What is ‘Different Payroll Giving’?

We believe that all South Africans are philanthropists at heart. That is why we came up with an idea to make giving easy. We call it Different Payroll Giving. Different Payroll Giving is a programme that allows employees to donate a portion of pre-tax salary to a charity project of their choice on Different.org. It is a means of making philanthropy easy and a means of empowering the philanthropist in all of us.

How does it work?

Anyone earning a salary can get involved and donate up to 5% of their pre-tax earnings. The donated amount will be transferred to an easy to use Different.org wallet where the user can allocate the amount to one or more of the projects on Different.org.

Why companies should get involved?

By equipping employees with Different Payroll Giving, companies are empowering individuals to get involved with projects they are interested in. As a company, you can participate in a donation matching programme where you match any of your employees’ donations. This way companies are able to do a lot more with their CSR spend and it involves the entire organisation in a very real way. Different.org has multiple projects to choose from, enabling every company to expand their philanthropic reach in a meaningful way. In addition, all of our projects are section 18A accredited, so the donations are tax deductible.

What Employers Need to Know

Setting up the Different Payroll Giving system is quick and easy. Really easy.  Donations are credited to a Different.org wallet in the name of the employee and then allocated to a project of their choice. There are no hidden costs–and 100% of donations go to the NGO concerned. How is this achieved? Well, all of the admin and operating costs are covered by Different Life, the Life insurance company that is serious about change in South Africa. Matching donations are perhaps the easiest mechanism for involving your staff and making a real Difference. It puts you as a company in this together and makes CSR more about impact and less about compliance.

Project Progress

Since justice must be seen to be done, one of our goals at Different.org is to provide comprehensive feedback on projects. We want to make sure that the impact created by the ‘Different Payroll Giving’ system is properly documented, reliable, transparent and engaging. Feedback is given to both the employers and employees, thereby allowing you to see the amazing change you made together.

Benefits for the Employed

As little as 0.5% of your salary can make a huge difference in someone’s life (5% will make a lot more) – and it comes with a tax benefit. As a donor, the Different.org wallet gives you the flexibility to decide where your money goes. Your monthly payroll donation is allocated to the wallet, and from there, you can choose to donate to multiple causes and non-profit organisations.