Pennies sees 100% growth and announces new partners

Industry leaders joined together today to celebrate the breakthrough that Pennies, the electronic charity box, has made for British fundraising in its first two years.  The charity has already received millions of consumer donations and is showing accelerated growth going into 2013, with the announcement of major new partners.

• Pennies achieves 100% growth in its second year
• 3.5 million consumer donations
• 50 charities benefit

Minister for Civil Society Nick Hurd MP, Chairman of the British Retail Consortium and Chief Executive of Kingfisher plc, Ian Cheshire and TV presenter Fiona Phillips were amongst the speakers addressing the packed auditorium of senior executives at BAFTA.

At a time when charitable giving in the UK is reportedly decreasing, falling by 20%¹, Pennies has bucked the trend by achieving well over 100% growth in its second year.  Consumers have shown how much they love this simple and affordable way to give to charity by donating their electronic pennies 3.5 million times.  The micro-donations are adding up fast, with Pennies on track to reach the £1 million milestone around the end of the year.  That money is impacting the lives of thousands of people supported by the 50 charities that have already benefited or are due to do so.

Major national retail partners including Travelodge, Zizzi and The Entertainer are joined today by DFS, Evans Cycles, luxury brand Gieves & Hawkes, The Fragrance Shop and many more as ‘micro-donations’ hit critical mass on the high street and online.

A number of existing partnerships have expanded as well including Domino’s Pizza that has seen an 18% increase in donations now that Pennies is available with its mobile app, giving customers the opportunity to round up for charity both online and via their smartphones.

Technology has been critical in advancing the micro-donation movement and 2013 looks set to see Pennies make a step change on this front, by securing a range of new partners that will make it even easier for thousands of merchants to adopt Pennies across different channels including Barclaycard, Sage Pay, VeriFone, Servebase, Intershop and Iridium Corporation.

Alison Hutchinson, CEO of The Pennies Foundation, commented: “It has been inspiring to see how quickly millions of UK consumers have chosen to donate their electronic pennies, adding together to make a significant difference to so many UK charities.  We’ve always known that the British public is generous and thanks to the many partners announcing their support for the Pennies movement today there will be even more opportunities to join in.”

Nick Hurd, MP, Minister for Civil Society, commented: “It has been fantastic to see an innovative idea like Pennies mature so quickly.  I encourage other businesses to join the movement for the benefit of charities across the country.”

Ian Cheshire, Group Chief Executive, Kingfisher plc and Chairman, British Retail Consortium commented “Pennies has quickly proven to be a big success with consumers.  Retailers have a unique role to play with their access to millions of consumers.  Now is the time for the Retail Industry to get behind the Pennies movement”