Best fundraising platform non profit

suz12_2

Our small club want to run a sponsored event for the youth group but we are not a charity. 
A lot say free, but then there are fees somewhere.🙃
Which is the best platform for a small non profit organisation? Do we need really need to do it via a platform? TIA

CliveOfIndia

suz12_2 said:

Do we need really need to do it via a platform?

No, you don't have to use a platform, you could just do it the old-fashioned way by knocking on people's doors, getting kids to ask their school friends, etc.

Using a platform does make it more convenient for a lot of people to donate, so it may be that you end up with more donations overall.  But as you say, most of the well-known platforms do charge a fee.

If you want to give people the convenience of being able to donate online, you could give them the option of doing a bank transfer into the organisation's account.  If the organisation doesn't have an account, people could put money into your account - though that obviously relies on a large element of trust on their part.

Savvy_Sue

If you don't have a bank account, then opening one would be an excellent first step. NatWest does a free Community Bank account, and if you don't have a branch nearby you can pay cash in at the Post Office. You'll find my comments on it in this thread.

Using a platform has huge advantages (IMO) if you're a charity or sports club who can claim Gift Aid, because the platform takes care of that for you. The actual regular claims are easier than they used to be, but it can still be a bit of a faff for one off donations. But doesn't sound as if that applies to you. 

A platform can also help with publicising events, giving you a glossy 'standard' page which individuals can customise. However, I'm not sure how many of the platforms accept non-charity groups - you may find there's not much choice. 

Savvy_Sue

I have just been sent some information which might prove useful to the OP. 

Did you know you don’t need to be a registered organisation or have a bank account to raise money? Some charities or CIC’s (like Social Change Nest) will host your group, providing access to their legal status and bank account (this is called Fiscal Sponsorship/Hosting). Platforms like Open Collective allow this to happen with ease, giving your group an easy and transparent way to collaboratively manage your money. Crowdfunding, monthly donations, receiving grants and a whole lot more is then available to your group. Some banks will allow you to open an account without being a registered organisation if you do want to go that route. Card readers could enable you to collect donations more easily at events (now that no one carries cash anymore!). There are lots of possibilities.

Yes, there are likely to be fees, but on the other hand, there are vanishingly few fee-free bank accounts for small organisations. AND if people are providing their credit card details, there needs to be a certain amount of security going on, and that kind of stuff costs money. (There was, once, a platform which didn't charge charities for processing donations. It did not end happily.)

I've done a very quick dive into Open Collective: originally a US site but you can filter by UK, and may find a local provider.

If anyone is in the Bristol area and free to attend a session in the evening of Friday 3rd July, let me know as there's a session you might be interested in.