Dozens of charities have signed up to the UK’s first marketplace dedicated to fundraising set up by a Staffordshire-based entrepreneur.
Kevin Turner’s BuyToGive site provides a new way for consumers to contribute to good causes without suffering from ‘charity fatigue’.
It is FREE to join and Stone-based Turner has a team of staff to help charities set up their unique fund-raising page.
Big names who have joined include the Macari Foundation homelessness centre in Stoke, the YMCA, mental health charity MIND and AEDdonate, which puts 3,000 defibrillators into the public domain annually.
Turner set up the website to allow shoppers to buy millions of products while benefiting good causes at the same time.
It is growing every day as a community of charities, schools, clubs, schools and everyday changemakers see how they can earn more than by using more established partners such as JustGiving which take a bigger proportion of proceeds.
So far, almost 200 good causes have signed up.
Turner said: “I am on a mission – to make generosity a way of life.
“I’m also a disrupter who wants to shake up the existing fund-raising models because I don’t think they give enough back to good causes.
“I appreciate that times are tough and charity fatigue – whereby we are continually being asked to make specific donations to good causes – can be wearing when budgets are tight.
“BuyToGive turns everyday purchases such as the weekly shop into a way to benefit the community.
“You buy your weekly shop at the same competitive prices but help good causes at the same time.
“The idea is to harness the power of everyday spending to create meaningful change.”
BuyToGive empowers individuals to give back without extra cost or effort, helping fundraisers to receive donations with ease.
It helps conscious consumers with quality products while ensuring that a meaningful portion of each sale supports vital charitable causes.
Lots of charities and good causes such as local football teams or schools have set up their own fund-raising pages with BuytoGive for free – earning from each purchase of general merchandise sold on the site or bespoke items relevant to their charity.
Charities already signed up include well-known organisations such as the Macari Foundation (the Stoke-based homeless shelter set up by former Manchester United and Scotland star Lou Macari, who managed Stoke City twice in the 1990s) and lots of vital local groups such as food banks and charities supporting causes such as Ukraine. Many animal charities are on board including PACT Animal Sanctuary which finds homes for abandoned animals around East Anglia.
One cause particularly close to Turner’s heart is Stone-based AEDdonate – which raises money to place defibrillators throughout the UK. Sudden cardiac arrest kills 100,000 people in the UK each year and survival rates improve markedly if patients have access to a defibrillator. The Staffordshire-based charity was set up 11 years ago by Jamie Richards – a friend and former employee of Turner’s – who left his role at Staffordshire Fire and Rescue because he knew how important the issue was. The charity which now raises more than £2 million a year and puts 3,000 defibrillators into the public domain annually.
Products currently on sale at BuytoGive – including Adidas Barreda trainers at £80. For each pair sold, a charity of your choice will get around £3. All products are on sale at the market rate but, alongside each, is a minimum donation to the charity of the purchaser’s choice.
Turner set up BuytoGive because he wanted to give charities bigger payments than existing models.
He explained: “Some of our competitors, such as Give as you Live and Easyfundraising, also offer shopping for charities, but they do so through an affiliate model.
“In that model, when a supporter goes through a charity’s link to a retailer, the average affiliate commission may be around 3% and the charity will typically receive 1.5% of that sale.
“By contrast, at BuytoGive we charge our vendors 11% commission and from that we pass on between 20-35% directly to charities, which means charities get more back with each sale.
“In addition, we work closely with our vendors to secure unique deals and we constantly check pricing to make sure we remain competitive.”
Turner moved into the charitable sector after running his own financial services and recruitment company.
He set up BuytoGive because he wanted to make it easier for charities to fund-raise in this way and create their own unique fund-raising page. He has a team on hand to help with free set-ups.
He said: “At BuytoGive, charities can set up their own marketplace for free with their own shop and unique URL and their own donation button. Every time a purchase is made the charity earns at a far higher rate than existing models – meaning, in the case of AEDdonate, even more defibrillators on our streets.
“What makes BuytoGive is the software driving the site which enables us to list 10 million products.
“We want to create a community of people who want to give back.”
