In the newsletter of 22 October, we suggested that the introduction of the Payroll Giving grant scheme, promised in last year's Budget, was not a priority for the Home Office. It seems that we were wrong. We are grateful to Alison Godwin, director of Pro-Pay Ltd , who has written with the following information.

"Further to your article, I have been in regular contact with the Institute of Fundraising regarding the new government incentives. My understanding is that there will be an official announcement before the end of this year outlining the grants that will be available to SMEs to set up Payroll giving schemes. These should be as follows:

• Employers with 0 - 199 employees: £;300
• Employers with 200 - 399 employees: £;400
• Employers with 400 - 499 employees: £;500

The grants will be back dated to all schemes set up since 1 April 2004. The Government will also match £;1 for £;1 all employee donations up to a max of £;10 per month for the first 6 months - this also is backdated to 1 April 2004.

Grant application forms should be available by end of December 2004. The grants will be available until December 2006 and the matching available until March 2007."

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