Five ways supporters can donate cash without spending a penny

We’re living in challenging times. As a result of the sharp increase in the cost of food, fuel, and other essentials, driven by soaring energy costs and the highest inflation in 40 years, everyone is feeling the pinch.

For charities, running costs and demand for services are increasing, but income is falling as people have less to give.

Research by StepChange suggests that 60% of donors have cut back on charitable giving in the last 6 months as families struggle with the impact of the cost-of-living crisis.

That’s the bad news.

The good news? Donors can continue to support you without spending a penny.

Here are five initiatives to promote in your next newsletter.

Nectar Donate

In 2020, Crowdfunder and Nectar teamed up to launch Nectar Donate, an initiative that enables people to donate their Nectar points to a charity of their choice.

The setup is quick and easy. All donors need to do is set up a Crowdfunder account, link their Nectar account to it, and decide how many points to donate.

Points can be donated in increments of 200, with a maximum of 1 million per donation.

To give you an idea, 500 points are worth £2.50.

Nectar card points can be collected at hundreds of outlets including Sainsbury's, Argos, eBay, VUE, Asos, Sky, and British Airways. So this is an easy way for donors to accumulate points, and give for free. Oh, and 100% of every donation goes to charity.

Sign your charity up to benefit here.

Giveacar

Giveacar is a not-for-profit social enterprise that turns people’s vehicles into cash for charity.

The organisation collects unwanted cars, vans, and motorbikes for free. They then either sell them at auction or scrap them, and donate the proceeds (minus a service fee) to the donor’s chosen charity.

Giveacar’s salvage partners deconstruct older polluting vehicles and sell the parts separately, maximising their value for charity.

The British Heart Foundation has received £72,000 through the scheme, so it’s well worth ‘driving’ support from your donors.

Sign your charity up to benefit here.

Charitable Travel

Charitable Travel is a not-for-profit social enterprise travel agency that enables customers to donate a portion of the cost of their holiday to a charity of their choice.

To qualify, customers must donate 5% of the cost of their holiday to a charity of their choice (the charity must be registered on JustGiving and the donation made through the platform). Once the donation has been made, Charitable Travel will discount the cost of their holiday by 5%, effectively making the donation free.

The organisation offers everything from beach getaways to safaris, both in the UK and abroad.

Sign your charity up to benefit here.

eBay for Charity

eBay for Charity is a free and easy way for ebayers to support causes they care about.

All they have to do is tick the “donate a portion to charity” box when listing an item and choose a cause to support (they can donate between 10-100%)

Once the item has sold, eBay collects donations via PayPal Giving Fund, claims Gift Aid (if eligible), and passes 100% of the money on to the charity. They then allocate a fee credit equal to the percentage they donate to the seller’s eBay account.

Charity listings are distinguished by the blue and yellow eBay for Charity ribbon.

There are 22 million active eBayers in the UK, selling everything from electronics to cars, so this is a no-brainer.

Sign your charity up to benefit here.

Movement for Good Awards

The Benefact Group is an international family of specialist financial services companies that donate over £1million to good causes each year.

The Movement for Good Awards is their annual programme of giving.

It functions like a lottery: members of the public nominate charities to receive £1,000 award via an online form and the charities are entered into a draw.

Winners are drawn at random at various points during the year.

The organisation also picks ten charities to receive £5,000 in each draw.

Details of these are announced on their social media channels.

Bonus Tip: This year, the Group will be awarding grants of £10,000 and more. To be considered for a larger grant, register your interest here.

Need a fundraiser to manage these fundraising initiatives? We’ve got plenty waiting in the wings. Give us a call on 0203 750 3111 to get the conversation started.