Now, charity begins at work There's a new way of giving to the RNLI, called Give As You Earn. You join at work and it makes the money you give worth more.

That's because the donation is taken out of your pay by your employer before the tax man gets at it. So every £1 you give only costs you 73p. The other 27p, which would have gone in tax, now goes to charity (assuming you pay basic rate tax).

All you have to do is tell your employer how much you want to give (from as little as 25p per week) and the rest is taken care of for you.

The introduction of Give As You Earn is likely to be the most significant and important new fund raising move for many years. Not since the Lotteries Act of 1976 have we had such an interesting new concept, enabling us to raise funds. The Charities Aid Foundation (CAP), which is operating the scheme, expects this new way of giving to bring in over £100 million a year for charities, once it is in full swing.

Give As You Earn comes into effect on April 6, 1987 and will allow anybody employed or retired who is paying tax through PAYE to subscribe to charities of their choice - provided, of course, that their employer (or ex-employer, if retired) operates the scheme which is entirely voluntary by all parties concerned. The interesting aspect of Give As You Earn is that subscribers themselves receive benefit from the tax saving as follows: Monthly Deduction £1 2 4 10 Annual Amount £12 24 48 120 Tax Saving at 27% £3.24 6.48 12.96 32.40 Actual Cost per year £8.76 17.52 35.04 87.60 If you pay tax at 40% or 60% the savings are even greater. It is the first time the individual subscriber has been able to donate 'net of tax'; this deduction is made from the gross monthly or weekly income before tax is applied, in exactly the same way as pension contributions are paid.

HOW THE SCHEME WORKS | EMPLOYEETK | EMPLOYEE I EMPLOYEE Employee decides to join and how much to subscribe each month or week.

CHARITIES INCLUDING THE RNLI Employer deducts the donation and passes it direct to CAP which acts as the clearing bank.

CAP passes the money to the charities chosen by the employees. You can choose up to a maximum of eight.

CHARITIES' AID FOUNDATION What you can do 1. Sign up at work - if your employer is running the scheme.

2. If he is not, ask him to consider setting it up.

3. Clip the coupon and send off for an employers' pack giving full details about Give As You Earn and take it to your employer.

4. Persuade your colleagues at work to give as they earn - to the RNLI.

5. Use the car sticker enclosed with this issue.

If you don't have a car, put it on your front window at home or give it to someone else.

To RNLI, West Quay Road, Poole, Dorset, BH15 1HZ Please send me a pack describing how my employer can join up with Give As You Earn.

Name Address.

L. .J.