gift aid

Fonix and JustGiving partner

Posted on by Andrea Putnam-Moorcroft

Fonix and JustGiving partner to introduce SMS donations to thousands of UK charities

London, September 18, 2024

Fonix, a leading mobile payments and interactive services company, is pleased to announce a strategic partnership with JustGiving, the UK’s leading online fundraising platform. This collaboration is set to transform charitable giving by integrating seamless SMS donation technology, making it easier than ever for individuals to support causes they care about.

Through this partnership, Fonix and JustGiving are enabling donors to support their favourite charities through quick and secure mobile payments.  Leveraging Fonix’s cutting-edge technology, JustGiving users can now make donations directly via SMS, offering a fast and convenient way to contribute, whether at home or on the go, no credit or debit card required.

This partnership also empowers charities with a powerful new tool to engage with supporters and drive donations. By expanding payment options to include SMS donations, charities can reach a wider audience and significantly enhance the impact of their fundraising efforts.

According to the Annual Market Review for Phone-Paid Services 2023–2024, £38.6 million was raised through phone-paid services in the UK during the last financial year. Since 2014, Fonix has processed £333 million in SMS donations. Offering this capability to JustGiving’s 20,000 UK charity partners represents an opportunity to make a marked increase to these figures.

Oliver Shaw-Latimer, Senior Director of Payments and Innovation at JustGiving, commented: “We’re pleased to partner with Fonix to enhance the ways our charities can accept donations in the UK. Their market-leading messaging and payment technology will enable us to optimise a key aspect of charity fundraising and audience engagement. JustGiving is committed to making giving as easy and accessible as possible. This partnership allows us to offer our users a fast, secure, and convenient way to donate through their mobile devices, helping us continue our mission of connecting people with the causes they care about.”

Rob Weisz, CEO of Fonix, added: “JustGiving has been a pivotal force in charity fundraising for over two decades and remains one of the most recognised platforms for both charities and donors. This partnership will allow JustGiving’s charity partners to leverage Fonix’s mobile payment technology to offer text donations in the UK – a crucial donation method given its simplicity and widespread use. Having raised over £330 million through text donations to date, we’re excited to continue supporting fantastic causes alongside JustGiving.”

This partnership comes at a perfect time, with JustGiving announcing a record £550 million raised for nearly 20,000 UK charities through their platform in 2023, and more than 950,000 JustGiving fundraising pages set up – a 9% increase from 2022.

Fonix has a proven track record with charities of all sizes across the UK, including Comic Relief, Children in Need, Socceraid, Stand Up To Cancer, and many more. Their text donation technology enables charities to reach a broader audience, with some organisations seeing as much as 80% of donations coming through mobile. Fonix’s innovative techniques maximise donations, value, and Gift Aid declarations.

Member Spotlight: Introducing Supported Business

Posted on by Andrea Putnam-Moorcroft

We chatted with Adam Maxted, CEO of Supported Business, to learn more about their digital and payment capabilities through their Supported Giving and Supported Health services, and their full solution range at InverOak.

With a focus on helping charities develop a solution for recovering unclaimed Gift Aid, and also live video consultation services, they have plans for developing new verticals built on their existing capabilities over the next few months.

You can find more about their services from our Spotlight Interview.

 

Fonix to power mobile donations across all of Cancer Research UK’s fundraising activity

Posted on by Andrea Putnam-Moorcroft

Fonix, the mobile messaging and payments specialist, today announced that it has extended its partnership with Cancer Research UK, one of the world’s leading cancer charities dedicated to saving lives through research.

Fonix first started working with Cancer Research UK in 2017 for the Stand Up To Cancer campaign, a joint national fundraiser from Cancer Research UK and Channel 4, seamlessly enabling mobile donations and Gift Aid. This continued in 2018 with Fonix successfully processing SMS donations to Stand Up To Cancer made during the live show on Channel 4 – significantly contributing to the record £24.6 million raised on the night.

This extended contract will see Fonix power the mobile donations across all of the charity’s fundraising activity, including Race for Life, other challenge events such as Shine Night Walk and the Great Hike and also as a direct response to indoor and outdoor print advertising.

Kathryn Toner, Head of Individual Giving at Cancer Research UK said: “With a proven track record across all high-profile charity campaigns, Fonix’s experience and expertise in the charity sector speaks for itself.

“Text to donate is a great fundraising mechanic for the charity as it is a quick and easy way that the public can donate to the charity and help us bring forward the day when all cancers are cured. Cancer Research UK receives no government funding for its life saving research and relies entirely on the generosity of the public. We’re always looking for new ways that the public can donate to the charity such as raising donations via competitions.”

Clare Charles, account director at Fonix added: “It’s been such a privilege to work with Cancer Research UK over the past two years and in this time we’ve seen how our shared passion for innovation has positively impacted the amount raised for such a good cause.

“The extended partnership was the obvious next step for Fonix and Cancer Research UK, and we look forward to driving mobile donations and seeing the results across all fundraising activity.”

