News
Localgiving.com launches in Surrey
Small voluntary and community organisations in Surrey can now get online with the launch of a new website called Localgiving.com, which officially launches in the county this week. The new social enterprise initiative, which is being run locally in partnership with the Community Foundation for Surrey, will provide a much needed boost for smaller groups enabling them to raise awareness and vital support in the face of cutbacks in funding.
One of the key features of the new website is that it helps donors to find charities and causes close to where they live. Its geographic search engine will give a new platform to small local groups, helping them raise their profile locally as well as fundraise online. As all groups are independently vetted by the Community Foundation before they appear online, donors can be confident that only trusted groups will be featured.
Localgiving.com has been developed by Secret Millionaire Marcelle Speller, who has partnered community foundations around the country to help boost income for trusted local organisations. In Surrey eighteen local charities have already taken the opportunity to create their own page on Localgiving.com, including Peer Productions, Woking Strokability, Surrey Blues Disability Football team and Liquid Connection.
Joe Crome from Liquid Connection said: “Localgiving.com provides us with a low-cost, easy to use solution to receiving donations online. Our Localgiving.com page looks great, and the low fees ensure that donations can go as far as possible.”
Wendy Varcoe, Executive Director for the Community Foundation for Surrey, says: “85% of all UK donations go to just 5% of the country’s largest charities. Here in Surrey we have hundreds of fantastic charitable groups doing inspiring work in our communities. Localgiving.com is really good news for these groups, particularly those who are not registered with the charity commission as it enables us to reclaim Gift Aid on their behalf, increasing their donations by a further 25%. We would love to hear from more local Surrey organisations who could benefit by raising their profile online and increasing their opportunities for funding.”
The process for registering with Localgiving.com is very straightforward and groups joining now can benefit from their first three months free. Local organisations who would like to be featured on the website are asked to contact Louise Phillips at Louise@communityfoundationsurrey.org.uk or telephone her on 01483 409230 for more information.