Today, we look at a unique segment of organizations in the global cashback industry – nonprofits. We first identified most of them in our 2015 Cashback Industry Report. While a number of the biggest global cashback companies allow members to designate funds for charities, the following are UK nonprofits that help members raise funds for causes or nonprofit organizations. Several others use cashback as a marketing tactic without a deeper connection to specific charities, causes or goals.
Regardless of their intentions, there are some innovative examples of cashback strategies and these 12 organizations alone have collectively donated more than $5 billion to charities in the UK and around the globe. Imagine the good work done by thousands of charities supported?
UK Cashback Nonprofits
Just Giving (Alexa rank #9,008)
JustGiving now has more than 24 million members supporting various charities and causes around the world. With more than 25,788 causes in 164 countries on its site, its members have raised more than $4 billion for charitable organizations since it launched in London in 2001.
Global Giving (Alexa rank #45,931)
Since launching in 2002, 533,027 Global Giving donors have given more than $227 million to 14,808 projects. This online fundraising platform gives social entrepreneurs and nonprofits from anywhere in the world a chance to improve their communities through local projects. It has now funded projects in 164 countries.
Easyfundraising (Alexa rank #62,980)
Created by Ian Woodroffe in 2005, Easyfundraising.org.uk (www.easyfundraising.org.uk) is one of the UK’s largest cashback for charity programs. Since launching, it has raised more than $17.3 million for nonprofit organizations. There are more than 2,700 merchants online and has a choice of more than 55,000 charities,
Virgin Money Giving (Alexa rank #67,821)
Virgin Money Giving helps donors find charities and set up individual ways to donate to their favorite nonprofit. Individuals can set up a personal fundraising page and charities can set up a micro-site and receive free training. The site provides a wide range of fundraising tools, tips and advice. Founded in 2009, it has raised more than $612.3 million for more than 9,000 registered charities.
Kidstart (Alexa rank #109,625)
KidStart is a unique site where members earn cashback and can transfer those earnings into any Child Trust Fund, Junior ISA or UK bank or building society account. It has 450 online merchants plus another 200 Highstreet retailers linked by mobile app to member credit or debit cards for in-store cashback rewards. The company has had more than one million registered but doesn’t disclose total funds raised.
BT MyDonate (Alexa traffic rank: #116,001)
BT MyDonate is a not-for-profit, online fundraising service for UK charities sponsored by BT (British Telecom Group). It provides a secure, easy-to-use way for millions of people to raise money for their favorite charity. There are more than 10,000 charities registered with BT MyDonate and more than 30,000 volunteers use the site every year. BT reports it has raised more than $435.5 million for charities since 2012.
Charity Choice (Alexa rank #216,327)
More than $13.6 million has been donated to over 160,000 listed charities by Charity Choice. Founded in 1998, Charity Choice helps individuals find charities to support in unique ways and also helps charities gain support by setting up a free “micro-site”. It provides free reports on more than 10,000 UK charities.
Give as You Live (Alexa rank #227,298)
Give As You Live has raised more than $9.88 million for more than 8,500 charities through its cashback program. It provides more than 4,000 leading British retailers to choose from and its 100,000 member community has spent more than $79.9 million online.
Yellow Moon (Alexa rank #631,182)
Yellow Moon encourages children to play creatively and returns up to 20% of the value of anything purchased online or from its product catalogs back to partner charities. The site is a good example of targeting and engagement and it has helped raise more than $5.46 million for charities.
Givey (Alexa rank #1,587,088)
Founded in 2011 by Dave Erasmus, Givey has more than 8,498 charities signed up. More than 31,000 donors and 13 companies have raised more than $1.68 million for charities. It is sponsored by several VCs and Angel investors. One innovative feature is the Givey Share social tool that lets members assign a cashback fundraising link to inspirational videos and other social content. Businesses can register to match employee donations, charities can register easily and 100% of funds raised go directly to designated charities.
The Big Give (Alexa rank #1,075,876)
Since being founded by Sir Alec Reed and the Reed Foundation in 2007, The Big Give has
more than 9,800 charities listed and has raised more than $98.6 million for nonprofit organizations. It has an excellent search engine for individuals to find charities of interest and causes around the world. Charities and schools can register easily and upload individual fundraising projects for free.
GoRaise (Alexa rank #1,251,981)
GoRaise is relatively new cashback organization launched by Gary Thompson in 2015. It is an online charity cashback platform that provides fundraising opportunities for both individuals and organisations. It makes use of affiliate commissions to reward consumers with a donation to their chosen cause every time they shop online at more than 2,500 UK retail outlets. It recently raised nearly $800,000 in venture capital.
US Cashback nonprofits next
More than $5 billion raised for charities is an incredible achievement by just these 12 organizations. In our next post on Friday, we’ll profile a similar list of US nonprofits or cashback companies that also make it easy to donate to charities through cashback programs.