The problem
Paper sponsorship forms come back weeks after the event, with cash in envelopes and half-filled Gift Aid boxes. For a small charity with 20 runners at 2 events a year, a volunteer spends about 45 minutes per form counting, banking, chasing and typing Gift Aid details: 15 hours an event, 30 hours a year, 2.5 hours a month. If $1,330£1,000€1,190A$1,920C$1,880 a year of eligible gifts lose their Gift Aid to incomplete forms, that is $333£250€298A$480C$470 a year, about $28£21€25A$40C$39 a month, gone.
What the AI does
JustGiving's Start plan has no monthly fee and no platform fee. It includes donation pages and fundraising pages: each runner sets up a page for the charity, friends give by card and the money comes to the charity. JustGiving's pricing page lists Gift Aid reclaim, with a 5% fee taken from the Gift Aid it claims; the charity can opt out and claim itself. Card processing is 1.9% + 30p per donation. The Grow plan, from $20£15€18A$29C$28 a month plus VAT, adds customized thank-you messages and donor opt-ins, but this use case doesn't need it.
A worked example
A hospice support charity in Taunton sends 20 runners to a spring 10k and an autumn half marathon. Each runner raises about $200£150€179A$288C$282 from 7 or 8 friends, so each event brings about $3,990£3,000€3,570A$5,760C$5,640 from 150 gifts.
Before
Paper forms: 30 hours a year of counting, chasing and typing (2.5 hours a month), and about $28£21€25A$40C$39 a month of Gift Aid lost
After
Online pages: about 15 minutes per runner to welcome them and thank them, 10 hours a year, under 1 hour a month
What it's worth
About $61£46€55A$88C$86 a month, averaged over the year, in volunteer time and Gift Aid no longer lost, against about $23£17€20A$33C$32 a month in card fees. Time saved is about 1.7 hours a month (30 minus 10 hours a year, divided by 12), valued at an assumed $20£15€18A$29C$28 an hour, about $33£25€30A$48C$47; this is volunteer time freed, not cash. Gift Aid recovered is about $28£21€25A$40C$39 a month, and gifts by card don't go missing. Card fees on $7,980£6,000€7,140A$11,520C$11,280 a year from 300 gifts are $152£114€136A$219C$214 (1.9%) plus $120£90€107A$173C$169 (30p each), $271£204€243A$392C$384 a year, about $23£17€20A$33C$32 a month. If JustGiving claims the Gift Aid, 5% of it (about $1£1€1A$2C$2 a month on these figures) is kept.
How to set it up
- Register the charity on JustGiving's Start plan and add your logo, charity number and a short description of what the money pays for.
- Decide whether JustGiving reclaims Gift Aid on your behalf (5% fee) or the treasurer claims it, and set that up before the event.
- Send each runner the link to set up their own page for your charity, with a suggested target and a few lines they can copy.
- Agree a 'thank you' message from the charity that runners can share after the event.
- After the event, reconcile JustGiving's report with your records and thank each runner personally.
What goes wrong
- Card fees take a bigger share of small gifts: 30p is 6% of a $7£5€6A$10C$9 gift.
- The Start plan doesn't include customized thank-you messages or donor opt-ins; those are on Grow, from $20£15€18A$29C$28 a month plus VAT.
- Some supporters will still hand over cash. Keep one paper form with a proper Gift Aid declaration for them.
- Fundraising pages must describe accurately what the money is for, in line with the Fundraising Regulator's code. Check runners' page wording.