FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions:

1) We are a registered charity, what benefits would Localgiving provide to our organisation?

Localgiving aims to empower and capture online donations for charitable organisations that operate at a local level. The main objectives are to spread the news about your amazing work and try to get more financial support for your activities.
Additional important benefits include:
• Powerful search facilities enabling donors to find you easily online and make a donation (using location, issue and beneficiary search criteria)
• Built-in Search Engine Optimisation facilities to be highly ranked on Google and other engines (again so that interested parties can find you)
• Your own fundraising website on Localgiving.com that is linked to your existing organisation website
• Online donations from both new donors and existing supporters (we will partner with Justgiving to provide a seamless service)
• Gift Aid (currently 28%) on all donations made through the site, provided the donor pays sufficient UK tax, even if you are not a registered charity, which we will process for you.
• Easy to use e-mail marketing tools to contact your supporters and widen your support base
• Access to a network of local charitable organisations that work in your area, or cover the same issues or beneficiaries as you.

We would encourage you to sign up and see what the site delivers during this trial period. Hopefully the site should not take too much time to create and you are free to cancel at any time - hassle free.

2) We are either an unregistered charity or not an official charity, can we still sign up to Localgiving.com?

Yes, absolutely! If your organisation provides a community service with charitable objectives and you have been vetted by Devon Community Foundation (contact us on 01884 235887 to find out more about this), then we really think that our site will be of huge value to you.

3) If I log in and register, am I committing to any further obligations?

By registering there is absolutely no obligation. You can sign up and take advantage of our three month trial period and see what the site delivers during this time.

4) How do I cancel my subscription at the end of the free trial period?

If you don't want to continue taking advantage of all the benefits available to you on Localgiving let us know when we contact you at the end of your free trial period and we'll take you off the website.

5) We already have a website and online fundraising services so why sign up to Localgiving.com?

For organisations that do already have both, there are still important benefits which include:
• Powerful search facilities enabling donors to find you easily online and make a donations (using location, issue and beneficiary search criteria) so that interested parties can find you
• Built-in Search Engine Optimisation facilities to be highly ranked on Google and other engines (again so that interested parties can find you)
• Easy to use e-mail marketing tools to contact your supporters and widen your support base
• Access to a network of local charitable organisations that work in your area, or cover the same issues or beneficiaries as you

6) What does the annual fee of £60 cover?

Local charities will be charged a subscription of £60 per year to have their website on Localgiving.com, and enjoy all the benefits such as:
• A fundraising website - It can cost around £2,000 to set up your own website and online donation service costs would need to be added on top of that.
• Automated online donation payments with Gift Aid - The costs of these services can vary but are often more tailored to larger charitable organisations.
• Search facilities that direct donors to the local area, cause and beneficiary - not available elsewhere
• E-mail marketing tools - can cost £1000's to do without Localgiving.com
• Built in Search Engine Optimisation - can cost anything from £2000 - £100,000
• Access to a network of local charitable organisations - networking events can cost from £100 - £1000
There will be a three month free trial period for local charities new to Localgiving.com before the subscription charge is due.

7) We cannot afford the £60 annual fee

We would like to highlight that there will be no charge to use the Localgiving site for a 3 month trial period with no obligation to continue. During this free trial period we would hope that you will benefit from increased awareness of your groups activities, with the end goal of raising enough money to cover the fees and more. For groups that have not succeeded in raising money, our helpdesk will be available to help you try and achieve this!

8) What does the donation fee cover?

Localgiving.com operates as a not-for-profit and both shareholders are registered UK charities. The idea behind Localgiving is to promote local communities and help them thrive by providing a steady stream of support and recognition. It's important to remember that the final donation received will still be more than 100% of the base donation due to Gift Aid:
£30 DONATION EXAMPLE:
Donation £30.00
+ 28% Gift Aid £8.40
- 6%* CF/LG fees £2.30 (this is split £1.15 to CF/ £1.15 to LG)
- 2%** avg card fees £0.60
= £35.50 to the charity
The 6%* contribution taken from all donations helps support your Community Foundation and cover operational costs at Localgiving.
*the 6% charge is being used during the pilot phase and is subject to change
**Credit, debit and PayPal fees vary by banking provider. Fixed fees will also result in percentage varying by donation.
Here's what we do:
• Process and distribute the donations correctly (all donations are routed via the appropriate Community Foundation to provide and extra level of security against fraud or misappropriation)
• Provide automated and transparent processing of Gift Aid with HMRC (even for unregistered charities!)
• Work with payment processors (credit/debit card, paypal etc.) to ensure security and privacy
• Make a point of promoting all the individual charity pages through search engine optimisation making it easier for donors to find them
• Promote Localgiving so its name is a recognised and trusted donation site
• Work with partners like Justgiving to provide maximum exposure for our charities
• Vet the local charities - this improves the reputation of all the organisations listed on the site
• Monitor the content of the charities' websites

9) How is local giving.com marketed to the public?

• We use Search Engine Optimisation facilities to be highly ranked on Google and other engines (again so that interested parties can find us)
• We have partnerships with other organisations who will help to publicise us (for example justgiving)
• We will take part in a series of local launches culminating in a national launch
• We use facebook, twitter, blogs and other online resources to connect with the public and attract them to the site
• We also use local press and events to promote our site

Quality Accredited by Community Foundation Network to standards endorsed by the Charity Commission