Online fundraising for UK nonprofits gets huge boost with launch of BT’s MyDonate

The best in professional fundraising services remain fully connected with new technological advances whether that be the use of social media, lottery management services, online fundraising or the ability to allow donors to make quick and easy payments via their smart phones. As I’ve written before the vast majority of non-profits who are showing above average growth over the last year or two have often been those most prepared to diversify their fundraising strategies and to invest in new ideas and modern alternatives. Excellent news comes from the UK this week which will without doubt assist nonprofits in the UK as BT (British Telecommunications) announced the launch of ‘MyDonate’. BT are the largest telecommunications company in Britain with more than $34 billion in annual revenues.

‘MyDonate’ is a brand-new free online nonprofit fundraising service which will help nonprofits to assure the public of the payment gateways security in addition to increasing the percentage of donated money that reaches the nonprofit due to BT not charging charities any setup fee, subscription fees or commissions against donations. It’s thought that the application will provide a huge stimulus to nonprofits as the industry continues to move toward online/smart phone platforms. I hope the memo went around at Apple this week showing them what can be done, they really need to react to this.

The nonprofit industry in the UK is returning to strength gradually after the recession but more than 150,000 nonprofits remain active through support by the British public which is the highest number ever. During any typical month over 55% of British adults donate funds to a nonprofit with cash remaining the most likely method of donation. Whilst the UK has amongst the highest percentage of adults (58%) shopping online based on 2010 statistics only 7% of active donors donated online, an extraordinary gap which is sure to close with increasing use of technology. Having the support of a corporation as large as BT is expected to grow confidence amongst donors as surveys have shown that the two largest concerns amongst donors is the percentage of funds that reached the nonprofit and how the funds are then spent.

BT are citing a lasting commitment to ensuring that 100 percent of all donations will go directly to the charity elected by the donor. The new tool will allow nonprofits to customize the application and build event pages within a website to promote the online payment option. Of the £10.6 billion ($16.7 CAD) donated in the UK in 2010 just under $1.2 billion was donated online, that figure however was almost double the online total from 2009. It’s anticipated that the number may swell to over $2.5 billion per year over the next 18 months due to the high profile that BT’s MyDonate will bring to the nonprofit industry. I’d love to see something equivalent take place for the Canadian and US nonprofit sector as it would do a power of good for public confidence.

You can learn far more about BT MyDonate by following this link.

For the latest CSR and nonprofit fundraising news please follow us on Twitter!