CAF (Charities Aid Foundation) has witnessed a staggering 89% increase in donations to charity through its online services over the past year. From December 2003 to 2004, online giving through CAF grew by £3.2 million to over £6.8 million.
During that time allaboutgiving.org, CAF’s website for regular tax-efficient donations, generated over £4.8 million for charity, a growth of 62% on the previous year; credit and debit card donations through www.givenow.org rose by 109% to over £201,000. In addition, 82% of the donations through givenow.org were Gift Aided - significantly higher than the national average of 30% for all UK donations.
CAF’s tailored Efundraising service, which enables charities to fundraise online from their own websites, nearly trebled to just under £1.3 million in 2004. The fastest growing part of the Efundraising service was Paperless Direct Debits (PDD) enabling charities to accept tax-efficient direct debit donations from their own sites. Income through PDDs grew by 530%, from £77,000 in 2003 to £484,269 in 2004, with the number of donors choosing to sign up increasing by 432%.
According to Sarah Hughes, CAF’s Head of New Media: “These figures reflect a growing trend in the public’s willingness to move their giving online: in a recent CAF/NOP survey, two thirds of people who gave online to Tsunami appeals did so for the first time.
“When donors are prompted by the images and information in the media, the internet can offer the most immediate response mechanism for giving. 62%* of UK adults now have internet access and charities are recognizing the growing role of the internet, not just in educating the public, but in engaging their support.”
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