DashMe Foundation, founded by the former Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, says the Federal Inland Revenue Service ( FIRS) has certified corporate organisations donations to it as tax deductible.

This is contained in a statement signed by Tomisin Akinwunmi, the interim Chief Executive Officer of the charity organisation on Sunday in Abuja.

Mr Akinwunmi said that the government’s revenue agency had consequently issued a tax-deductible donations certificate to DashMe Foundation, adding that the certificate was issued to it on Thursday in Abuja.

DashMe foundations is a Lagos-based charity organisation founded by Kemi Adeosun in June 2021, with operations in Nigeria, the U.S. and UK.

According to him, the FIRS issues tax-deductible donation certificates to carefully vetted registered charities, whose operations meet Nigeria’s statutory ‘public character’ requirements.

Mr Akinwunmi said that Section 25(c) of the Companies Income Tax Act (CITA) permits companies to make charitable donations to charities with tax-deductible donations certificates to a ‘donation relief’.

“The donation relief provision is aimed at encouraging corporate bodies in Nigeria to channel their Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) donations to carefully-vetted non-governmental bodies.”

He said that corporate organisations that donate to it would now enjoy donation relief under its new status, “which is an allowance to deduct their donations from their taxable profits.”

Mr Akinwunmi expressed excitement at the funding possibilities that the foundation’s new status offers.

“We are thrilled by this development. Our projects are making a huge difference in the lives of people and this certification will encourage us and our partners to do more.

“We are thankful to the FIRS for providing us with an opportunity to raise funds at a scale that will enhance our ability to reach more Nigerians.

“The foundation has raised over N200 million in the past year through its thrift shops, corporate donations drives and snacks business.

“It has undertaken projects in Borno, Cross River, Imo, Kano, Lagos Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun and Osun states respectively and planned to extend its operations to all parts of the country by 2023.”

Reacting to the development,  the former finance minister expressed her delight at the FIRS’s tax-deductible donations certificate to DashMe foundation.

Ms Adeosun said that the issuance of the certificate by FIRS was a recognition of the charity’s strides in the past year and its commitment to changing the lives of  vulnerable Nigerians.

She said that DashMe Foundation was recently granted a similar certificate in the U.S., adding that the approval would energise the charity’s drive to obtain the same tax-exempt status in the UK.

“I am delighted that FIRS has recognised DashMe Foundation as being worthy of this rare status. We believe that more corporate bodies will be incentivised to donate to us now that they know that their donations will be fully tax deductible.

“The certificate will significantly enhance our capacity to raise more funds from the corporate sector and also enhance our ability to initiate more life-changing projects for Nigeria’s most vulnerable children, women and other disempowered groups.”

The vision of DashMe Foundation is to raise funds from within Nigeria and the Diaspora to change the lives of Nigeria’s most disempowered persons through projects that seek to improve the lives of orphaned children, women and underprivileged groups.

The foundation’s current projects include orphanage building projects in Imo and Ogun states, sponsorship of orphans in universities, provision of prosthetic limbs and start-up capital for amputees and regular food donations to several orphanages and IDP camps. 

(NAN)