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Donations app offers free service to charities

Words by Smiley Team

Offering a well-needed boost to charities hit by the pandemic, donations app Sustainably has announced it will drop its joining fee and offer free sign-ups to charities.  

Founded on the principle that doing good should be straightforward, the pioneering app allows users to make a positive difference just by carrying out their daily shopping. Its creators Loral and Eishel Quinn (pictured) set up the initiative so that the app connects to users’ banks, to securely round up payments to the nearest pound and donate the difference to causes they care about.  

Co-founder and CEO of Sustainably, Loral said: “We really want to be part of the solution, by supporting as many charities as we possibly can to continue their great work and we are proud to be using our expertise with technology for good, making it easier for people to give on their own terms and see the impact they are making. 

“The Demos report also points out how charities will need to shift their priorities to building digital skills. We truly believe that by waiving our joining fees for charities joining us before 21st June, we will be able to support them greatly towards becoming stronger and more resilient in 2021 and beyond.” 



Buying into a good cause

Due to the pandemic, charities require support such as free services from social enterprises like Sustainably, more than ever before. A recent report by independent educational charity Demos revealed the extent of damage wrought by the pandemic on non-profit organisations. 

“Charities have been at the sharp end of the Covid-19 crisis,” it stated. “From NHS charities working hard to support burnt-out hospital workers, to domestic abuse hotlines experiencing spikes in call rates, to food banks supporting millions of families through the worst recession on record. 

“And they have been doing all this while shifting face-to-face support services online, with little to no preparation time, at the same time as thousands of fundraising events have been scrapped and charity shops have closed across the UK.”  

But it gets worse. The funding gap between income and expenditures in the third sector could reach £10 billion, leading to 60,000 redundancies, according to Pro Bono Economics.

Hoping to tackle this problem, Sustainably already supports over 40 charities, including major organisations such as Macmillan, Shelter, British Heart Foundation, Social Bite and The Rainforest Trust. It is a free app that permits users to donate to causes of their choice.  

If you work for a charity interested in benefiting from the free offer, find more information on how you can do so here.

This article aligns with the following UN SDGs

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