Free2give closes shop
Howard Lake | 7 July 2003 | News
Free2give.co.uk, the online shopping mall that raised funds for UK charities, has shut up shop.
The site’s home page announces that “Free2give Limited and Free2give Holdings have closed down and are no longer operating an online shopping village on behalf of UK charities.”
It adds that “all relevant commissions raised up to close of business on 30th June 2003 will be paid in full to Free2give’s charity partners as promptly as possible.”
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The site grew out of an Australian initiative and launched in the UK in July 2000. It was promoted by Burnett Associates and the advertising spend was reported to be £5 million. Channel 5 TV gave the company airtime in exchange for equity. On winning the through-the-line account, Burnetts described Free2give as “a unique proposition that is set to create a new genre of shopping and a new mindset.”
Free2give teamed up with online merchants who agreed to pay a percentage of sales of products generated. Free2give then passed on these affiliate revenues to its charity partners, who had to undertake to promote the online shopping mall to their supporters.
Free2give admitted it was facing some difficulties in 2001: in June 2001 it closed its Australian operation and subsequently reduced its UK staff by 40%.
Other online charity shopping malls are still operating, including buy.at and UshopUgive.com.
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.