Up to 26 people will be made redundant at the charity fundraising website Virgin Money Giving when it closes its doors following its final sponsorship of the London Marathon later this year.
Virgin Money announced the closure today after carrying out a strategic review of the fundraising platform in light of the end of its partnership with the London Marathon.
The bank said: “Given the significant investment required in the service for it to remain competitive, and without the brand exposure provided by the London Marathon, Virgin Money has decided to wind down the platform.”
It said it will continue to offer a full service for charities and fundraisers until the service closes for donations on 30 November, and it will support charities to find alternative platforms where needed.
Any staff affected by the closure will be supported through its redeployment process, the bank explained, with the aim of securing other internal opportunities and minimising compulsory redundancies wherever possible. However, a reduction of up to 26 roles is still expected.
Virgin Money Giving was launched to support the bank’s sponsorship of the London Marathon in 2009.
The bank said it has helped 20,000 charities and more than a million fundraisers raise over £900m online in the years since.
All charities currently registered with the service, fundraisers with live pages and regular donors will be contacted by the bank with details of the changes.
Helen Page, chief brand officer at Virgin Money, said: “Virgin Money Giving was created to support our sponsorship of the London Marathon and disrupt the online charity giving market.
“The not-for-profit service has helped millions of fundraisers and donors raise over £900m for good causes and has changed the sector for the better.
“Following the end of our sponsorship of the London Marathon, it is the right time to bring the service to a close and help our charity partners to move to an alternative and sustainable giving platform.”
It was announced in June that Tata Consultancy Services will be the new title sponsor of the London Marathon, with a six-year partnership covering the events from 2022 to 2027.