Big Give’s operating model 

As a registered charity ourselves (Charity Number: 1136547), we know how important donations are, and we work hard to keep the cost of donation processing low for our charity partners. Some online fundraising sites charge monthly or annual fees to charities for using their platform. We don’t charge charities for joining our platform; we rely on the generosity of people who donate to leave a voluntary tip, as well as a small processing fee, which helps us cover the costs of running and improving Big Give. Without these generous tips, we would not be able to offer this service.

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Processing fees 

Each donation made on our platform is subject to a small processing fee. The processing fee is deducted from the donation at the point it is transferred to the charity. The amount charged depends on the cards used. 

Donations made with UK/EU Visa, MasterCard or Donation Funds (bank transfer)

1.5% of the donation amount + 20p + VAT

Donations made with Non-EU/UK Visa or Mastercard or American Express credit cards

3.2% of the donation amount + 20p + VAT

 

Gift Aid fees

Charities have two options for Gift Aid claims on donations made through Big Give:

  1. Claim Gift Aid from HMRC directly themselves. No fee is charged. 
  2. Nominate Big Give to claim Gift Aid on their behalf. There is a 3% fee on the amount of Gift Aid claimed to cover our costs. The Gift Aid fee is deducted from the donation at the point it is transferred to the charity.

 

Worked examples

Donations made with UK/EU Visa, MasterCard or Donation Funds (bank transfer)

If a donor makes a £10 donation without Gift Aid, then the fees are calculated in the following way:

  • Processing fee of 1.5% + 20p = £0.35 + VAT
  • Total Fee = £0.35 + VAT
  • Total amount to charity = £9.65 (less VAT)

If a donor makes a £10 donation with Gift Aid (£2.50 in this case), where Big Give is nominated to claim Gift Aid on behalf of the charity, then the fees are calculated in the following way:

  • Processing fee of 1.5% + 20p = £0.35 + VAT
  • Gift Aid fee of 3% of £2.50 = £0.07 + VAT
  • Total Fee = £0.42 + VAT
  • Total amount to charity = £12.08 (less VAT)

Donations made with Non-EU/UK Visa or Mastercard or American Express credit cards

If a donor makes a £10 donation without Gift Aid, then the fees are calculated in the following way:

  • Processing fee of 3.2% + 20p = £0.52 + VAT
  • Total Fee = £0.52 + VAT
  • Total amount to charity = £9.48 (less VAT)

 

Where do the voluntary tips go?

We rely on donations via voluntary tips to cover running costs and managing match funding campaigns. We ask each person donating on our platform whether they would like to add a tip to their donation to support us.

As a charity ourselves, we don’t charge our charity partners for using our platform, so we’re incredibly grateful to people who choose to leave a voluntary tip. Those tips enable us to keep doing what we’re doing and ensure we can run our match funding campaigns to make double the difference in the world.

We deploy any revenue we generate, beyond what we need to run the organisation, in our Anchor Match Fund. That means we keep paying it forward and multiply even more generosity by supporting charities by providing match funding to their campaigns. Find out more about the Anchor Match Fund.