Direct debits to overtake tin-rattling by 2008

Professional Fundraising

April 2008

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Giving to charity by direct debit will overtake envelope and tin donations by 2009, according to research from nfpSynergy on giving by standing order. Currently, around 33 per cent of donors use direct debit compared with 38 per cent who give through envelopes and tins. However the latest findings from nfpSynergy's Charity Awareness monitor into the charitable behaviour of 1,000 adults in Britain, shows direct debit donations have been on a steady increase since 2003 while envelope and giving through tins is in decline. If the trend continues, more donors will use direct debit by 2009.

Joe Saxton, nfpSynergy driver of ideas, said income through direct debit was easier to sustain: "If fundraisers collecting through tins or envelopes stopped today, that income would end instantly. But if fundraisers collecting through direct debit stopped marketing, money would still come in for the next two to five years from former donors. We are becoming a much more cash-free society."

The "cash-free" trend was also highlighted by the UK payments association APACS which reported that charitable donations on plastic cards reached the £1bn barriers for the first time in 2007.Donations on plastic reached £1.103bn in 2007, up from £842m in 2006. The increase comprised 2.9 million more debit card and 1.3 million more credit card payments.

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