Newbury, 1st October 2019 – Not-for-profit, charity-owned charitable giving platform, The Good Exchange has today announced that it will be transforming the way that money is given to good causes using its platform by making the service completely free for every organisational funder and individual donor from today. During the three years that The Good Exchange has been in operation, there have been huge changes in the way that technology is being used across the charitable sector, driving massive benefits for all those raising money through crowdfunding appeals. Sadly, these opportunities have not yet been reflected in the way that the majority of charitable grant-giving organisations operate, and The Good Exchange is determined to change the status quo for the benefit of the entire sector.
The Good Exchange works on a ‘no win, no fee’ basis and has always operated with no set up, monthly subscription or separate financial transaction costs. A small platform service fee (correlated to monies raised via the platform), is charged to ensure continued sustainability. To determine the most fair way to collect the fee, The Good Exchange conducted two surveys; one through global research company Vanson Bourne to representatives from across the charitable sector, and one to registered users of the platform, asking where they felt responsibility for covering the cost of running online fundraising platforms should lie. Results from both surveys overwhelmingly agreed that the use of online platforms is seen as a cost of fundraising, attributable to the charitable organisations benefitting from funds raised in this way. This feedback has driven the announcement to make the platform free to use for funders and donors, with fundraising organisations receiving money through the platform holding ultimate responsibility for payment. However, funders and donors will also have the option to contribute to those fees when giving a grant or making a donation.
The Good Exchange will (unlike many other crowdfunding platforms), continue to absorb all additional financial transaction fees and on-going running costs within the platform service fee and never ask for additional tips from funders or donors to keep for itself. The Good Exchange will also provide a completely free Gift Aid collection service from the same date.
Additional benefits offered by The Good Exchange as standard include free social media and ‘how-to’ training, personalised help and support and a customised online dashboard. All these features elevate The Good Exchange’s offering for grant makers and fundraising organisations above that of its competitors.
“As we’re a non-profit organisation, owned by a charity, we’re always looking for ways to deliver innovation in the most fair, transparent and sustainable way possible,” said Ed Gairdner, COO of The Good Exchange. “After taking into account views from across the charitable sector where it was clear that the use of online platforms is a cost of fundraising attributable to fundraising organisations, we’re delighted to be announcing this new approach to payment for using our online platform. Whilst we would love to provide a completely free service, our users appreciate that to deliver our vision of closing the charitable funding gap, we must continually enhance our offering to attract new funders and donors – and this costs money.
“A big advantage to all fundraisers using our platform is that grant-givers and donors will be able to contribute all or part of the platform service fee for any fundraising project to which they give a grant or donation. This could mean that a fundraising organisation pays no fees at all![1] And importantly, 100% of contributions are allocated against that fundraising project’s fee and never kept as a tip to us for our services,” he added.
The Good Exchange has published a clear guide to explain the new fee structure via its website.
[1] According to Virgin Money Giving, 85% of donors have chosen to add payment of the fee to their donations since it introduced ‘the donor covers the fee’ option towards the end of 2018.
About The Good Exchange
The Good Exchange is a transformational not-for-profit, charity-owned cloud platform specifically designed to match those organisations and individuals who have money to give to good causes with those who need it most; on a local, regional and national basis. As the only platform to bring together grant-making, donations, charitable projects and fundraising in one place, the automated matching system with its simple single online application form will revolutionise charitable giving, making it more accessible, transparent and collaborative. For the first time, those seeking to raise money for local good causes will be able to access all sources of funding including charitable trusts, corporate givers, fundraisers and public through a single process.
Media contacts
Charlotte Martin/Ella Pryor
The Good Exchange team at Finn Partners
TheGoodExchange@finnpartners.com
020 3217 7060