Justgiving

How is it social?

Justgiving’s chief benefits for charities and fundraisers are increased ease of collecting money and automatic claiming of Giftaid. More than £360m has been raised for over 5,846 UK charities since the company’s inception.

What is its business model?

Justgiving is a private, for-profit company that administers charitable donations with a view to making the process of donating and fundraising easier and more efficient. The site allows individual users to set up a personalised fundraising page, which can then be accessed by potential sponsors who are able to donate through that page to charities registered on the site. This allows charities to raise funds in an economical and efficient manner and to monitor the level of donations. GiftAid is automatically reclaimed from all UK taxpayer donations and funds are transferred direct to recipient charities’ bank accounts at the end of each week.

The company generates revenue via a 4-5% commission charge on gross donations and a membership fee of £15 a month for registered charities. With GiftAid, charities still receive approximately £12 for every £10 donated.

Justgiving has “transformed the face of donating in the UK”, according to the Charity Times, from whom Justgiving received the 2004 Fundraising and IT Services Award.

Its history

Led by founder and CEO Zarine Kharas and managing director Anne Marie Huby, Justgiving was set up in London in 2001. Its US sister company, Firstgiving, was launched in Boston in 2003. The business has grown exponentially since its inception in 2001: the website now has 5,846 registered charites, and 6,396,625 people have donated just over £360m (30th November 2008).

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