Charity begins online
Updated on 29 September 2006
JustGiving.com has transformed the way in which people give to charity.
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Images of Richard Hammond's high-speed car crash transformed the fortunes of the Leeds air ambulance service. Money was donated to the charity via JustGiving.com - a website transforming the process of charitable donation - enabling the service to buy a new air ambulance.
People who want to raise money for their favourite charity can set up a page on the website - much like a sponsorship form - and their friends and family donate with their credit cards via the site.
Of course, not all of the donation goes to the charity; Just Giving will claim tax relief on the money you donate back for you, and also take a cut for itself.
That's because Just Giving is not a charity, it's a business, and a fast-growing one. Five years ago just over £500,000 was donated through the site. By last year that figure had shot up to £31.5m and by the end of this year the site is expected to double that figure to £70m.
The company points out that the tax relief they claim back makes each pound donated worth 128p. So when a pound is given by credit card, one and half pence goes to the credit card company, and Just Giving takes a transaction fee of 5 pence and the rest (still more than the pound donated) is given to charity. This fee will net Just Giving an estimated turnover around £3.5m.
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