# Charity fundraising platform GivePenny to close at end of August

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2023/07/27/charity-fundraising-platform-givepenny-to-close-at-end-of-august/
- Published: 2023-07-27T00:10:00+01:00
- Author: Melanie May

**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](https://home.givepenny.com/)
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](https://enthuse.com/), 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](https://fundraising.co.uk/2023/02/28/edit-agency-acquires-wood-for-trees-other-snippets-of-news/)
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](https://fundraising.co.uk/2023/01/23/biomni-launches-ai-powered-virtual-assistant-for-charities-plus-other-agency-supplier-updates/)
on their own platform fees for referring others.

Back at the tail end of last year, it announced [a reshuffle of its business model ](https://fundraising.co.uk/2022/12/21/agency-supplier-news-a-bumper-round-up/)
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](https://fundraising.co.uk/2022/05/25/givepenny-receives-1-25mn-investment-to-support-growth/)
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](https://fundraising.co.uk/2021/03/31/givepenny-passes-2m-mark-raised-for-charity/)
in March 2021.