Dynamic Mobile Billing playing its part in Movember 2018

Posted on by Andrea Putnam-Moorcroft

Dynamic Mobile Billing (DMB) is delighted to be partnering with Spoke Interactive and The Sun on their annual Movember fundraising initiative.  DMB’s billing platform will be used for The Sun’s charity ‘Spot the Ball’ competition during Movember, which launches today, 12th November, running for one month.

The Movember Foundation is a leading charity changing the face of men’s health; addressing some of the biggest health issues faced by men: prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and mental health and suicide prevention. It’s not just about raising money, but crucially, also awareness for all the dads, brothers, sons and mates in your life. For more information about this fantastic charity please visit: Movember.com

Tom Hines, Media Services Director of Spoke-Interactive comments, “We are delighted to be to be partnering with the Sun and Movember in developing this format for such a good cause.  It’s great to take a traditional game and adapt it with a new mobile giving format that can raise money for the charity in this way.”

DMB’s platform allows consumers to enter the Spot the Ball Charity Competition free of charge, with a voluntary £1.50 donation by text. There is also the option to add a Gift Aid contribution from the UK government, taking just a few seconds.

Kevin Dawson, CEO of DMB says “We are thrilled to be associated with, and providing the mobile platform for such a well-established, high profile and global-reaching initiative like Movember.  To be that link in the chain, enabling donations and vital funds to be raised for such a good cause is something DMB is extremely proud of”

Fonix partners with Soccer Aid for Unicef, allowing viewers to donate to the charity via SMS

Posted on by Andrea Putnam-Moorcroft

Fonix, the tech company for acquiring and engaging consumers through their mobile phones, has announced today that it will be providing a mobile donation mechanic for Soccer Aid for Unicef, the biennial British charity football match which raises money in aid of UNICEF UK.

The game kicks off at Old Trafford on 10th June, and both the England and World XI teams include a host of impressive celebrities – including Usain Bolt, Sir Mo Farah, Gordon Ramsay, Michael Owen and Jamie Redknapp.

Fonix will be providing a mobile payment mechanic to the charity, allowing viewers to give to the charity via SMS in £10 and for the first time, £20 amounts. Fonix will also be managing Gift Aid donations, by sending reminders to donors to add Gift Aid as well as building a dedicated microsite for them to make a Gift Aid declaration.

The UK government will match every £1 donated by the public through its UK Aid Match scheme, doubling the difference for children in danger around the world.

Fiona Robertson, Head of Charity Projects at ITV said “We chose to work with Fonix on Soccer Aid for Unicef because we know that they have extensive experience running large-scale mobile charity campaigns.”

“Mobile billing has been incredibly effective with regards to donating to charity. Consumers clearly like to make payments via SMS, and for Soccer Aid for Unicef it will certainly have a positive impact upon conversions and the overall amount raised.”

Stephen George, Business Development Director at Fonix, said “Soccer Aid for Unicef is such a fantastic campaign. We’re so pleased to be introducing the £20 price point this year, as it clearly demonstrates that consumers want to give more to charity by mobile. Most importantly, we can’t wait to watch the game!”

Suzanne Ryder Richardson, Program Lead at UNICEF UK said “We know the public really get behind Soccer Aid for Unicef and that it’s a tremendously popular show, particularly with the fantastic line-up that it has. Encouraging viewers to donate to the charity is easy when there’s a frictionless payment mechanic that simply allows them to text to donate – it makes so much difference.

“Equally, the Gift Aid reminders and the landing page for collecting Gift Aid will increase the overall amount donated and this can only be good news for Unicef”.

International Development Secretary, Penny Mordaunt, said: “We are excited to be involved once again this year in what promises to be the biggest Soccer Aid for Unicef to date. The UK government will match public donations pound-for-pound, meaning that, together, we can double the difference for children around the world.”

The international friendly match will take place at Old Trafford on Sunday 10th June, just four days before the FIFA World Cup in Russia begins. Tickets are on sale now and the game will be broadcast live on ITV. Kick-off is scheduled for 20:00 BST.

Soccer Aid for Unicef is the original England vs. Soccer Aid World XI charity match. It was launched and co-founded in 2006 by Unicef UK Ambassador Robbie Williams and Jonathan Wilkes and has previously featured A-list stars such as Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, Mike Myers and Niall Horan, plus footballing royalty including Maradona, ZinedineZidane, Luis Figo and Ronaldinho.

Unicef, the world’s leading organisation for children, has joined forces with ITV to make the pro-celebrity football match bigger and better than ever, with more potential to raise money and vital support for children in danger. Soccer Aid for Unicef is produced by Initial, part of Endemol Shine UK, for ITV.

100% of all public donations to Soccer Aid for Unicef will be doubled by the UK government, up to a total of £5 million through its UK Aid Match scheme, and will go towards supporting the vital work protecting children around the world. So far £24 million has already been raised through Soccer Aid over the last 12 years.

Visit socceraid.org.uk to find out more and follow @SoccerAid on Twitter and Instagram, ‘Soccer Aid’ on Facebook and use the hashtag #SoccerAid for regular player and match updates.