Ex-minister’s foundation gets tax deductible certificate, raises N200m

DashMe Foundation, an organisation founded by Nigeria’s former Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, has announced that the Federal Inland Revenue Service has certified its donations as Tax Deductible.

According to a statement from the Foundation, the certificate was issued to the Foundation last week Thursday in Abuja.

The DashMe Foundation says corporate organisations that donate to it will now enjoy donation relief in line with Section 25(c) of the Companies Income Tax Act.

This provision allows the deduction of their donations from their taxable profits as a means to encourage corporate bodies in Nigeria to channel their Corporate Social Responsibilities donations to vetted non-governmental bodies, associations and institutions.

Speaking on the development, Adeosun, who recalled that the Foundation was recently granted a similar certificate in the United States, said the approval would strengthen the charity’s drive to obtain the same tax-exempt status in the UK.

She said, “I am delighted that the 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 interim Chief Executive Officer of the organisation, Tomisin Akinwunmi, who expressed excitement at the funding possibilities that the charity’s new status offer, disclosed that the Foundation had raised over N200 million in the past year, through its thrift shops, corporate donation drives and snacks business.

Akinwunmi added that the Foundation had also undertaken projects in Borno, Cross River, Imo, Kano, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun and Osun states.

She added that the Foundation planned to extend its operations to all parts of the country by year-end 2023.

The Foundation’s 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 Internally Displaced Persons’ camps.

In an earlier PUNCH report, it was stated that the Foundation was granted a non-profit with tax-exempt status by the United States government.