Mums Finance

Charity fundraising websites are raking in millions of pounds by taking a slice of the money generous donors give to their chosen good cause. The biggest, JustGiving.com, is estimated to have made millions of pounds from donations to 8,000 charities. This time of year is peak fundraising season. The London Marathon, the Great North Run and dozens of other charity events raise millions of pounds for charity.

JustGiving takes 5 per cent of your donation plus the fee charged by your debit or credit card and VAT. If you’re running a marathon that means the first 2.3km of your effort goes towards its fees and costs. And if you tick the Gift Aid box, so tax relief can be claimed on your donation, they take a share of that too. On a £10 donation, the charity would receive £12.82 with Gift Aid.

After JustGiving’s deductions they receive £11.92. On top of their commission, charities pay £15 a month to belong to the site, making their cost £180 a year. By comparison, Virginmoneygiving.com charges 2 per cent of your donation and passes the full Gift Aid benefit to the charity, though it also deducts the card fee of 16p. So for a donation of £10 the charity receives £12.46. Charities pay a one-off £100 setup fee.

Bmycharity.com dropped its commission charges last October. It only deducts the card charge of 16p. So the charity will receive £12.66 for every £10 donated with Gift Aid. Charities pay a set-up fee of £150. Charitygiving.co.uk, run by the Dove Trust, takes nothing from your donation unless you include Gift Aid, when it deducts 40p. It passes on £12.42 for a £10 donation to charity. And it’s free for charities.

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