The National Funding Scheme raises over £250,000 for charity

The National Funding Scheme has as of today raised over £250,000 for both arts and non-arts charities.

Notable achievements include the £75,000 raised in the four days following the Battersea Arts Centre fire, over £9,000 raised for the Watts Gallery, £18,000 raised at a charity cricket match (shared between Walking with the Wounded and Combat Stress) and just under £20,000 raised for a landmine charity. In each case the charities have commented not just on the efficiency provided by enabling everyone to give via their phone but the additional sums collected using this approach.

Each of these significant raises (and the countless smaller raises for other charities) underline the power of an immediate giving platform not just in raising more money but also in adding Gift Aid and providing opted-in donor data back to the receiving charities. Indeed with over 10% of the national annual giving total (£10.6bln) being sums under £100 we believe that DONATE (the National Funding Scheme's mobile charity platform) is starting to have a small but growing impact on the £750mln of charity Gift Aid that goes unclaimed each year. Equally with 99% of Battersea's donors leaving their details for Battersea to build a relationship, DONATE is succeeding in turning anonymous cash donations into a database of long term supporter potential.

By taking a minority share of the Gift Aid to contribute to running costs, National Funding Scheme is providing additional cash to charities whilst at the same time assuring the donor of a pound-for-pound pledge when Gift Aid is added. The 2.5% charged when no Gift Aid is added is half the rate charged by commercial providers.

Given the above case studies and the support of our funders, the Trustees recently agreed to extend DONATE to be open to all charitable endeavour. This has the twin impact of making the technology available to all whilst also bringing in more income to National Funding Scheme which in turn will allow us to reduce our fees.

Our governance structure has satisfied significant national funders, all of whom have strict guidelines and their own rigorous governance procedures. The separation of the technology company from the charity ensures that it can bring in investment for ongoing technical development that the charity would not be able to support.

The Trustees are hugely thankful for all the support and funding they have received to reach this milestone. This includes significant pro-bono support from a wide range of providers including our Trustees, our lawyers, bankers, accountants and technology providers.