Just Giving is not the best way.
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BT is to boost the charity sector by launching what it says is the first online not-for-profit fundraising service guaranteeing that 100% of every donation will go to the relevant charity.
The telecoms operator will go head to head with established platforms such as JustGiving and Virgin with a rival operation that will not charge charities or donors subscription or set-up fees, or commission. BT will absorb the cost of running the operation as a key part of its corporate charitable programme, so the only charges will be handling fees levied by credit and debit card companies and PayPal. Charities can also receive Gift Aid from UK taxpayers who donate using the site, while fundraisers planning a run or other event will be able to customise their own pages.
BT said it has worked with a number of charities to develop the new website MyDonate – including Cancer Research UK and the NSPCC – to ensure it is a service that the sector wants. The service has been designed to be inclusive to all UK registered charities and increase the online donation market. Last year the total amount donated to charity by adults in the UK was estimated to be £10.6bn, with only 7% of givers donating online. By contrast, 58% of adults regularly shop online.
BT’s launch is backed by new research it commissioned showing that people were influenced to donate to a particular cause by how much of their money actually went to the charity and what it was spent on. Nearly 60% of people felt that all their online donation should go direct to the charity.
MyDonate will make it easier for people to give more, as it guarantees that 100% of all donations go direct to the charity of choice – excluding credit/debit card charges – giving more transparency to the process.
JustGiving, for example, charges charities £15 a month plus 5% on each donation, while donors pay card transaction fees of 1.3% on credit cards, 17p on debit cards and 1.45% on PayPal. Last year its income was £14m, from a total raised for charities of £250 million. Virgin, the main sponsor of this month’s London Marathon, charges charities a £100 fee, plus a transaction fee of 2%. A spokesman said fundraisers and donors will be subject to card processing fees of 1.45% (1.6% for American Express) and card transaction fees of 2%. Since its launch in October 2009 Virgin Money Giving has seen more than £25m donated to charity.
In the budget, the chancellor announced a series of initiatives to cut red tape to encourage more donations by both companies and individuals to charities. Currently, charitable giving in the UK is sustained by 8% of the population, who contribute 47% of all donations by giving £100 or more every month.
Giving by cash remains the most popular method (50% of donors use cash to donate) yet cash donations tend to be smaller and more irregular than methods such as direct debit.
Ian Livingston, chief executive of BT, said: “We’ve launched MyDonate as we want to ensure that 100% of people’s fantastic fundraising efforts and donations go to the charity of their choice. BT already has a proud history of helping communities with charitable events, such as the recent Comic Relief telethon, and we’re delighted we can now take this knowledge and technological expertise to help charities become more effective in the vital work they do.”