text to donate.

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.

Fonix to power mobile donations for The Prince’s Trust Awards on ITV

Posted on by Andrea Putnam-Moorcroft

Fonix logo in blue

 

Today, Fonix announced that it will be providing the text donation mechanic for The Prince’s Trust Awards. SMS will feature on the awards for the first time in its history. Hosted by Ant & Dec, The Prince’s Trust Awards will air today on ITV.

The Awards recognise young people who have succeeded against all the odds, improved their chances in life and had a positive impact on their local community.

Fonix will be working with The Prince’s Trust and ITV to provide a text-to-donate platform, enabling donors to send a text message to donate either £10, £20, £30 or £40, all charged to their mobile phone bills.

The Prince’s Trust helps young people from disadvantaged communities to get their lives back on track by giving them the confidence and skills to live, learn and earn. Founded by HRH The Prince of Wales in 1976, the charity supports 11 to 30-year-olds across the UK who are unemployed, those struggling at school or at risk of exclusion. Since its inception The Trust has supported more than one million young people in the UK.

Clare Charles, Head of Client Management, said: “At Fonix, we have seen the huge impact of text donations across televised campaigns and are delighted that this will feature on The Prince’s Trust Awards show. We’re looking forward to seeing the results and the difference it makes to help support young people.”

Jessica Mitchell, Individual Supporters Manager for The Princes Trust, said: “Each year, The Prince’s Trust Awards allows us to celebrate the achievements and admire the resilience of young people across the UK and internationally. Incorporating fundraising into the show for the very first time is a natural and exciting addition for us. Fonix’s experience within the charity sector and continued success with text-to-donate made the partnership an exciting prospect.”

Text-to-donate raises over £6.8m in mobile donations for the Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal

Posted on by Andrea Putnam-Moorcroft

Fonix logo in blue

 

Fonix has been the mobile donation partner for the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.

More than £6.8m has been raised by the UK public via text-to-donate so far, to support the aid effort in Ukraine and in neighbouring countries.

Since the beginning of March text-to-donate has been promoted across the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, Sky, Radiocentre, BT Sport and Co-op to name a few.

Concert for Ukraine, which took place in the UK on 29 March, raised more than £4.9m in mobile donations, helping contribute to the £13.4m raised on the night of the Appeal.

The two-hour show brought together names from the world of music for a unique event spreading a message of hope and support, and most importantly, raising funds for the ongoing DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal. The live show was broadcast across ITV, STV, ITV Hub and STV Player.

The show promoted text-to-donate, allowing donors to donate via text at one of four price points: £10, £20, £30 and £40. Donations were charged to a donor’s mobile phone bill.

Rob Weisz, CEO of Fonix, said: “We are so very proud to be able to work with the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) to help the humanitarian effort to support those affected by the crisis in Ukraine.”

Simon Beresford, Director of Fundraising and Marketing of DEC, added: “We’re thankful to Fonix for enabling mobile donations so quickly and to the generous UK public whose donations will go on to make such a difference. As humanitarian needs continue to grow, the money raised will help to provide vital support to families caught up in this devastating conflict.”

Charity online giving has risen during Covid 19

Posted on by Andrea Putnam-Moorcroft

During this time with the country at home, and unable to shop the usual way, a survey by nfpSynergy has found that online charitable giving has doubled from 2019.  It found that those charities that were set up to accept online giving had benefited during this time, highlighting the importance of having an online presence and the ability to react quickly to changes. Online donations were collected via charities websites and Direct Debits but also saw an increase in text giving.

“It’s about making it as easy as possible for the public to give so that charities can achieve more.” Simon Baines MD of the Access Group

It was also reported that while donation levels were down generally, the average donation amount had increased by approx £10 per person from January.

 

Quote taken from: https://www.civilsociety.co.uk/news/number-of-people-giving-to-charity-during-lockdown-lowest-in-a-decade-poll-finds.html

Fonix to power mobile donations for The Big Night In Appeal

Posted on by Andrea Putnam-Moorcroft

23 April 2020, London – Fonix has announced that it will be providing the mobile payment mechanic for tonight’s Big Night In Appeal on BBC One.

Two of the BBC’s biggest charitable partners, Comic Relief and BBC Children in Need are coming together for the first time, for a night of live entertainment. The Big Night In will raise funds to help support vulnerable people across the UK who may be significantly affected by the current Covid-19 crisis.

Fonix will be working with Comic Relief and BBC Children in Need to provide a text-to-donate platform, enabling donors to send a text message to donate either £5, £10, £20 or £30 which will be charged to their mobile phone bills.

Clare Charles, Director for Media and Charity at Fonix, comments: “We’re so very proud to be working with Comic Relief and BBC Children in Need during these troubled times. We’re looking forward to seeing the results and the difference that it makes to people all across the UK.”

Jules Thorne, Campaign Co-director at Comic Relief, said:“The Big Night In is an amazing way for us as charities to join forces and show how much of an impact we can make on the lives of those who need our support. Fonix’s experience within the charity sector has been invaluable to helping us get up and running quickly with mobile donations for the campaign.”

Kerry Howard, Head of Operations Appeal for BBC Children in Need, said:“It’s in unprecedented times like these that it’s more important than ever to collaborate and look to support this situation in the best way we can; coming together with Comic Relief will help us achieve just that. Through the power of TV, mobile technology and the public’s generosity, it’s going to be a brilliant night for a great cause.”

The Big Night In will air tonight on BBC One on at 7pm.