There are things we’re all saying a lot. One of these is “2020 has been a tough year”. It’s been varying degrees of toughness, even within families. Some experience isolation while others suffer loss. All year round and every year, even before COVID-19, charities have been helping people around Ireland dealing with loss and isolation, among other things. While individuals have had it tough this year, so too have charities. That’s why it’s fantastic to see one of Ireland’ fastest-growing “banks”, Revolut, provide a new way for charities, such as the Irish Cancer Society, to raise funds.
Donating To Charities Through Revolut
I first came the idea of direct donations to charities at Dublin Tech Summit a few year back when I met with Change Donations. The idea was simple but brilliant. You’d connect their platform to your bank account, a new concept that’s going to become more normal with PSD2, and have the platform donate the spare change from your in-store or online shopping to a charity. The concept is the very same with Revolut except it’s all baked into the one app and platform. This would be like Bank of Ireland offering the service, even though they’ve just launched mobile payments so don’t hold your breath.
Within the Revolut app, you can either set up a recurring payment to a charity or round up your loose change. This means if you spend €2.50 on a coffee, you’ll donate 50 cents to your selected charity. Six major Irish Charities have partnered with Revolut with 100% of funds donated via Revolut going straight to the charities involved. Edel Hackett from Safe Ireland highlights this particular benefit as “there is no middleman which is fantastic”.
Charity Fund Crisis
To put the importance of this into perspective, Irish charities expect donations to be down by about 40% this year. Revolut has more than a million customers in Ireland so the power of the platform for charities is huge. Without really promoting the feature, Irish Revolut customers have already donated more than €500,000 to charities using the “Donations” feature.
Rosemary Simmons, Irish Cancer Society’s National Fundraising Lead, said “We are delighted to be partnering with Revolut, to raise much-needed funds to support cancer patients and their families across Ireland. 2020 has been an extremely challenging year for everyone affected by cancer, with coronavirus bringing further anxieties and forcing many to stay apart from family and friends at a time when they badly need emotional support. The vital services provided by the Irish Cancer Society are needed now, more than ever. With thanks to the generosity of our wonderful donors, we can continue to provide crucial services like Night Nursing, Daffodil Centres and our freephone Support Line, to ensure nobody in Ireland has to face cancer alone”.
Rachel Murphy, Fundraising Director at Pieta said “We are delighted to partner with Revolut and benefit from this fund-raising initiative. For all of us, this has been a year like no other and knowing we have the support of Revolut is a huge boost to the Pieta organisation. In practical terms, the funds generated will support Pieta in delivering lifesaving services and raising the awareness of suicide prevention”.
Revolut Donations: Frequently Asked Questions
Focus Ireland, the Irish Cancer Society, ISPCC Childline, the Jack & Jill Foundation, Pieta, and Safe Ireland have all joined Revolut’s “Donations” feature. Two other Irish charities – Special Olympics Ireland and the Irish Red Cross
100% of your donation goes to the charity.
In the app, visit the “Marketplace” section (the farthest right icon on the bottom). Here you’ll see the “Donations” section which is a heart icon. Here, you can make either a once off donation, donate spare change (with a multiplier if you want) or make a recurring donation.
