BT steps in to help DEC handle online donations
Howard Lake | 30 December 2004 | News
BT is helping the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) handle online donations after the umbrella body’s Web site failed to cope with the volume of traffic it has been receiving for the past 48 hours.
The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) has struggled to make its online donation service available in the wake of unprecented demand by the UK public to make online donations to its Tsunami/Earthquake emergency appeal. The online donations were being handled by Securetrading.net.
Donors who click to give online are now being directed away from the DEC’s site to a secure donation page on a BT microsite at donate.bt.com. BT’s support is acknowledged at the bottom of the donation form with a
“powered by BT” logo button and the text “Secure donation powered by BT”.
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Donors attempting to give at the original Securetrading.net Web page are automatically redirected after one second to the new BT donation page.
UK Fundraising suggested earlier today that it was about time that the DEC sought external and preferably donated technical help to ensure that its Web site was able to handle the demand.
Although BT’s assistance seems to have resolved this issue, the DEC’s site’s front page still says, in red text, “Due to high volume of traffic on our website you may experience difficulty making a donation online… please please try later, we need your money”.
BT has also donated £500,000 to the DEC appeal and said that it wanted to work with other major corporations to assist the appeal for funds. The communications company is also providing equipment and locally-based telecommunications experts in the affected regions.
As well as the online donations service BT is also supporting the DEC fundraising efforts by providing network management and technical expertise for the appeal help-lines, together with volunteers to answer phones during a live appeal for funds at the BT Tower.
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.