Givto believes it is the first donation platform that allows people to donate to a different charity each month through one direct debit.
The service launched this week and describes itself as an online version of the charity token scheme in supermarkets. Givto is run by the registered charity Better Giving Partnership.
Users set up a regular direct debit for an amount of their choice and are presented with three charitable causes to choose from each month. If donors forget to choose a charity one month, Givto randomly chooses one for them and notifies the user.
Currently, only national charities and charities operating in Leeds or across Yorkshire, such as Age UK Leeds and Martin House Children’s Hospice, are featured on Givto. However, the charity is now encouraging charities outside of the area to register their interest in the giving platform by emailing [email protected] for when its service expands.
During its piloted run from 2020-2021, Givto raised over £9,000 for 48 charities.
Costs to charities and donors
There is no fee for charities to sign up to Givto. Donations are subject to fees from Givto’s direct debit processor, GoCardless. Currently, GoCardless takes a 1% fee on all donations + 20p + VAT. Givto also takes 3% on Gift Aid.
For example, Givto explained that if someone donates £10 to a charity through the platform (without Gift Aid), 57p would be taken in fees, meaning £9.43 would go direct to the charity.
When donors have opted for Gift Aid, which is available to UK taxpayers, it would add £2.50 to a £10 donation – this would mean the charity would receive £11.85 from that donation.
A Givto spokesperson told Civil Society News: “We do not make any profit from running the service and we are absolutely committed to keeping fees as low as possible.”
‘Run by charity, for charity’
Givto is keen to support local causes and aims to expand its services to more regional charities soon.
Alex Ellis-White, founder and chief executive of Givto, said: “I have always been passionate about supporting local causes and I set up Givto when I realised there wasn’t a service out there that gave you the flexibility and choice to support a different cause each month.
“Givto is run by charity for charity. We don’t make a profit from the service - we are here to bring people and causes together. I am delighted to roll the service out more widely and encourage people and charities across the country to sign up and join the Givto community.”
Down Syndrome support charity Sunshine & Smiles was one of the first to sign up to Givto during its pilot. As the pandemic halted the charity’s in-person fundraisers, it found Givto useful in bridging the gap in donations.
Sunshine & Smiles' service manager Ailith Harley-Roberts said: “We heard about Givto through one of our families and I immediately thought it sounded really positive. It was very straightforward for us. After the initial sign-up there was nothing else we had to do, which for a small charity is really helpful.
“Givto is a great idea because rather than sending donations to the same charity each month, you get to learn about and give to different causes. It’s just a really lovely idea. For us, being featured on Givto paid for activities that directly benefit people - the money goes to a small charity helping people in really practical ways.”
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