Sol Giraldo is the Operations Lead and Community Fundraiser at Mama to Mama, a Thanet‑based charity supporting mothers and families. Alongside her role within the organisation, she also volunteers as a mentor for Funding for All, providing guidance to VCSE organisations across Kent.

Sol shares how Funding for All’s mentoring helped Mama to Mama unlock vital Gift Aid income and strengthen their fundraising systems:

How it began

“Mama to Mama is a relatively young charity. When I joined just over two years ago, the organisation had only two staff members and a small team of volunteers. The team knew about Gift Aid, but they weren’t yet aware of how operated or how to access it.

Although the charity had been running a very successful Crowdfunded Christmas Campaign since 2023, we had never claimed Gift Aid. I had some understanding of Gift Aid, but not enough to confidently lead the full process. That’s when I reached out to Funding for All, and was matched with Kerry, who became my Gift Aid mentor.”

Gift Aid 101

“Kerry guided me through every step:

• How Gift Aid works and what income qualifies
• How to register a charity with HMRC
• How to submit a claim – even for fundraising that took place nearly two years earlier
• What records and evidence HMRC requires
• How to set up systems so we never miss out again

 

The registration process took time, but the mentoring meant I always knew what to do next. With Kerry’s support, we successfully registered Mama to Mama with HMRC and submitted our first ever Gift Aid claims.”

The impact of mentoring

“In Spring 2025, we submitted two retrospective claims: one for the Campaign of 2023 and we got £1,509 and another one for the 2024 campaign and we got £1,755 of Gift Aid.

Since then, we’ve continued embedding Gift Aid into all our fundraising:

• Mother’s Day 2025 Campaign: £567 in Gift Aid
• Christmas 2025 Campaign: claim being prepared, expected to be around £2,200

 

For a small charity like ours, this income is transformative. It strengthens our sustainability, supports our core work, and gives us confidence to grow. This experience showed me just how easy it is for small charities to miss out on income simply because they don’t have the right information or someone to guide them.

Funding for All’s mentoring didn’t just help us claim Gift Aid – it built our internal knowledge, improved our systems, and empowered us to secure income that we were already entitled to but had never accessed.”

Inspired by this story? Your organisation could achieve more with the right support behind you.
Discover how our Mentoring Programme for Kent & Medway’s voluntary sector can help develop your fundraising and make an even bigger.