Direct debits to overtake tin-rattling by 2009

Fundraising | Vibeka Mair | 8 Apr 2008

Giving to charity through direct debit will overtake envelope and tin donations by 2009, according to research from nfpSynergy on giving by standing order.

Currently, around 33 per cent of donors use direct debit compared with 38 per cent who give through envelopes and tins. However, the latest findings from nfpSynergy’s Charity Awareness Monitor into the charitable behaviour of 1,000 adults in Britain, shows direct debit donations have been on a steady increase since 2003 while envelopes and giving through tins is in decline. If the trend continues, more donors will use direct debit by 2009.

Joe Saxton, nfpSynergy’s driver of ideas, said income through direct debit was easier to sustain: “If fundraisers collecting through tins or envelopes stopped today, that income would end instantly. But if fundraisers collecting through direct debit stopped marketing, money would still come in for the next two to five years from former donors. We are becoming a much more cash-free society.”

The “cash-free” trend was also highlighted by the UK payments association APACS which reported that charitable donations on plastic cards reached the £1bn barrier for the first time in 2007.

Donations on plastic reached £1.013bn in 2007, up from £842m in 2006. The increase comprised £2.9 million more debit card and 1.3 million more credit card payments.

Who's Who: Vibeka Mair

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