eBay launches Big Christmas Charity Sell fundraising initiative
Melanie May | 1 December 2020 | News
eBay is asking people to join in its Big Christmas Charity Sell this month and raise money through their sales for charity.
With data from eBay revealing that the average UK home has 42 unwanted items worth an estimated £500, the campaign asks people to sell their preloved items and donate between 10% and 100% of the proceeds to charity. Between 1 and 20 December, eBay will give £5 for every £1 customers donate when selling on the platform, up to a total of £500,000 and capped at £25,000 per charity.
To participate in the Big Christmas Charity Sell, customers just need to click “Donate a portion to charity” in the listing flow, choose a charity, and decide what percentage of their sale to donate. Nearly 350 charities have signed up so far including Oxfam, NSPCC, Shelter, Marie Curie, RSPCA, Help for Heroes and The Trussell Trust.
eBay will prioritise distributing donations pledged to these charities, and if there are funds remaining, eBay will distribute these equally amongst those charities that customers donated to via ‘Community Selling’ over the campaign duration but which did not opt in to the campaign.
Last year, eBay’s buyers and sellers raised more than £27 million in unrestricted funding for charity organisations – an increase of 17% compared to 2018, and it is hoping to do even better this year.
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Murray Lambell, eBay UK General Manager, said:
“With charities braced for a considerable reduction in fundraising this Christmas season, we want to support our eBay for Charity community and help our customers raise money for the causes they care about when they sell on eBay. If every household were to sell either a piece of clothing, book or toy this Christmas and donate 100% of the sale, we would raise over £400 million for charity.”
Research from Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) shows that more than half of UK charities (54%) face a loss of income this Christmas due to the impact of the ongoing pandemic. One in two of those surveyed (53%) said they needed to make a shift to online fundraising in order to try and make up some of the shortfall and 46% said they felt that their supporters would be open to donating online. The research also found that a quarter of charities fear they will have to close their doors within a year if they do not receive additional support and of those, one in 10 said they are unlikely to survive the next six months.
Catherine Mahoney, Research Manager at Charities Aid Foundation, said:
“Charities are telling us that they are looking at a very difficult end to what has been a terrible year with so many relying heavily on the funds they raise at Christmas to keep supporting the causes close to our hearts. This year, so many traditional opportunities to give are just not there, be that because of closed charity shops, charity tin collections unable to take place and a massive reduction in the use of cash. It is, however, encouraging to see that many are confident that their donors are open to giving online. We hope that thanks to ideas like eBay’s Big Christmas Charity Sell, this leads to a much-needed boost for charities so that they can continue to deliver vital support to so many people across the UK and overseas.”
Ellie Clarke, Corporate Partnerships Manager at RSPCA, commented:
“Like many charities, this has been a hugely challenging year for us, and it’s only through the continued support of our donors that we’ve been able to continue rescuing animals most in need. We’re so pleased that eBay have brought back their Big Charity Sell initiative, which in May saw us raise more than £2,500 via the eBay for Charity platform.”
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.