a yearly donation of €250 into €362.25.
If you are currently sponsoring a child, then you are likely to be eligible. If you have made a donation to the Girl’s Fund or through an appeal then you are eligible. If you raised money for a challenge, or if you donated through your company, then these particular donations are not eligible. If you have received an email, or a letter from us in relation to the Tax Efficient Giving scheme, this means you’re all good to go! If you’re unsure, just drop us an email on info@plan.ie or call on 01 568 5861.
We do everything we can to help donors make their contribution go as far as possible. This means contacting sponsors who may have donated in the past, whose donations are still available for Tax Efficient Giving. There are just a few months left to ensure your donations from 2019 can be claimed on for Tax Relief, and we’re hoping to make as big an impact as possible on the world’s most vulnerable children before the year is through.
If you signed an enduring form and you’re hearing from us again about Tax Efficient Giving, it means your previous form has expired and needs to be renewed. Keep an eye on correspondence from us to let you know the first tax year to which your new CHY form applies. It will be the year after the expiry of your previous CHY3. If unsure, just call or email to check with us.
You will find your PPS number an all correspondence from the Revenue Commissioners or on your work pay slip. It’s a seven-digit number with one (or sometimes two) letters at the end.
We adhere to the highest standards of confidentiality in Plan International and ensure that all data gathered, held and processed is done so in accordance with the Data Act 2018 and GDPR. The information you provide us on the form will not be used for anything else other than the purpose it was provided for. You don’t need to disclose which rate of tax you pay, or even if you self-assessed.
No, we currently can’t accept forms by email. However, you will have received a letter with your CHY3 cert and in this is included a personalised URL where you can fill the form out online.
Signing the form and giving permission for a charity to claim does not cost you anything, nor affect your tax status in any way.
If you have a pension, investments or any other means on which you pay either income or capital gains tax, we can claim on this amount.
Since 1 Jan 2013, self-assessed and PAYE taxpayers are treated the same – all tax relief goes to the charity, not the taxpayer. So, while you don’t get the relief yourself, your donations to Plan International Ireland can be worth 44.9% more, at no extra cost to you.
The amount of tax you pay should at least equal the tax that we are going to claim in respect of your donations. For example, if you donated €1,000 to the Plan International Ireland, your tax paid for that year should be at least €449. If not, Revenue will not give us the full rebate.
You can send in a completed CHY3 form to every charity you have donated more than €250. We only reclaim tax on the donations you made to the Plan International Ireland. All charities can claim separately for donations you’ve made, €250 or above.
Not if you sign the CHY3 form. When you sign it, you give us permission to claim for five years, starting from the year on the form. If you don’t want to give us permission for 5 years, please ask for the CHY4 form which is valid for just one tax year. However, signing the CHY3 form is more effective as it lowers administration costs and will ensure your donations are being used most efficiently.
No, the CHY3 form is not a commitment on your part to donate anything. We can only claim the tax back as long as you are a supporter of the Plan International Ireland.
Yes, Enduring Certificates can be cancelled. If you wish to cancel your CHY3 Tax Form with Plan International, us on 01 568 5861 or info@plan.ie. We will be more than happy to answer any questions you may have and help in any way we can.
If you have been contacted by a Plan International Ireland representative by telephone, it is because your donations throughout the years amount to a tax-efficient sum and Plan International can claim tax back on these donations. This phone call would have been to ask your permission to a) send you a CHY3 certificate through the post or b) renew your CHY3 form over the phone.
Please note, no Plan representative will ask for your PPS number over the phone.
If you are a long-term supporter of Plan International Ireland, we may already have a CHY3 certificate with signature and PPS number on file. You may be contacted to renew this CHY3 form over the phone.
For renewing a CHY3 Tax Back form over the phone the following criteria needs to be met:
If you agree to the renewal of the CHY Form by telephone, the following details should be confirmed during the conversation: your name and address
If your address differs to that on record, supporting documentation should be requested to confirm your identity e.g. email address or monthly amount (donation)
You must consent to renew the CHY certificate enabling tax relief in respect of donations to the relevant charity for a further period
Phonecalls must be recorded in order for this renewal to be valid.
From Ireland to the world — our programmes are changing lives in over 80 countries.
