# DONATE by National Funding Scheme

> Unified UK fundraising for charities, communities and companies, from national charities to schools, clubs, faith groups, arts venues, community groups and the companies that support them: run campaigns, team challenges, tickets, raffles, auctions and contactless giving. Trusted by thousands of organisations.

## About

The National Funding Scheme (NFS) is a UK registered charity (No. 1149800, SC045106) that provides digital fundraising technology under the DONATE™ brand. Any charitable organisation can use the platform to raise funds through multiple channels: registered charities of every size, hospices, schools and PTAs, sports clubs, churches and faith groups, arts and heritage venues and community groups. Companies can also fundraise for the charities they choose through a corporate account.

## Solutions (what an organisation runs)

- [Campaigns](https://www.nationalfundingscheme.org/solutions/campaigns): Donation pages with targets, recurring giving, Gift Aid and multi-channel payment support.
- [Team Challenges](https://www.nationalfundingscheme.org/solutions/team-challenges): Peer to peer team fundraising for sponsored events, with a personal page, short link and QR code for every member.
- [Auctions](https://www.nationalfundingscheme.org/solutions/auctions): Online and silent auctions with real-time bidding, automatic winners and payment collection.
- [Raffles](https://www.nationalfundingscheme.org/solutions/raffles): Fully compliant online raffles with payments, entries and winner selection handled for you.
- [Tickets](https://www.nationalfundingscheme.org/solutions/tickets): Event tickets with QR codes, timed entry, donations at checkout and door check-in.
- [Voting](https://www.nationalfundingscheme.org/solutions/voting): Live vote by donation events with big screen leaderboards, voting online or by text.
- [Regular Giving](https://www.nationalfundingscheme.org/solutions/regular-giving): Monthly giving by card, Direct Debit and text, where a text donor starts a monthly gift by texting back a number. Gift Aid on every eligible payment.
- [AI Assistants](https://www.nationalfundingscheme.org/solutions/ai-fundraising): Connect Claude or another MCP assistant to draft campaigns, raffles, team challenges and votes, and ask about donations and payouts. Drafts only until the organisation confirms. Switched on per organisation on request.
- [Integrations](https://www.nationalfundingscheme.org/integrations): CSV exports from the portal, the AI assistant connector and a read-only data API.

## Ways to donate (how supporters give)

- [Text to Donate](https://www.nationalfundingscheme.org/solutions/text-giving): Accept donations by text message, with no app, no card details, works on any mobile phone.
- [QR Codes](https://www.nationalfundingscheme.org/solutions/qr-codes): A QR code per campaign, lot and team member. Scanning opens the donation page, no app needed.
- [Web Donations](https://www.nationalfundingscheme.org/solutions/web-giving): Secure online donation pages with card, Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal, where QR and link giving lands.
- [Terminals](https://www.nationalfundingscheme.org/solutions/terminals): Contactless card terminals for venues, desks and events, tap and donate in seconds.
- [Point of Sale](https://www.nationalfundingscheme.org/solutions/point-of-sale): Tap to Pay donations on a volunteer's own phone, with no card reader. Coming soon.

## For companies

- [Corporate fundraising](https://www.nationalfundingscheme.org/corporate-fundraising): A company raises for its nominated charities without holding the money; agreements, Gift Aid and payouts handled.

## Key Features

- Multi-channel giving: text, web, contactless, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, Direct Debit
- Managed Gift Aid: declarations collected and claimed automatically
- Real-time reporting and dashboards
- Recurring donation management
- Fully PCI-compliant payment processing
- UK GDPR compliant data handling

## Pricing

No setup fee, no subscription, no contract. Charges are per transaction and depend
on whether the organisation is a registered charity, CASC or CIO, plus a £3 usage fee
for each week (Monday to Sunday) that donations reach £10, capped at £12 a month. Quiet weeks cost nothing.

| Charge | Registered charity / CASC / CIO | Other organisations (CIC, unregistered PTA, individual) |
|---|---|---|
| Web and SMS, no Gift Aid | 4.5% + 22p | 5% + 22p |
| Gift Aided | No percentage fee: the charity keeps the whole donation less 22p plus 60% of the Gift Aid; the fee is the other 40% of the Gift Aid. It is either the 4.5% or the 40% of Gift Aid, never both. On an auction lot the 4.5% applies up to the lot's value and the 40% of Gift Aid to the part above it | The Gift Aid + 22p: DONATE claims it as a charity and keeps it, so only the 22p comes off the donation |
| Contactless (Tap to Donate) | 2.95% + 22p | 5% + 22p |
| Payout charge | greater of £3 or 0.5% | greater of £3 or 1.5% |
| Fixed overhead | £7.50 | £7.50 |
| Usage fee | £3 per week donations reach £10, at most £12 a month | £3 per week donations reach £10, at most £12 a month |

