Virgin Money Giving to extend Donor Covers Fee to encompass all charity charges
Melanie May | 2 July 2019 | News
Virgin Money Giving is extending its Donor Covers Fee feature to allow anyone donating through the site to cover all fees on behalf of charities, effective from 1 September 2019.
The Donor Covers Fee option currently allows donors to pay the 2% platform fee, and is being extended to allow anyone donating through the site to cover the payment processing fees as well on behalf of the charity. On average since being launched, 85% of donors have opted to use the feature to boost their donation.
From 1 September, the payment processing fee will be a flat 2.5%, bringing it in line with the current costs of processing payments and other fundraising websites, and will allow Virgin Money Giving to extend donations to alternative digital payment methods.
On a £10 donation, the combined fee from 1 September of 45p (20p platform and 25p payment processing fee fee) can be paid by the donor. If a donor chooses to pay these fees, on a £10 donation, the charity will receive 100% of the donation and Gift Aid, receiving £12.50 once Gift Aid is added.
Jo Barnett, Executive Director at Virgin Money Giving said:
“Whilst you can’t run a fundraising platform for free, you can run it without taking a profit so more goes to good causes. Over the past 18 months, we have re-engineered and enhanced the Virgin Money Giving donation experience to help charities maximise donations. As a not-for-profit business we don’t make a profit from peoples’ generosity. Our low fees only cover our operating costs. We don’t charge charities monthly fees and we don’t apply a fee for Gift Aid. This means more money goes to good causes rather than into the pockets of shareholders.
“The introduction of Donor Covers Fee in 2018 has had a significant positive impact on the money charities receive through our platform. We are extending this donation to also cover our card fees meaning charities will benefit from an increase in donations if donors choose to cover the costs on the charities behalf.”
Since its launch in 2009, more than 15,000 charities have registered with Virgin Money Giving and, by the end of 2018, over £700 million had been donated to charities through the service.
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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.