Pennies, the electronic charity box launches across the UK today with support from award winning PR agency, Resonate, part of the Bell Pottinger Group. The revolutionary initiative provides an easy, affordable and secure way for people to make donations of between one and 99 pence to UK charities, both big and small as they shop and pay by card.
With 43 million cardholders in the UK and almost one million card transactions every hour*, credit/debit cards are the UK’s fastest growing and most popular payment method. The new initiative by UK registered charity The Pennies Foundation, allows all card-holders the option of making a charitable donation at point of sale, whether that’s in a shop or online,, by rounding up their purchase to the nearest whole pound. The majority of the money that is donated will go to the vendor’s chosen charity. The remainder will support a range of other UK charities, all helping people. If just eight pence a week was donated by half of the UK’s card-holders, the Foundation would generate an additional £89million every year – proof, if needed that if you look after the Pennies, the pounds will take care of themselves!
With support from a number of retail technology providers, Pennies, the electronic charity box is simple for retailers to implement and open to all whether they operate in-store, online or both. The initiative’s first retailer, Domino’s Pizza goes live today and customers who pay for pizza on-line and pay by card will be able to make a donation to Special Olympics Great Britain. A second national on-line retailer is scheduled to go live shortly and plans are advancing with other retailers keen to make Pennies available both in-store and online in the New Year.
Alison Hutchinson, CEO of The Pennies Foundation, said: “Pennies are powerful and a lot of people giving a little can make a big difference. The more people who give a few pennies through the electronic charity box, the more people can be helped. What’s exciting is that as more retailers join in, more charities can be supported. I’m looking forward to Pennies becoming a familiar sight on our high streets and online and I’m delighted to be starting this journey with such a popular brand as Domino’s.”
Michael Frohlich, Managing Director of Resonate says “We are very proud to be working with Pennies. It’s not very often you get the opportunity to work on a project which can actually create social change. The simplicity of the idea is its strength and will create a ground swell of support which will result in a huge fundraising effort.”
-Ends-
For more information contact Michael Frohlich, MD, Resonate, 020 7861 2525.
