Pro Dono, a community interest company which raises money for charities by arranging meet-and-greets with celebrities in return for donations, officially launched last night at the Foundling Museum in London.

The not-for-profit organisation already supports 115 charities, of which the Foundling Museum is one, and has raised £20,000 through four meetings. Some 125 celebrity 'ambassadors' have offered to support the project which offers time with public figures in return for donations. 

Current ambassadors include Falklands War hero Simon Weston; Michelin-starred chef Tom Aikens; astronomer Sir Patrick Moore, and politician and Strictly Come Dancing star Ann Widdecombe.

Pro Dono was founded by 23-year-old Glen Jeffries and 22-year-old Duncan Turnbull with financial backing from Leslie Hill and Neil Record, who are respectively chief executive and founder of asset management company Record Currency Management.

The aim is to boost charitable giving through incentivism, said Jeffries: "Pro Dono attracts members of the public perhaps looking for a memorable experience or special gift, who were not necessarily thinking of donating to a good cause at that particular point in time. It widens the net of possible donors by hopefully offering that unique gift solution everyone has been looking for."

The process for donating through Pro Dono works via an online referral. One wishing to meet an ambassador would suggest an activity and donation through prodono.co.uk which is then referred to the ambassador, who has selected a chosen charity to receive the donation. The ambassador will choose whether to accept the donation, and if accepted, the donor pays the donation. While many ambassadors have set no minimum limit for donations, says Jeffries, some limits have been set between £1,000 and £10,000.

A 7 per cent 'ticket price', which covers the costs to Pro Dono of arranging the meetings, is deducted from the donation. This is cheaper than the average cost to charities to raise £1, which is between 15p and 25p, Jeffries says. 

>>View a full list of the charities and ambassadors<<