
Charity membership
We provide leadership, guidance and a supportive community for charity retailers in the UK. Our 470 members range from the largest national charities to locally based charities and hospices, running over 9000 shops between them.
Who can join?
- Registered charities in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
- Exempt charities
- Charity subsidiary trading companies
- Charitable community benefit societies
- Overseas charities
The benefits
View our Member Resource Directory – an A-Z of member benefits
Leadership
- Lobbying on issues such as business rates, reuse, recycling, safeguarding and Gift Aid
- Gift Aid guidance in collaboration with HMRC
- Regular and exclusive market analysis and bench-marking, covering turnover, number of shops, all sales streams, Gift Aid conversion, rag prices, salaries, selling prices
- The leading sector events
- Charity Retail Safeguarding Scheme (CRSS)
Support
- Mentoring matchmaking service
- Library of assured policy guidance
- HR, employment law, and health and safety services provided by Worknest
- Your shops appear on Find a Charity Shop, encouraging donors and volunteers to your shops – and now your e-shops too!
- Wellbeing service via retailTRUST for your staff and volunteers
- Discounted recruitment advertising and property advertising
- Library of resources such as volunteer toolkit, low cost health & safety and fire safety induction guides and posters
Community
- A packed calendar of events
- Regular online communications, keeping you in touch with the latest sector issues and opportunities
- Online forum, giving you access to the best charity retail brains in the country
- Case studies of innovation from across our membership
- A board of directors who are representative of our membership as a whole
Annual fees
We have updated our membership fee structure to reflect the increase in store formats (e.g. superstores) and expansion into online operations. A full explanation for these changes is available here.
Please note that net selling space does NOT include the backroom, office, warehousing or rooms where selling is not done and the public is not admitted.
If your charity has 0-4 shops then it will not need to calculate selling space and will continue to be charged the flat rate of £233 + VAT for physical shops.
For other chain sizes, calculate your rate according to the size of your chain, as follows:
Charities with 0 – 4 physical shops
Your rate remains at £233 + VAT
Charities with 5 – 20 physical shops
A) Multiply the number of shops with a net selling space of 4,999 sq ft (464.5 sq m) or less by £47.50
B) Multiply the number of shops with a net selling space of 5,000 sq ft (464.5 sq m) to 9,999 sq ft (928.9 sq m) by £71.50
C) Multiply the number of shops with a net selling space 10,000 sq ft (929 sq m) or more by £142.50
Calculate your membership rate: Add the results of A, B, C together, add £50 if you have an online shop, and add VAT.
Charities with 21-100 physical shops
A) Multiply the number of shops with a net selling space of 4,999 sq ft (464.5 sq m) or less by £45.50
B) Multiply the number of shops with a net selling space of 5,000 sq ft (464.5 sq m) to 9,999 sq ft (928.9 sq m) by £68.25
C) Multiply the number of shops with a net selling space 10,000 sq ft (929 sq m) or more by £136.50
Calculate your membership rate: Add the results of A, B, C together, add £100 if you have an online shop, and add VAT.
Charities with 101 or more physical shops
A) Multiply the number of shops with a net selling space of 4,999 sq ft (464.5 sq m) or less by £38.50
B) Multiply the number of shops with a net selling space of 5,000 sq ft (464.5 sq m) to 9,999 sq ft (928.9 sq m) by £57.75
C) Multiply the number of shops with a net selling space 10,000 sq ft (929 sq m) or more by £115.50
Calculate your membership rate: Add the results of A, B, C together, add £200 if you have an online shop, and add VAT.
Application
Now you know your fees – go ahead and renew an existing membership or apply for a new membership.
Cancellation policy
If you cancel an applied-for membership and have been using our services we will charge a pro rata fee up to the point of cancellation, plus a £10 + VAT admin fee.
If you cancel an applied-for membership and we can see that you have not been using our services we will charge 25% of your membership fee as an admin fee.