Changing the Face of Charitable Giving with Digital Donation Platforms

Digital donation platforms are an often overlooked but great area of fintech, where consumers are able to benefit from easier donations while worthy causes can generate more money. A real win-win! If you aren’t familiar with these apps, they have revolutionised the way charities are able to fundraise and connect consumers. The most popular charitable giving technology you’ve probably used, or at least heard of, are Just Giving and GoFundMe.

Online charity platforms like these allow consumers to donate to the charities of their choice, in a way that suits them best. Essentially, they offer distribution networks for charities – a conduit between the donator and the charity. The digital donation platform allows charities to reach the masses, raising the profile of their cause, and handle the transactions of charitable donations.

These offer flexibility for consumers, as well as Gift Aid for eligible donations, and make it easier to donate to charities – especially smaller organisations that would be unable to facilitate mass donations without these digital donation platforms. Charity donation apps mean charities are able to raise funds while saving on-inhouse technology expenses, meaning more money is able to be distributed to their chosen cause. These platforms can also integrate in a donator’s life – for example, people can set up direct debits for their chosen charities, meaning a set amount is regularly donated at great convenience to them.

Micro-donations are also possible, linking through to our payment activities in day-to-day life. Whenever you buy a coffee and there’s an option to make a small donation, or round up the sum, this is micro-donations in action. In-person retail is a hugely popular way to do this and in 2024 accounted for 40% of micro-donations, compared to 24% the year before.

The rise of online donations is clear, particularly when linked with digital wallets. It was found that in 2024, donations made via digital wallets made up 43% of these – up from 39% in 2023. Digital donation platforms have also facilitated a growth in regular gift giving, with a 17% year on year increased found in overall monthly regular giving income.

The power of the crowd

A huge part of digital donations is the way it has mobilised the masses through peer-to-peer fundraising. People would traditionally donate in isolation and be none the wiser about an overall fundraising goal. However, crowdfunding has given this greater visibility and the transparency the technology allows has supercharged fundraising.

With these digital donation platforms, people can see the overall goal that is being targeted and how much their donation will help get it towards there. Seeing an end goal can mobilise people to donate more, share this with their friends and get others to donate. People want to donate towards causes close to their heart, but they also want to get that sense of achievement. This is quite similar to the concept of gamification, which we have written about before, where people want to unlock an achievement. This gives them serotonin and helps unlock the power of the masses. Charities can be a major beneficiary of this!

The best digital donation platforms

The wonderful thing about fintech is new solutions are launching all the time. However, here are some of the most significant digital donation platforms operating in the market right now:

Crowdfunder

Fees: 1.9% or 2.4% on amount raised, plus 20p and VAT on pledges made

Includes GiftAid: Yes.

This site is one of the UK’s most well-known digital donation platforms, working with over 500,000 causes and charities and raising £300m since it was launched in 2010.

goDonate

Fees: £250 setup fee for essential version, plus “small” ongoing monthly fees

Includes GiftAid: Yes

goDonate has thrived as being one of the best mobile-first digital donation platforms and has numerous features to give donators flexibility and options that work for them.

Donation Manager

Fees: Completely free for registered charities

Includes GiftAid; Yes

Donation Manager has emerged as a really cost effective option for a lot of charities, only imposing costs on payment providers – additionally it not only oversees the collection of funds, but their tracking and distribution as well.

Chariteer

Fees: Starts from £129 a month (other tiers available)

Includes GiftAid: Yes

Chariteer models itself as an online CRM for charities, giving these organisations all the fundamental digital tools they need to operate efficiently and capably. Includes numerous functions for donor management.

Donorfy

Fees: Starts from £39 a month (other tiers available)

Includes GiftAid: Yes

Arguably one of the most comprehensive digital donation platforms, Donorfy is best suited to small and medium sized organisations. A strong bonus in its favour is it’s automated to HMRC and can sync with accounting packages.

What’s next for digital donation?

This digital innovation couldn’t be happening at a better time for charities as they struggle for fundraising. People are inundated with charitable causes through the news and social media like never before, and combined with a cost of living crisis, it has become harder for these organisations to attract donations.

For these reasons, the ability to remove friction as much as possible and offering mobile-friendly donation sites that utilise a seamless donation experience is crucial. More innovation needs to be done, and it remains to be seen how these platforms will continue to engage with the latest technologies so worthy causes remain at the forefront of people’s minds.

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