£3m+ programme to improve digital fundraising skills in Wales concludes

LOCALGIVING is paying tribute to the remarkable partnership that has delivered £3m+ of funding for good causes across Wales between 2016 and 2023 and the groups that have worked so hard to support their communities.

This dedicated national programme has seen Localgiving and its funding partners support over 500 organisations across all 22 counties in Wales. This assistance has proved particularly valuable aiding groups through Covid-19, rising energy prices and the cost-of-living crisis, among other challenges.

The programme was launched to support groups in Wales who were not taking advantage of the opportunities of online fundraising. Localgiving gave them the skills and confidence to engage with training and develop new skills that helped them to create new income streams. On joining the programme, Localgiving provided a free year of membership, access to Gift Aid and 1:1 support in how to fundraise online.

Since the launch, the results have been spectacular:

• Before joining the programme, 62% had never raised funds online before and 73% had never run an online appeal before
• Since joining the Wales programme, 87% have carried out an online appeal through Localgiving and a further 11% feel confident in getting started in the near future
• 89% have found that joining the programme has enabled their organisation to increase the amount it raises and reach new donors
• 94% have also benefited from UK-wide match funding or grants from Localgiving
• 96% found the ‘Introduction to Online Fundraising’ training video helpful, which was sent immediately after joining the programme.

The assistance from the programme has helped groups in the charity sector in Wales to raise over £3m in funding for over 500 valuable causes.

Without the programme, the majority of this income would not have been raised and not have reached communities across the nation.

Initially funded by the National Lottery Community Fund (TNLCF) in 2016, two years later its initial impact was built upon with the support of The National Lottery Community Fund, Garfield Weston Foundation and Waterloo Foundation. In December 2020, Localgiving launched Crowdfund Wales, a new three-year programme to help 150 charitable organisations access free support with online fundraising. This programme was funded by the Waterloo Foundation and Garfield Weston Foundation.

In addition to its online platform and access to Gift Aid, the programme also ran extensive training.

Localgiving has a unique and ongoing commitment to providing the functionality for Welsh language donation pages and a full Welsh language donation flow. This also allows members to share a link to both a donation page in English and a donation page in Welsh, upholding a commitment to the Welsh Language Act.

Localgiving’s Wales programme has now ended, after several years of generous support from funders including The National Lottery Community Fund and Garfield Weston Foundation. If you are a funder, or support the charity sector, and would like to talk about future partnership work in Wales, the team at Localgiving is happy to talk to you.

Lauren Swain the Wales National Manager at Localgiving for this programme said:

“It’s been an absolute pleasure to support so many fantastic causes across Wales these past years. We have seen the huge impact that this programme has delivered, especially during some particularly challenging times and we are all really proud of the results and the legacy that this has created for communities across Wales. Thank you to all of the funders and supporters we have partnered with since 2016, we couldn’t have done it without you!”

Sea Trust Wales said:

“Localgiving has completely changed the way we fundraise. We are more confident as an organisation when appealing to the public and we are less embarrassed when asking for donations as the Localgiving platform provides a professional look to our services.”

Circus Eruption said:

“I recommend Localgiving all the time. It’s easy to use for fundraising, excellent for straightforward grant applications and having a dedicated person who you can get to know is fantastic. We’re pretty confident but we’ve appreciated this support too, and we love it that organisations who are very new or lack confidence or skills have a real person to turn to! Also, as Localgiving is a charity itself, it aligns with our values.”

Kind Bay Initiative said:

“Online fundraising was daunting for us as we had never done it before. Localgiving really held our hands and made it all possible, we are eternally grateful as we would have struggled to continue without the money we raised.”