Pennies, the award-winning fintech charity, found in a survey that 48% of UK consumers would be more likely to micro-donate if they knew giving just 35p a week could raise £1 billion annually for charities.
Empowering Change: A Collaborative Journey with JD Group and Pennies
Since 2021, Pennies has been partnered with JD Group, the sports-fashion and outdoor retail company, raising over £1,000,000 for charity through micro-donations, supporting its charitable arm JD Foundation.
In 2021, Pennies and JD Group joined forces to create positive change. JD Group, established in 1981, currently has over 800 branches across the UK and Ireland including JD Sports, Size?, HIP and GO Outdoors.
JD Group established its own charitable foundation, JD Foundation, in 2015 and has been making real change in communities ever since. This case study explores how Pennies is helping JD Group raise additional funds in support of JD Foundation, through Pennies digital micro-donations.
What we did.
Pennies worked closely with Worldline, a global leader in payments services, to integrate the Pennies solution into JD Group’s payment terminals, allowing customers to make charitable donations when paying by card or digital wallet.
Supported by the Pennies team, the micro-donation option was initially launched across select JD Group pilot stores in late 2021, followed by a seamless rollout to all stores across the UK by Summer 2022.
Pennies has collaborated with JD to make donating effortless for customers. The payment terminal prompts customers, asking if they’d like to add 20p for charity before tapping or inserting their card to pay. Pennies’ fully digital solution ensures a smooth, frictionless customer journey and reconciliation process. Every penny given goes to charity: 90% to JD Foundation and 10% to Pennies.
In February 2024, we reached the amazing milestone of £1,000,000 raised for charity through customer donations alongside our micro-donation partner, Pennies. Reaching the £1million mark in just a few years is a huge achievement which will enable us to support more young people across the UK. Thanks to our hugely generous customers, we’re able to make a real, tangible impact, not only funding charities and organisations who align with our vision, but also building programmes of our own that provide opportunities for young people to thrive and succeed. Working alongside Pennies, we’ve been able to achieve the ambitious goals of the JD Group, and JD Foundation.
The impact.
This partnership has resulted in significant impact within the first two years alone, raising over £1,000,000 for the JD Foundation. Customer micro-donations, made with Pennies, have become integral to the foundation, allowing it to develop its first ever national Grant Giving programme. This will see JD Foundation donate a minimum of £1,000,000 per year to charities nominated by colleagues and operating close to the communities served through JD Group stores.
Customer Engagement
Millions of JD customers can now actively support the charity JD Foundation every time they shop.
YOUTH EMPOWERMENT
Micro-donations are fuelling life-changing programs, positively affecting young lives across different communities.
Social Responsibility
Building stronger connections with colleagues and customers to help the JD Foundation achieve its charitable goals.
Founded in 2015, JD Foundation is JD Group’s charitable arm committed to unlocking the unlimited potential of young people. Collaborating with 25 innovative charities annually, JD Foundation provides programs including JD Up, a Prince’s Trust partnership, and a Grant Giving program.
Almost 11,000 people were directly supported by the Foundation’s events and donations in 2023 and with Pennies’ support, the foundation continues to make real change in local communities.
Pennies were thrilled to partner with JD Group to introduce our ‘digital charity box’ to their brands. Giving customers a way to support the JD Foundation with affordable, intuitive point-of-sale digital donations has helped JD Group make a meaningful, positive difference. And the numbers speak for themselves – over £1,000,000 has been raised since our partnership began. I’m genuinely proud of what we’ve accomplished together.
Discover more partner stories.
Start your journey now.
From retail, hospitality and technology brands looking to make a real difference, to charities looking to boost their impact, now is your chance to join the micro-donation movement.