Retailers set to add pennies for charities
A NEW national charity collection scheme launches across the UK today in a bid to counter a decline in donations due to economic uncertainty.
Pennies, an “electronic charity box” that enables credit card users to add a charitable donation of up to 99p to their purchases, goes live at all Domino’s pizzas stores today and is hoping to bring on board another national retailer by the end of the year.
The system asks cardholders whether they want to round their purchase amount to the nearest pound by giving the extra pennies to the retailer’s charity of choice. Domino’s is putting 75 per cent of its collected funds towards the UK’s Special Olympics, with the rest going to a mix of national charities including Macmillan Cancer Support, the NCPCC and the Princes Trust.
Domino’s Pizza Group boss Chris Moore says: “It’s such a simple idea that I can’t believe it’s not already a common fundraising method.”
The concept uses technology developed by software company STS and card payment services firm YESpay and is designed to tap into a pool of donations that might be made if giving were more convenient and incremental.
Research by Markettiers4DC found that 63 per cent of 1,513 people surveyed said they were more likely to give to charity if such a system were available.
If half of UK cardholders were to give 8p more each week, the Pennies Foundation claims that this would equate to £89m each year.
FAST FACTS | PENNIES FOUNDATION
Allows cardholders to add a charitable donation of up to 99p to their purchase by rounding up to the nearest pound
Goes live nationally at Domino’s Pizza today
Technology developed by STS and YESpay