A mobile phone service that will donate 10 per cent of customers’ mobile phone bills to their nominated charity launched this week with the aim of raising £15m in the next five years.
So far users of Donate Mobile can chose from 10 charities, including Clic Sargent, Dogs for the Disabled and the Born Free Foundation. 10 per cent of their monthly spend (including gift aid) will automatically be donated to the charity. Charity partners can become involved at no charge but Donate Mobile expects partners to promote the service and commit to a 12-month involvement.
Mark Brunwin, managing director of Donate Mobile, said: “We have spent many years working with the charity sector, learning about their needs and tailoring our offering to ensure that Donate Mobile will have a clear impact on committed giving by helping customers do something great with their SIM."
Jeremy Lune head of trading at Clic Sargent said: “We rely on donations to continue our work amongst children and young people with cancer and are always looking for innovative ways to drive donor revenue, and offering supporters a chance to give by simply using their mobile phone is a great opportunity.”
Donate Mobile is a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), meaning it does not have its own masts but purchases call minutes, texts and data at wholesale prices – in this case from Vodafone – and then sells them on to customers under its brand. It developed its charity partnership model with the Institute of Fundraising over three years and is a regulated member of the Fundraising Standards Board.
It has initially launched as a pay as you go service and plans to launch a pay monthly service later this year.
Last spring the RSPCA launched its own mobile phone service.
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