# New mobile operator to donate 25% of profits to good causes

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2012/11/19/new-mobile-operator-donate-25-profits-good-causes/
- Published: 2012-11-19T14:56:54+00:00
- Author: Howard Lake

**The People’s Operator has launched its mobile telecomms service across the UK 
with a pledge to donate 25% of all its profits to charities, community groups and
other good causes. It will also encourage customers to donate 10% of their call,
text and data expenditure to these organisations.**

At the same time, The People’s Operator (TPO), says that it will offer customers“
great mobile deals”. It starts today with a pay-as-you-go service, with text messages
for example costing 7.5p. TPO will add a contract payment option in the new year.
Both services will not charge for talking or texting to someone else on the TPO 
network.

## The TPO Foundation

At its launch this morning, TPO claimed that it was the UK’s first commercial utility
to donate 25% of its profits to good causes. The company has established an independent
charitable trust, The TPO Foundation to distribute the funds.

## Advertisement

![The People's Operator press launch](https://www.fundraising.co.uk/files/images/
tpo-launch-panel.jpg)

Photo: TPO Co-Founders Andrew Rosenfeld, Tom Gutteridge, Mark Epstein and CEO Alex
Franks

The Foundation is being chaired by **Sir Christopher Kelly**, currently the Chair
of the Committee on Standards in Public Life and Chair of the King’s Fund; **Kevin
Curley CBE,** the former Chief Executive of NAVCA (National Association for Voluntary
and Community Action), and a member of the advisory council of the NCVO (National
Council for Voluntary Organisations); and property development entrepreneur **Andrew
Rosenfeld,** former Chair of the NSPCC FULL STOP Campaign.

TPO is privately funded by AIRNET, a UK registered company wholly owned by Rosenfeld.
He commented: “The People’s Operator represents a fundamental shift in the way commercial
utilities support communities and causes. The more profit that is generated, the
more we can pass on to deserving parts of society.”

TPO can benefit not just registered charities, but local causes like schools, churches,
youth groups and community groups.

Customers will be given the opportunity to receive updates via their mobile on how
their money is being spent by the good causes that they have chosen to support.

UK Fundraising asked if the company was planning to add a Gift Aid element to the
customers’ donations to boost the value of the gifts but there were no current plans
to do so.

## First charity partners

TPO is aleady working with charities and community groups throughout the UK such
as the NSPCC, the Trussell Trust, ChildLine, Islington Giving, Regenerate, and Claxton
House.

[www.thepeoplesoperator.com](http://www.thepeoplesoperator.com)

## Comments

### By: HowardLake

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2012/11/19/new-mobile-operator-donate-25-profits-good-causes/#comment-3836
- Published: 2015-07-22T22:30:00+01:00

TPO has now expanded to the USA:

[http://mashable.com/2015/07/21/wikipedia-charity-tpo](http://mashable.com/2015/07/21/wikipedia-charity-tpo)