More than 500 UK charities join BT’s MyDonate online fundraising service

www.bt.com/mydonate

More than 500 UK-registered charities have joined MyDonate, the new free online charitable fundraising service from BT (www.bt.com/mydonate), since launch in April this year, with hundreds of other charities set to join in the coming weeks.

BT’s MyDonate online giving platform guarantees that 100 per cent of all monies donated go direct to the charity, with the exception of charges levied by the donor’s own credit or debit card company. Charities that have signed up over the past few months include Citizens Advice, Save The Children and Scope, joining founding charity partners Cancer Research UK, Changing Faces, KidsOut, NSPCC and Women’s Aid.

MyDonate was launched by TV presenter and adventurer Ben Fogle and BT Chief Executive Ian Livingston on April 6th, after BT worked with charities to design and build the digital fundraising service to meet the needs of the online giving market. It has already proved popular with fundraisers for events, including the Three Peaks Challenge, Great Manchester Run and New York Marathon.

BT is running the MyDonate service completely for free and, unlike some other services operating in the UK, doesn’t charge charities or donors a subscription fee, a set up fee or take a commission. Charities can also receive Gift Aid from UK tax payers who donate using the site.

Debbie Bines, Head of Event Fundraising at disability charity Scope said: “Most of our event participants raise money for Scope online so MyDonate is a very welcome addition to the online fundraising market. It’s a quick and free way for people to donate to charity which means that more of the money we raise can go towards our work with disabled people.”

Smaller charities – including Cobnor Activities Centre, Anthony Nolan, Lomond Mountain Rescue and Sunny Harbour Cat & Kitten Rescue – have been particularly eager to sign-up to MyDonate, seeing it as an easy and accessible way for people to raise more funds for them without any of the online donations being lost to administration charges. BT is encouraging thousands of other UK registered charities to sign up to MyDonate over the next year, so that as many people as possible can give more money to their favourite charities.

Barry Colgate, chairman of Cobnor Activities Centre, said: “As a smaller charity, providing outdoor educational activities for children and young people, including the disadvantaged and disabled, MyDonate is making it easier for us to raise funds, without us having to pay overheads, such as set-up fees. It’s good to know that 100 per cent of all monies raised via this site will go direct to helping our many users to benefit from physical activity and gaining increased personal confidence from their own achievements.”

MyDonate has been launched to help grow the online fundraising market. Last year the total amount donated to charity by adults in the UK was estimated to be £10.6 billion, but only seven per cent of charitable givers donated online . A recent MyDonate survey also showed that nearly 60 per cent of people want their entire online donation to go direct to charity, and that two of the top reasons people donated to a particular charity were influenced by how much money actually went to good causes and what their money was spent on.

Fundraisers can use the MyDonate service to build and customise their own event page on the website to promote an activity, such as a marathon or bungee jump, they undertake in support of their chosen charity. The MyDonate website also provides online help and LiveChat support for charities and fundraisers setting up their events pages, fundraising tips, as well as links to social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, to help promote their fundraising events. Charities and fundraisers looking to join MyDonate or wanting to find further information about the service should visit the web site at: www.bt.com/mydonate

BT has launched MyDonate as part of its ongoing commitment to making a positive difference to society. BT has developed an expertise in providing secure online services, which has helped the company become a trusted technology partner for charities. BT’s support for charities spans more than 30 years, with its online donation platforms processing more than £160 million for high profile charity telethons over the last nine years alone, these include the BBC’s Children in Need and DEC’s (Disasters Emergency Committee) Pakistan appeal.

BT is committed to investing a minimum of one per cent of its pre-tax profits in community and environmental programmes every year, which amounted to money, time and in-kind contributions of over £27.6 million in 2010/2011. BT will run the MyDonate service completely for free, with all money going to charity, and forms a key part of the company’s charitable programme.

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For further information
About Cobnor Activities Centre Trust
Cobnor is a ‘not for profit’ charity formed in 1979, based in Chichester Harbour’s Area of Natural Outstanding Beauty. It provides outdoor educational activities for children and young people, including the disadvantaged and disabled, on a residential or non-residential basis.

Courses include sailing, kayaking (both sea and inland waters), canoeing, mountain biking, low ropes, rock climbing, orienteering, problem solving, camping (both on and off site), archery, Duke of Edinburgh Awards, VHF radio, power boating.

Cobnor has completed a £1m building and refurbishment project to give it some of the best facilities along the south coast. It has now launched an appeal to help fund new and additional equipment it will need.