Charity fundraising platform GivePenny to close at end of August
Melanie May | 27 July 2023 | News
GivePenny has informed its users that it will be closing down its fundraising platform operation on Thursday, 31 August, after 8 years of operation, having been heavily impacted by a number of challenges, including the cost-of-living crisis.
Announcing the news of its upcoming closure, GivePenny said that:
“Unforeseen challenges, such as the cost-of-living crisis and a significant decline in sign-ups to fundraising campaigns, have led to a reduced use of the platform and a catastrophic effect on GivePenny’s ability to sustain operations. Despite exploring various options to sustain the business, the difficult decision to close down the platform became unavoidable.”
Advertisement
Charities have been informed of the news with GivePenny assuring them that all donations (minus GivePenny and PayPal/Stripe fees) will continue to be smoothly transferred, with monthly subscriptions for Enhanced Membership charged until the end of August and then cancelled.
To minimise disruption, GivePenny is recommending that charities move their fundraising to Enthuse, saying that “Once signed up, charities can relaunch any live campaigns and then communicate to their fundraisers about transitioning their activities to their new campaign pages.”
During the winding-down period, GivePenny’s support platform will be available to manage all communications with charities and the platform has asked charities to refer to the Knowledge Base on the website for help wherever possible.
Commenting on the news Lee Clark, founder at GivePenny, said:
“I would like to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt thanks for the loyalty and support from the charities we’ve worked with over the years. Together, we have accomplished remarkable things and we’re proud to have been part of some incredible fundraising initiatives.”
More on GivePenny
GivePenny integrates with sports, gaming, and events platforms including Strava, Spotify, Twitch, Fitbit, and Runkeeper, enabling fundraisers to choose a charity to fundraise for, create a fundraising page and connect the app of their choice. It also offers charity-facing integrations with the likes of Stripe, PayPal, Mailchimp and Eventbrite.
Over the years, charity clients have included Mind, Cancer Research UK, Blue Cross and Help for Heroes with GivePenny regularly announcing new features and platform improvements. Earlier this year, GivePenny announced that it had partnered with Fitbit to launch a new virtual fundraising challenge for UK charities called Fitbit Steps for Good. 2023 has also seen it offer charities a 100% discount on their own platform fees for referring others.
Back at the tail end of last year, it announced a reshuffle of its business model to allow members of the public to raise money for any UK registered charity through its platform. It also stopped asking people in the process of donating to add a tip, charging charities a flat fee of 5% of donations (including Gift Aid).
Last May saw it receive a £1.25mn investment to support growth from the MEIF Proof of Concept & Early Stage Fund. At this point it had raised over £3.5mn in total for charities, having passed the £2mn milestone in March 2021.
Related posts
GivePenny receives £1.25mn investment to support growth
Greenpeace direct debit error hits UK donors
Credit and debit card turnover at charity shops up 103% in 2011, says CardSave
Cardsave Community expands to offer payment services to Northern Ireland charities
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.