Alternatives to BT MyDonate: what are they?

Alternatives to BT MyDonate

After BT MyDonate announced it would close down in June 2019, many organisations, particularly small charities, started wondering what alternatives were available. Replacing BT MyDonate can be hard: although it is not the sleekest of platforms many nonprofit organisations relied on them because they charged no fees on online donations, only passing on transaction fees. In this blog, I will look at some of the most used fundraising platforms and will describe and compare their fees and functionalities.

When looking at the many fundraising platforms out there, two obvious criteria should be considered. First, fees - the more funds go toward the charity’s work, the better. Second, it’s important to look at the functionalities on offer - some platforms provide more services than others.

1. Platform fees

The table below shows how much some of the 5 most used platforms would charge for a £20 donation + Gift Aid, plus any additional platform charge.


£20 donation + Gift Aid = £25

Platforms Amount that the charity receives Transaction fee Running fee Setup fee
KindLink £24.61 1.45% + 10p*, no Gift Aid fee £2 per active month** £0
Virgin Money Giving £24.31 3.45% on donation, no Gift Aid fee £0 £150 setup fee
Everyclick £23.89 4.8% on donation + 3% on Gift Aid £0 £0
JustGiving £23.50 6.25% on donation + 5% on Gift Aid up to £468 per year £0
Local Giving £23.45 6% + 10p on donation + 5% on Gift Aid £96 yearly fee £0


*Charged by payment partners Stripe - nothing goes to KindLink. The fee is only charged if the charity’s received at least one donation in the calendar month. ** Charged by payment partners Stripe - nothing goes to KindLink.

2. Functionalities

Now that we’ve seen the difference of the various platforms in terms of fees, let’s turn to their functionalities. Apart a couple of platforms, which I’ll discuss in more detail below, functionlaities are pretty standard - with some differences in terms of user experience (both the charity’s and the donor’s). All the platforms in the list will give charities the ability to create a combination of charity donation forms, fundraising campaign pages, and individual fundraising pages. And all of them will make it possible to list and download the details of the donation and donors.

KindLink and Local Giving, however, do not stop there.

KindLink

The KindLink platform brings together a number of tools designed to help charities of all sizes to increase funds and engage with their supporters in a better way. The whole platform is free of charge and open to all charities and nonprofit organisations in the UK, which have access to:

  • Online Fundraising pages with the same fee structure as BT MyDonate

  • Embeddable donation page within your website

  • CRM Databases for supporters, donations and beneficiaries

  • Automated Gift Aid reporting on both online and offline donations

  • Project Management tool integrated with social media suite

  • Volunteering Management tools integrated with the Do-it Trust

  • Enrolment to the KindLink Payroll Giving System for corporates

The signup process is paperless and immediate - charities can start raising funds within seconds of creating an account. Morevoer, in order to help all charities moving from BT MyDonate to their new free fundraising platform, KindLink is offering a free 45-minute training session to all organisations joining before 30 June.

LocalGiving

Together with the online fundraising platform, Local Giving offers advice and support to small, local charities. Their aim is “to provide ongoing support to help local groups improve their digital skills and develop a wider culture of fundraising.”

Adriano Mancinelli

Adriano Mancinelli

Head of Charities, KindLink

Adriano is KindLink's charity specialist, leading all activities from outreach and partnerships to development of the KindLink for Charity platform. Before founding KindLink, Adriano worked for 4 years within the charity sector, helping UK charities raise more funds for their valuable work.

KindLink

KindLink is the network with purpose. KindLink helps companies manage and showcase their social impact programmes, and provides free tools that allow charities to raise more funds online and communicate their impact.

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