Charities: BT MyDonate is closing -- time to move on to SoGive
On Monday, BT MyDonate issued a statement saying that it will close. We at SoGive encourage all charities to move from BT MyDonate to SoGive, a high-quality donation platform which also levies no charge.
BT's decision is important -- since 2011 BT MyDonate has supported over £500 million of donations, and BT MyDonate is one of the biggest providers of online donation services in the UK.
Currently the three main fundraising platforms are
- JustGiving -- takes 5% of the donation as well as charging the charity at least £15 monthly
- VirginMoney Giving -- takes 2% of the donation as well as charging the charity £150 up front
- BT MyDonate -- free (apart from a transaction charge)
Here we set out some of the considerations that you should take into account when selecting a new provider of donation services:
| Charity's requirements | What SoGive offers |
|---|---|
| Sustainable; i.e. receives some remuneration from the transaction (and won't fold like BT MyDonate) | SoGive takes no charge from donations |
| Still free to use, so that the charity receives the full donation | SoGive operates a tip-based model, so donors can choose provide a tip to SoGive if they wish |
| Focused on charity donation services | SoGive is focused on gathering impact data about charities and providing charity donation services |
| Provides a high-quality donation experience | SoGive provides an engaging donor experience, including social media integration, images, and data telling the donor how much impact they have achieved |
The first two sound like a paradox -- is it possible for a service by free, and yet receive remuneration? SoGive operates a tip-based model. This is important because it puts the decision in the hands of the donor, many of whom are keen to ensure that no funds go to a middleman. Also, where a tip does go to SoGive, it does not come at the expense of the charity.
We at SoGive know that both donors and charities want to ensure that every penny that can go to the charity does go to the charity. That's why we don't take any money from the charity -- we simply pass on the payment transaction fees of 1.4% + 20p (just like BT MyDonate)
We also provide more to engage and excite the donor, by providing engaging images of the charity's work, logos, a tagging system to help donors find charities within the cause areas they care about, and a unique database which indicates how much of a charity's impact can be attributed to any one donor.
While many of the other platforms are offering short term deals to lure charities to use them after BT MyDonate shuts down, we at SoGive don't need a special deal -- we have a sustainably free of charge service for the long term.
If you want to sign up, simply send an email to sanjay@sogive.org and say you would like to sign up and we'll gather a few simple details from you and the process will be done pronto!