There is a degree of  commonality between the US and UK treatment of Charities - the main difference being that HM Gov. has first claim on the money - and there is no additional offset against an individuals tax relief.

This does mean that the UK Government is adopting a higher level of responsibility in that it is clearly 'public money' that is going to a Charity when the Gift Aid tax advantage is exercised. It would be nice to see Elan Vital recognise the generosity of this British people and at the very least define within its annual accounts the full amount of tax advantage that it gets in the UK each year - instead of lumping it in with all 'donations'.