Online platform closes with last day donations can be made set as 30 June
Virgin Money Giving has dropped its regular £150 joining fee in the wake of BT MyDonate closing.
New charities who sign up to its service by 30 April 2019 will have the usual fee waived.
The online giving platform made the move in a bid to get business from MyDonate which has announced a deadline of 30 June as the last day donations can be made via the site.
It said from new technology had created a more competitive marketplace and it had therefore taken the “tough” decision to close the platform.
Launched in 2011, MyDonate has around 12,000 charities signed up and has raised around £45m a year for charities.
A BT spokesperson said: “BT developed MyDonate in 2011 as the first commission-free donation service, and we are extremely proud to have helped fundraisers and charities raise millions of pounds for great causes over the years.
“However, fundraising technology has evolved significantly in the last eight years, bringing many alternative fundraising platforms, including several fee-free offers, to the UK.”
As well as Virgin waiving the joining fee, charities will benefit a 2% platform fee, which gives donors the option of covering the transaction fee, giving 2% more for the cause.
Jo Barnett, executive director at Virgin Money Giving, said: “We have always believed that our not-for-profit model is sustainable and allows us to offer a service that is fair for charities, secure, well governed and technologically robust, while deploying our resources towards continued investment in our platform and improving our user experience.
“Anyone impacted by today’s announcement from BT MyDonate will need to consider their fundraising options and the fees and charges they are likely to pay in the future. Not all fundraising platforms are the same and we believe our model offers a viable, long-term, transparent solution for charities.”
Launched in 2009, Virgin Money Giving has processed more than £660 million of donations for UK charities.
