Giving Tuesday 2023: Make a big impact with small change!

At Pennies, we’re big supporters of giving – it’s at the core of everything we do. Since we started in 2010, we’ve aimed to make it easy and affordable for people to give to charity. That’s why we’re excited to support Giving Tuesday, a global movement that celebrates and promotes generosity.

Giving Tuesday and Pennies

Maybe you’ve already heard about us through Giving Tuesday before or spotted us at one of our partner stores – we’re Pennies, an award-winning charity using technology to collect small donations at the point of sale. We want to make sure everyone has a digital way to give those small amounts of money that mean so much to charities.

Watch our YouTube video below to see the impact of micro-donations for our charity partners:

Giving ‘little and often’

“Even when times are tough, and living costs are high, we’ve seen that people want to help their communities and those who need it most. They want to give in a way that’s affordable and sustainable.”

Alison Hutchinson CBE, CEO, Pennies

Pennies research shows that most people (71%) say they prefer giving little and often, over larger sums. And this has been the reality we have seen at Pennies this year. We’ve seen a nearly 50% increase in micro-donations compared to last year, with more people saying ‘Yes’ to giving when they have the chance.

Making giving easy, every day

This Giving Tuesday and every day, you can give back with Pennies. We know it’s not always easy to donate huge amounts of money or spend a lot of time volunteering. That’s why we focus on making giving easy, every day. We work with our amazing partners to make giving affordable, so people can be generous by donating their ‘spare’ change when they pay by card or digital wallet in-store, online or in-app. This transforms small acts of kindness into huge impact for charities and communities across the UK and beyond.

Here are three simple ways you can take part this Giving Tuesday with Pennies:

Donate at a Pennies retailer

When you shop with participating merchants, you can give back by donating a small amount when you pay by card. It might be as little as 5p, which doesn’t seem like much, but since 2010, these small donations have added up to over £47 million for charities. That’s 200 million tiny donations making a huge difference. So, the next time you shop, press ‘Yes’ to donate because your micro-donations really do add up!

Use Pennies’ digital micro-donation option

If you own a business, you can make a difference by offering Pennies’ digital micro-donation option. This lets your customers support charity partners while they shop. Whether your business is in-store, online, or in an app – as long as you take card payments and fulfil the requirements featured on our website – you can implement Pennies’ digital micro-donations at your point of sale. Yes, it’s really that simple!

Here’s what Debbie Robinson, Chief Executive at Central Co-op, one of our partners, had to say:

“Pennies do so much in the background, making the links, making sure that the payments are secure, and they go direct to the charities that the businesses are actually supporting. It really is a god send to our co-op because it’s allowing us to give more money to charities than we’ve ever been able to do before.”

Debbie Robinson, Chief Executive, Central Co-op

Help develop tech for good

Our technology and financial partners also play a big role in what we do. If you work in PayTech or FinTech, you can help us develop the technology for digital donations in different payment solutions. As more people want businesses to have a social purpose, you can be part of making that happen. We’re always adapting to new ways of shopping and paying, like contactless donations or pay-at-table, so if you want to unlock giving for your customers, get in touch with us today.

Read about our most recent partnerships with FreedomPay, an innovative leader in Next Level Commerce™ technologies and Apadmi, a leading mobile app development agency.

Making a difference, together

We’re excited about teaming up with you and growing the impact for charities when they need it most. This Giving Tuesday and beyond, when you see the Pennies’ donation option, don’t forget to press ‘yes’ to help change lives and support communities in need.

Because micro-donations matter, now more than ever.