VIRGIN MONEY EXPANDS INTO ONLINE CHARITY FUNDRAISING
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Fundraisers and charities will be better off with virginmoneygiving.com
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Charities can make £5 million more for every £100 million raised
Virgin Money today launched the first not-for-profit online charity fundraising service as part of a drive to significantly increase the money going directly to good causes.
Its new service virginmoneygiving.com, which is already backed by hundreds of major charities, has officially opened to all fundraisers for all charity events across the country and estimates it will deliver an extra £5 million on top of every £100 million raised for charities.
The launch comes as figures* show charitable giving has suffered badly in the recession with £1.3 billion less given to the UK's 170,000 charities.
Jayne-Anne Gadhia, Chief Executive of Virgin Money, said: “The past 18 months has been a tough time for charities. The downturn has undoubtedly hit both corporate and individual donors. This recession however presents an opportunity for businesses to develop new partnerships, smarter giving techniques and more effective use of resources.
“At a time when trust in financial services is at an all time low it is time to embed social responsibility at the heart of what we do. I believe a well run business is one that treats its staff, customers, partners and suppliers well and uses some of its profits to make a valuable contribution to society. The launch of Virgin Money Giving is part of that developing picture at Virgin Money.
“Virgin Money is using its infrastructure and expertise as a financial services business to ensure that the new service is efficient, secure and offers a high quality service to all fundraisers, charities and donors. With over £¼ billion forecast to be raised for charity by London Marathon runners in the 5 years that Virgin sponsors the race this is clearly critically important.”
Gadhia added: “Donors kind enough to support fundraisers through virginmoneygiving.com will be safe in the knowledge that more money will reach good causes. I'm delighted that virginmoneygiving.com is now open to fundraisers.”
Research by Virgin Money among charities and fundraisers shows online giving is potentially more efficient than traditional sponsorship forms and collection tins and can increase the use of Gift Aid which automatically adds 20% to donations.
However charities, who receive around £100 million through online giving a year, wanted to see increased reliability and functionality at online giving services - and crucially lower costs
virginmoneygiving.com, which is free for fundraisers, charges a flat £100 + VAT registration fee for charities and a 2% fee on all donations before Gift Aid which means for every £10 raised charities receive £12.46.
Commenting on the launch, Scott Jacobson, Director of Marketing & Fundraising at St John Ambulance, said: “Online giving websites have revolutionised the way people fundraise. They make it much easier for fundraisers, like marathon runners, to collect donations from friends, family and colleagues. Virgin Money Giving has gone the extra mile by being not-for-profit, meaning that charities take home more of the funds raised, helping us move closer to our charitable aims.”
Toni Fry, National Running and Challenge Events Manager at CLIC Sargent, said: “The new Virgin Money Giving site is a fast, easy and clever way to raise money. CLIC Sargent depends almost entirely on voluntary donations from the public and with the help of virginmoneygiving.com more money will be going directly to help the children and families who need us.”
Virgin Money Giving charges charities the minimum fees needed to cover the running costs of the site. Any money left over after covering operating costs will go towards reducing fees further or improving services for fundraisers and charities.
Charities have been able to register on the site since August 25th and so far more than 1,000 have paid set-up fees with more expected to join as the service expands.
Fundraisers can personalise their pages, send out email alerts and manage the different events they might be taking part in. Users will be able to include their own content, photos and links to their page and will be able to customise messages for their supporters. Fundraisers will also be able to link their page to social networking sites.
virginmoneygiving.com is the official sponsorship website of the Virgin London Marathon, Royal Parks Half Marathon and Sony ‘Run to the Beat'.
* UK Giving 2009 for the year to April 30th 2009 ist Items:
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