Charities Aid Foundation comment on 02 lowering text donation
charges
3 November 2009
Commenting on the fact that mobile phone operator 02 has
lowered its charges on text donations and is guaranteeing all UK
registered charities that opt to use a dedicated short code that
they will receive 90 per cent of a donation Hannah Terrey, Head of
Policy and Public Affairs at the Charities Aid Foundation said;
“This is really good news for donors and charities because it is
easy to give by text but the current charges put people off. Making
a small donation by text is now a good way to give if you have an
02 phone. But it still means that £1 is lost in charges on a £10
donation.
“We hope other phone companies will follow 02’s lead and that
eventually all phone companies will charge no more than 10p per
donation. Our research shows this is the maximum most donors think
they should be charged.
“Charges vary from company to company but typically only around
£1.10 of a £1.50 donation reaches the charity.”
CAF has been working with nfpSynergy and the Institute of
Fundraising to get mobile phone companies to stop charging VAT on
text donations and lower their charges. In July 2009, mobile phone
companies agreed to stop charging VAT and to use special shortcodes
for charity text donations so they can be easily identified.
Notes to editors
Media contact
Mandy Pursey
T: 03000 123 212
Mobile T: 07740 449 491
E: mpursey@cafonline.org
The Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) is a charity set up to help
other charities by working with donors, companies and charities to
encourage and facilitate a culture of giving. They do this by
offering products and services that make giving easier, tax
efficient and help charities to make the most of donations through
their banking and fundraising support services
(www.cafonline.org).