Virgin Money Giving raises over £21 million in its first year

Howard Lake | 14 October 2010 | News

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• Digital

Online giving site Virgin Money Giving has generated over £21 million for charities in its first 12 months. With 87% of donations being given using Gift Aid, the total received by charities is £25 million.

Virgin Money Giving used its first anniversary today to extol the value of digital giving: it cuts administration costs, improves Gift Aid uptake and “is more convenient and easier to use for charities and fundraisers”.

The company entered the market by contrasting its not-for-profit model and fees with those of other existing and long-established services like Justgiving and Bmycharity. It claims that its 2% fee “to cover costs” means that it has been able “to channel £1 million more to charities” during its first year than if the cash had been donated through other online donation services.

The company states that for every £10 donated on Virgin Money Giving, £12.47 is received by the charity, assuming Gift Aid donors are UK taxpayers. It charges charities £100 + VAT to register.

It also reported that it had been particularly successful in securing Gift Aid declarations on small gifts of less than £5. According to thinktank ResPublica’s recent research, 80% of charities fail to chase up Gift Aid on these small sums. Yet more than 82% of donations of £5 or less handled by Virgin Money Giving were boosted by Gift Aid.

Virgin Money Giving currently has over 2,400 charities registered and 40,000 fundraisers taking part in a range of activities, from the Virgin London Marathon to a team of fundraisers driving a fire engine across the globe.

www.virginmoneygiving.com

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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.