Healthy Planet frequently asked questions


The answers:


Questions about our work…


When was Healthy Planet founded?

In January 2008, Healthy Planet Foundation became a registered charity with no shareholders or dividends.

 

What has Healthy Planet accomplished thus far?

We love coming up with fun, clever ways for you (individuals, businesses and schools) to make greener, healthier choices. Our favourites are

  • Adopt - a - Plot: Join the likes of Stephen Fry and TV Naturalist Nigel Marven in giving the greenest gift on Earth. Adopt a plot funds conservation projects around the world.
  • Healthy Learning: We give environment-themed, fun lesson plans to schools for free.
  • Healthy Funding for Schools: Support your school and planet Earth simultaneously. Complete the loop of building a better legacy for the future with our free fundraising and education tool.
  • Books for Free: Reducing landfill. With the support of lots of lovely landlords, we are giving out Books from high street locations around the country. These books were destined for landfill/pulping and have now been given a new lease of life.


Learn more in our news section.

 

Who does Healthy Planet work with?

As we are mainly online and new, we are a very lean team and expect to stay that way. We do a lot of the work ourselves and have simple offices we share with other businesses to keep costs low - this ensures that almost all of your money goes where you want it to.

There are a lot of people in our team who provide us with voluntary (pro-bono) help, for example in book-keeping, design, research, translation and legal advice.  

We also work with conservation, community or development organisations working around the world that provide the activities and parks for us to support. With the money we raise they are able to carry out critical conservation work.

 

What is Healthy Planet's registered charity number?

Healthy Planet Foundation is a charity registered in England and Wales (1122475) and Scotland (SC040964)



What happens with my donation…


How does Healthy Planet spend donated money?

A lot of the money we receive is already earmarked on where it will be spent. For example, 90% of the Adopt-a-plot donation goes to the project you chose to support. When businesses give us their shops rent-free or sponsor us, a lot (but not all of it) is used for running those shops where we raise awareness of environmental issues and distribute Books for Free to reduce landfill. We have also used our donated money to fund grants for schools and give them free lesson plans. Very little is spent on boring head office costs - in fact we do not even have our own office - we are squatting (nicely) in someone else's office.


How is Healthy Planet funded?

Our funding comes from variety of places

  • Online Donations, which are mainly for our Conservation work, where  90% of the money raised goes to the projects you have chosen.
  • Sponsorship from businesses
  • Money raised at events benefitting Healthy Planet, like the New Energy Awards in 2009.
  • Small donations from lovely book readers visiting our Books For Free shops.


We do not get any government or grant funding.

Are there tax benefits for gifts left to Healthy Planet?

There may be tax benefits if you leave a donation to Healthy Planet. If you leave an estate at or above the nil rate band it may be liable to Inheritance Tax - normally levied at 40%.


Charities are usually exempt from Inheritance Tax on bequests made to them in Wills. Please ask your solicitor for ways to minimise the tax burden on your estate - as this depends on a range of factors personal to you.


Healthy Planet is also eligible for Gift Aid which increases the value of donations to charities by allowing us to reclaim basic rate tax on your gift. If you pay higher rate tax you can claim extra relief on your donations. If you claim age-related allowances or tax credits, Gift Aid donations can sometimes increase your entitlement.



How can I get involved...


Apart from donating, how can I help Healthy Planet protect the environment?

Our messages are simple and aim to encourage positive changes that reduce the impact humans have on the natural world and on their own health. We want to get as many people acting to reduce, reuse and recycle. Check out our Get Involved section.

 

Are there volunteer opportunities at Healthy Planet?

There certainly are! We rely on the dedication of our volunteers, not only to keep our Books For Free units open and running but without their help many of our initiatives would not be possible. If you have time and skills to offer that can help us achieve our goals please contact us.

 

Why should I support Healthy Planet over other charities?

We are a charity, but a new breed of charity. We don't like depressing images and messages - we prefer to focus on what you can do and helping you get on and do it. It's not always about giving us money - if you take a Book from us for free, you have given it a new home and a new lease of life. How's that for a new type of charity!

At Healthy Planet, you manage your donation - where it goes and what it does.

Adopting a plot is a fun, interactive way of gift buying or simply connecting you with a remote part of the world. We love working with other charities and organisations that do great work on the ground. That's why we direct 90% of what we take in for Adopt-a-plot to them. Supporting us means you are still supporting other charities in the green and health arenas. A big thanks to the Google Maps/Earth team and UNEP/IUCN for making satellite and protected areas data available to us for free.



I have another question...


If you have any other questions, please email us at contact@healthyplanet.org



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What you get whenyou adopt

  • join our community page
  • share your involvement
  • keep track of what's happening
  • adoption certificate

Healthy Planet Foundation is a charity registered in England and Wales (1122475) and Scotland (SC040964).