How does it work?

Localgiving.com allows you to make donations to charitable organisations that operate locally. All donations are unrestricted and directed for distribution to charity groups on localgiving.com through their local Community Foundation.

The Community Foundation does a final check that the charity is still operating in line with its charitable objectives and is still requesting funding. Please note that as a result of this process and only if deemed appropriate, the Community Foundation reserves the right to redirect funds to another charity that most closely matches the donor's initial donation preferences. Our local Community Foundation partners provide independent vetting of all charities and community groups before these groups can appear on Localgiving.com. The aims of this process are to ensure that:

• You feel confident about the donations you make;
• Funds are appropriately spent by trustworthy charitable organisations.

All Community Foundations that work with Localgiving follow quality standards endorsed by the Charity Commission.

What happens to your donation?

With the benefit of local knowledge, your donation will give new hope and support to your community, from the bottom up.

• Your donation will be processed for 28.2% Gift Aid, through the government tax reclaim programme (if applicable).
• Donations are sent via our local Community Foundation partner and the charity's status is reviewed for quality assurance.
• If the donor has requested a Gift Aid reclaim, 100% of the initial donation (minus credit/debit card fees) is forwarded to the charitable organisation weekly.
• Gift Aid reclaims can take up to 6 weeks to be processed by HMRC. Only once the Gift Aid is received will we take our charge:
  • The Community Foundation takes 3% of the total donation for its services (most charitable groups on Localgiving operate through support from their Community Foundation).
  • The remaining 3% is used to cover our payment processing costs.
• If the donor has not requested a Gift Aid reclaim, Localgiving and the Community Foundation take their 6% processing charge off the base donation before it is sent to the charity.
• We encourage charities on Localgiving to update their website and provide feedback on the impact of your funds.
• Local Community Foundations carry out ongoing monitoring of groups to provide feedback.

What do we do for our fee?

Localgiving operates as a not-for-profit. We take a 6% fee from the gross donation amount (donation + Gift Aid) in order to provide a highly valuable, sustainable and secure online donation processing service (the 6% fee is evenly split between Localgiving and the local Community Foundation). This contribution helps to cover the costs associated with:

• Secure payment processing
• Accurate routing of payments to bank accounts
• Customer Service around payment queries
• Payment reconciliations

Both Localgiving's shareholders are registered UK charities who are committed to promoting local communities and helping them thrive by providing a steady stream of support and recognition.

Any surpluses are required by Localgiving's memorandum and articles to be redistributed to charitable purposes which re-emphasises our commitment to the charitable sector.