GoFundMe opens up to charity fundraising
Melanie May | 30 April 2018 | News
GoFundMe has opened up its platform to enable people in the UK to raise money for charities, rather than to solely crowdfund for individuals, it announced last week.
This is the first time GoFundMe has enabled individuals to fundraise for charities, and it is now also enabling Gift Aid to be collected on eligible donations.
GoFundMe dropped its 5% platform fee earlier this year and charges a total payment processing fee of 1.9%, plus a flat 20p charge. Charities will receive 100% of Gift Aid and there is also no subscription fee for using the service.
In new research by YouGov on behalf of GoFundMe, 72% of people in the UK thought it unreasonable for platforms to take a cut of Gift Aid claimed for charities on eligible donations.
The research also found that 41% would be more likely to use online fundraising platforms if they dropped their fees with 34% more likely to donate online if it was easier to see how much of the money goes to the charity rather than the platform. 30% of people stated they would be more likely to use online fundraising platforms if it was explained more clearly what the fees are used for.
John Coventry, Head of UK Communications at GoFundMe, said:
“We were shocked to discover that some platforms take a slice from Gift Aid they claim on behalf of charities, and the research we’re releasing today shows that we’re not the only ones shocked. Generous British donors can be absolutely sure that 100% of the Gift Aid generated through campaigns they run on GoFundMe will go to charity, end of story.”
“With GoFundMe charity fundraisers there is a 1.9% processing fee and donors are asked if they want to leave GoFundMe a voluntary tip, and that’s it. If you raise £500 for your favourite charity on GoFundMe that charity will get £615.30 including 100% of the Gift Aid.”
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About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.