Full detail: https://www.nationalfundingscheme.org/pricing
Compare fees against JustGiving, Enthuse, GoFundMe and others: https://www.nationalfundingscheme.org/compare
One-to-one comparisons:
- [DONATE vs Zeffy](https://www.nationalfundingscheme.org/compare/donate-vs-zeffy)
- [DONATE vs GoFundMe](https://www.nationalfundingscheme.org/compare/donate-vs-gofundme)
- [DONATE vs JustGiving](https://www.nationalfundingscheme.org/compare/donate-vs-justgiving)
- [DONATE vs Enthuse](https://www.nationalfundingscheme.org/compare/donate-vs-enthuse)
- [JustGiving alternatives](https://www.nationalfundingscheme.org/compare/justgiving-alternative)

## How-to guides

Step-by-step guides with screenshots from the product. Each is also available as markdown at the guide URL plus /guide.md.

- [Campaigns guide](https://www.nationalfundingscheme.org/guides/campaigns): Set up a donation page, text giving, Gift Aid, match funding and payouts.
- [How supporters donate](https://www.nationalfundingscheme.org/guides/giving): The donor payment flow with every option.
- [Add a Donate button to your website](https://www.nationalfundingscheme.org/guides/website-button): Put a campaign, raffle or team challenge on your own website: a campaign as a pop-up form, the form on the page or a link button; a raffle or team challenge as a button that opens its DONATE page.
- [Team challenges guide](https://www.nationalfundingscheme.org/guides/team-challenges): Teams where every member gets their own page, short link and QR code.
- [Tickets guide](https://www.nationalfundingscheme.org/guides/tickets): Ticket types, timed entry, donations at checkout and door check-in.
- [Raffles guide](https://www.nationalfundingscheme.org/guides/raffles): Selling tickets online and by text, prizes, draws and licences.
- [Auctions guide](https://www.nationalfundingscheme.org/guides/auctions): Lots, bidding on phones, winners paying by link and Gift Aid rules.
- [Voting guide](https://www.nationalfundingscheme.org/guides/voting): Pay-to-vote competitions online and by text, judges' points, the live board and the reveal.
- [Corporate guide](https://www.nationalfundingscheme.org/guides/corporate): Companies raising for their chosen charities without holding the money.

## Guides

- [About the charity](https://www.nationalfundingscheme.org/about): Who runs DONATE, charity registrations and regulation.
- [Online raffle rules UK](https://www.nationalfundingscheme.org/tips/online-raffle-rules-uk): When charity raffles are legal and what licences apply.
- [Small society lottery guide](https://www.nationalfundingscheme.org/tips/small-society-lottery-guide): Registering with a local authority, limits and returns.
- [Gift Aid on raffles and auctions](https://www.nationalfundingscheme.org/tips/gift-aid-rules-raffles-auctions): What qualifies and what never does.
- [School & PTA raffle guide](https://www.nationalfundingscheme.org/tips/school-pta-raffle-guide): Licences, rules and raising more.
- [Fundraising platform fees explained](https://www.nationalfundingscheme.org/tips/fundraising-platform-fees-explained): Every fee type UK charities pay.
- [Best fundraising platforms UK](https://www.nationalfundingscheme.org/tips/best-fundraising-platforms-uk): Balanced platform guide by use case.

## FAQs

Visit https://www.nationalfundingscheme.org/faqs for frequently asked questions.

## Contact

- Website: https://www.nationalfundingscheme.org
- Portal: https://portal.nationalfundingscheme.org
- Email: hello@nationalfundingscheme.org
- Address: 1 Golden Court, Richmond, Surrey TW9 1EU

## Regulation and complaints

Registered with the Fundraising Regulator and committed to the Code of Fundraising Practice.
Raffles run as each organisation's own small society lottery, registered with its local council
(no Gambling Commission licence is needed for online sales under that registration); tickets
may not be sold to under-16s.

- [Complaints](https://www.nationalfundingscheme.org/complaints): how to complain, our response times, and how to escalate to the Fundraising Regulator.
- [Privacy Policy](https://www.nationalfundingscheme.org/privacy-policy)
- [Terms and Conditions](https://www.nationalfundingscheme.org/terms-and-conditions)