Charity Fundraising Site Warns Over Big Society Initiative

May 26, 2011 - PRLog -- As David Cameron looks to encourage more charitable donations from society, the UK’s leading fundraising shopping site easyfundraising.org.uk has welcomed the announcement, but warns the Government needs to make it simpler and more affordable to give support if the UK’s thousands of smaller good causes are to see the benefit.

Gary Thompson, managing director of easyfundraising, says: “It’s all very well the Government announcing fundraising initiatives, but the reality is that a growing number of people don’t have the available time or money to support a good cause.  It shouldn’t be about overburdening society with so many different plans and proposals – it should be about making it simpler and giving more generous tax incentives, such as in the USA, to enable people to get involved and help those they care about.”

The new Government White Paper sets out plans for more than £40m in additional support for the voluntary sector, including a £10m social action fund and various prizes and funding for volunteer initiatives.

“Many of the causes that need help are small and may miss out on any benefits from an overly complicated mix of Government campaigns,” adds Gary.  “It’s important for the Government to look at the diverse range of charities and good causes that desperately need to raise funds, and to make it as easy as possible for them to quickly reap the benefit.  Some of the initiatives being talked about will take years to filter down – but for many funding is needed now.”

easyfundraising.org.uk turns every day shopping into donations for good causes when consumers shop with one of over 2,000 partner retailers featured on the site.  Retailers including Marks & Spencer, Boden, John Lewis and eBay donate a percentage of the transaction value to the consumer’s preferred charity or cause.  The average retailer donation is 5%, with no cost to the consumer.

With over 20,000 causes registered, it helps not only major charities, but also thousands of schools, sports clubs, scout groups and other smaller good causes.

In addition to donations from shopping, causes are also able to top up their funds by encouraging supporters to use the easysearch.org.uk search engine. By making just 10 searches a day with easysearch.org.uk instead of other search engines, supporters can raise up to £20 per year for their cause.

www.easyfundraising.org.uk

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About easyfundraising.org.uk

easyfundraising.org.uk is a free and simple online shopping facility that helps consumers to support a cause of their choice. Shoppers make purchases at their favourite online stores at no extra cost to raise vital funds for a charity, good cause or group of their choice. Each purchase made generates an average of 5% to the chosen cause.

easysearch.org.uk is a free tool that raises money for charities and causes through internet searches. easysearch combines results from several major search engines to track down the most relevant results from across the web.

For more information visit www.easyfundraising.org.uk