# Uber’s ‘Donate’ rides raise $300k in 48 hours

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2015/01/06/ubers-donate-rides-raise-300k-48-hours/
- Published: 2015-01-06T13:13:14+00:00
- Author: Howard Lake

Users of taxi mobile app company Uber last month donated over $300,000 in just two
days through a new top-up to donate function. The beneficiary was No Kid Hungry,
a US nonprofit working to end childhood hunger in America.

 

[Uber created a new class of ride called ‘Donate’](http://blog.uber.com/nokidhungry).
Users choosing that type agreed to be charged an addition $5, which was donated 
in full to the nonprofit.

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![Uber's new Donate ride](https://wfay6x.infiniteuploads.cloud/2026/09/uber-no-kid-
hungry.jpg)

 

The company had hoped to raise enough to fund three million meals for children to
be provided by the charity. The function proved so popular though that the money
raised was enough for over five million meals.

 

## In-app donations?

 

According to [Charitweet](http://blog.charitweet.com/uber-slipped-one-by-apple-for-charity-and-the-results-were-amazing/),
Uber achieved this fundraising success by handling in-app donations, in defiance
of [Apple’s policy on in-app donations](https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/#charities-contributions)
which states that they are not permitted. Donations to charities in apps must be
completed via text or the web  (using the Apple Safari browser) – not within the
app.

 

Charitweet applauded Uber’s approach on the grounds that it made giving easy, saying:

 

> “We applaud Uber for disrupting the system in a positive way – but isn’t it time
> to make donations easier for all involved?”

 

They also set up a [petition to Apple on Change.org](https://www.change.org/p/apple-ask-apple-to-update-their-guidelines-to-allow-in-app-charitable-donations)
to ask the company to do precisely that by allowing in-app charitable donations.
At the time of publication it needed another 362 signatures.

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