East Midlands Trains adds donate to charity option on delay repay
Howard Lake | 15 March 2017 | News
Delayed train journeys can now generate income for charity, thanks to a new initiative from East Midlands Trains.
The company has added the option of donating to charity to its Delay Repay scheme. This system, available from other train companies, lets travellers claim compensation for any delays to their journey over 30 minutes.
Until now, compensation would be paid to the traveller via cheque, PayPal, Bacs, or Rail Travel Vouchers. Now travellers can choose to donate their compensation to charity. If they select that option then 100% of the donation will be passed to charity.
Train delays can now raise funds for charity
East Midlands Trains has chosen its first charity to benefit from its ‘Donate as you Claim‘ scheme. Appropriately it is Railway Children, which fights for vulnerable children who live alone and at risk on the streets where they suffer abuse and exploitation.
“This partnership with Railway Children will hopefully help turn an unfortunate situation into something hugely positive, having a very real impact on the lives of vulnerable children in the UK, India and East Africa.”
The company described its partnership with Railway Charity as its first charity partnership, so it is likely that in time a different charity will be selected to benefit. The company is not going to allow passengers to choose any UK charity, just the one selected.
It is not clear yet if a Gift Aid declaration is included in the giving process.
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We've partnered with the @RailwayChildren charity to help protect vulnerable young people. https://t.co/TO0gJpW4PK #CharityTuesday pic.twitter.com/6oCVsNd5XA
— East Midlands Railway (EMR) (@EastMidRailway) March 14, 2017
Update 28 April 2017
How much does it raise? Here’s the result after the first month.
#EMTNews: Big thanks to our customers for raising over £500 for charity by donating via our Delay Repay scheme: https://t.co/PUg3y98VTH
— East Midlands Railway (EMR) (@EastMidRailway) April 28, 2017
- Have you spotted other train companies offering a charitable donation option in their Delay Repay scheme?
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.