The rise of crowd-funding and personal fund-raising
As crowd-funding on the internet becomes more and more popular, so Shareagift has seen its increasingly used for personal fund-raising, as people raise money for small, personal causes, rather than big charities. In a touching example of this, a Gift Page was recently set up on the site by a UK company to raise money for a holiday of a lifetime for a colleague who is terminally ill. The Gift Page (http://www.shareagift.com/
Shareagift vs. JustGiving
In a week when the press is full of stories about the Just Giving model following the recent tragedy of Claire Squires’ death during the London Marathon, Shareagift’s announcement is aptly timed. JustGiving charge charities £15 / month for membership and take a 5% cut of each donation. Last year their income for £14m. As of today, Shareagift.com charges ZERO admin fees on donations and the only fees involved are transaction fees deducted by PayPal, Shareagift’s secure payment provider, when the user collects the funds.
Great Gifts, Great Causes
Shareagift has seen the site used to buy some amazing gifts – from designer handbags and pool tables to Lemur-feeding;
Shareagift CEO, Justine Angelli said, “It’s been an incredibly touching outcome of our launch and given a whole new dimension to our offering. We always thought the site would be used for gifts – and that does remain the most significant reason people use it (40% of our users set up Gift Pages for birthdays), but we’ve been overwhelmed by the response of people also using it for really great causes – on a small, day to day scale. These are not big, faceless charities, but real people who need some help - that’s something traditional fund-raising sites like JustGiving can’t offer, and it’s where we’re especially delighted to help make a difference”.
For more information, interviews and images please contact:
Tessa Pettman – tessa@shareagift.com +44 (0)20 3204 1130
