Pandemic’s height saw over £2m raised through Donr text giving platform
Melanie May | 13 October 2020 | News
Just over 2,000 charities raised a total of £2 million through Donr’s text giving platform between March and July.
Donr saw a 653% year-on-year increase in funds raised for this time period due to charities organising emergency appeals, virtual events and using text giving as an alternative to cash donations. It now has over 3,000 charities now registered on the platform.
The pandemic has seen many charities using text to give for emergency appeals, including Chester Zoo, which launched the ‘Save Our Zoo’ appeal to offset a funding gap caused by forced closure during lockdown.
Fundraising Manager, Julie Platt said:
“Donors are looking for simple ways that they can quickly and safely donate to their favourite causes. Text to donate is still a really popular way to give, so it’s great to be signed up and using it.”
Several charities, including Keech Hospice Care used text giving during a series of quizzes streamed online, while National Theatre and Barn Theatre have used text giving to ask for donations during broadcasts of performances, raising funds from supporters unable to visit the theatre in person. Other charities, such as Tottenham Foodbank, have used text giving as an alternative to donations of cash or physical items.
A Tottenham Foodbank spokesperson explained:
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“People want to donate food to us, but they often can’t because – they can’t make it during our opening times, they are self-isolating, they are avoiding public places during lockdown or they simply cannot find anything on the supermarket shelves. Texting is the most immediate thing they can do to help.”
A total of 250,469 charity supporters made donations through Donr’s platform between March and July.
The platform allows charities to receive one-off or regular donations at a cost of 5% plus VAT. Due to the pandemic however, it has made two features free for the rest of 2020: the option to send an additional text message to request donors complete a Gift Aid declaration, and to send a conversion message to encourage a one-off donation to be turned into a regular gift.
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.