FAQs

If your question is not answered below, please contact info@heavensvalley.org.uk.

donation FAQs

  • Not at all.

  • Companies: If you are giving from a limited company, the donations are tax deductible. Please see https://www.gov.uk/tax-limited-company-gives-to-charity.

    Individuals: You may be able to pay less Income Tax by deducting the value of your donation from your total taxable income. Please see https://www.gov.uk/donating-to-charity

  • Gift Aid is a simple and effective way to support the Heavens Community Benefit Society as a charity. Under Gift Aid, HM Revenue & Customs allows charities to reclaim tax on donations made by UK taxpayers. For every £1 that you donate, we can claim a further 25p at no additional cost to you. So, for example, if you donate £20 we actually receive £25.

  • You must be a UK taxpayer and pay enough Income Tax or Capital Gains Tax in each tax year to cover the Gift Aid claimed on all your donations. Otherwise you will have a responsibility to pay any difference.

    It’s important you read the declaration carefully before signing up. More information can be found on the HMRC website.

    Gift Aid can be applied to all voluntary donations of money, large or small, providing they are made by an individual who pays sufficient UK tax. Your declaration will cover all cash, cheque, postal order, Direct Debit, standing order and credit or debit card donations.

  • To use gift aid, you should have paid enough income tax or capital gains tax to HMRC in the tax year in which you make your donation – at least equal to the amount that the charity will reclaim.

  • You may still be paying tax on a private pension plan or a savings account, or capital gains tax if you sell either some property or shares. You are still eligible if you have paid enough tax during the year to cover the amount we are reclaiming on your donations.

  • Follow the steps here on our website. You can also send us a cheque made out to the Heavens Valley Community Benefit Society Ltd, either dropping it off at the Stroud Valleys Project shop, 8 Threadneedle St, Stroud GL5 1AF, or posting to our address: Heavens Valley Community Benefit Society, The Exchange, Brick Row, Stroud GL5 1DF. We are also happy to receive cash.

  • Please see our share offer pages on our website

  • We are asking for donations so we can cover our running costs such as insurance and all our systems. We are offering shares so everyone in the community can have an equal say in how we manage the land in the future.

  • We are committed to public consultation on all important decisions, so in that respect you will have an opportunity to have a say. However, only shareholders will have the right to a formal vote at our AGM when it comes to the final decisions on key matters.

  • We welcome donations at any time and shares are still available to buy.

  • Just the knowledge that you have helped to save this beautiful and vital piece of land. We are looking for ways to acknowledge anyone who makes a very large donation and are happy to hear suggestions about the best way to do this.

 SHAREHOLDER FAQs

  • Becoming a shareholder makes you a member of the Heavens Valley Community Benefit Society and gives you full voting rights at AGMs, including voting for directors, projects, etc. 

    You will also be part of any consultations between the board and the membership. 

  • The share issue will give people a real stake and say in how the Heavens Valley Community Benefit Society is run and how the land is managed. Furthermore, Gift Aid can be claimed on donations (meaning that more money goes to the Society), but cannot be claimed on the purchase of shares.

  • Technically, each share costs £1. However, the minimum shareholding is 50 shares (totalling £50). This is also the maximum amount anyone can own.

  • We want everyone to be able to be a shareholder and play a role regardless of income. There is a pay by instalment option spreading the cost over a year, at which time you will be a full shareholder for ever. We are also developing a pay what you can option, in which other shareholders pay a bit extra to support those that need to pay less. Contact info@heavensvalley.co.uk if you are interested in either of these options.

  • Yes - you can buy a share on behalf of a child but they will not be eligible to vote until they are 16 years old. If you would like to purchase a share, just go through the process as outlined on the website and then email info@heavensvalley.org.uk with the name, full postal address and email address for the person you wish to buy for.

  • Yes. The group would be an ‘unincorporated body’ and would be responsible for its own affairs. All parties to the joint application, however, have to be eligible for membership, and one of the applicants must act as the nominee representing the interests of the joint applicants. Joint applicants are treated as one member, with one vote.

  • You can buy a share on someone else's behalf but that named person would have the voting right, not you. If you would like to purchase a share - they make great gifts! - just go through the process as outlined on the website and then email info@heavensvalley.org.uk with the name, full postal address and email address for the person you wish to buy for.

  • Technically, the maximum shareholding is 100,000 shares (£100,000), however this maximum applies to all shares that will ever be issued in the future. Under the initial share offer, both the minimum and the maximum are set at 50 shares (£50).

  • No. The purpose of having a community share is different to having a shareholding in a company. The aim is not the maximisation of profit, but a business model that has wider and more democratic aims. Any surplus profit is re-invested back into the society or used to support its charitable objects in some other way.

  • No. Donations are treated separately to the purchase of shares. All shareholders will have equal voting rights.

  • You can apply at any time. However, you will not acquire any voting rights/membership until you acquire the minimum shareholding (50 shares).

  • For this share issue the maximum shareholding is 50 (£50). We do not envisage having another share offer but will keep this one open.

    However, there is no limit to the number of shareholders we can have. Obviously the more members/shareholders the society has, then the better it will be able to function and achieve its aims.

  • There is no limit to the number of people who can become members.

  • You will:

    1. Have full voting and speaking rights at all annual general meetings and extraordinary general meetings. This includes about matters such as: the appointment of directors, changes to the society’s rules, projects being undertaken, applications that may be made for the protection of land etc. 

    2. Be able to nominate yourself as a director or as an officer of the society, if there are any such appointments that need to be made.

    3. Be part of any membership consultation between meetings and be a full participant in the society’s projects going forwards. 

    4. And on a less prosaic note, in owning a part of the society that in turn owns the land, you will in fact own, albeit in a small way, a little slice of The Heavens Valley!

  • There are no geographical restrictions on membership. The community shares model is designed to transcend geography.

  • On the winding up or dissolution of the Society its liabilities will first have to be satisfied. If any assets are left over, these assets will be transferred to a charity that shares the same objects as the Society (provided the transfer is approved by members at a general meeting).

    Shareholders will have no personal liability.

  • The obligations of membership are simply that you are asked to take part in the governance of the society, and to respect the confidential nature of any business decisions of the Society. Other than that, you can be as involved/uninvolved as you like – albeit we very much hope it is the former rather than the latter!

  • We very much welcome donations in addition to share sales. You can donate here.

  • Yes. We will email you with your share certificate shortly after you purchase your share. There is a small charge if you would like a printed version. Contact info@heavensvalley.org.uk for more information.

  • You are entitled to withdraw your shares by giving three months’ notice in writing. This would mean you are no longer a member. The amount paid back will be at the discretion of the board, taking all the circumstances into account.

  • Yes, if there are vacancies for directors you can nominate yourself.

  • A general meeting will be once a year and will look at:

    a) The receipt of the accounts and balance sheet and the reports of the board.

    b) The receipt of the auditor’s report, where the society has appointed an auditor.

    c) The appointment of an auditor, if required by law.

    d) The election of the board, or the results of the election if held previously by ballot.

    e) The application of profits.

    f) The transaction of any other business included in the notice convening the meeting.

  • Most decisions at an AGM are known as ‘ordinary resolutions’ and simply require a majority (more than 50%) to agree.

    Some decisions are known as ‘extraordinary resolutions’ and require the agreement of 75% of the membership. These might include amendments to the society’s rules or decisions to wind up, amalgamate and/or transfer the society.

    All that said, whoever is chairing the AGM will aim for the meeting to reach consensus, with everyone agreeing on the best way forward.

  • Yes. We do not carry out credit checks on people applying for shares.