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| GIVENOW
SITE EXPANDS TO CELEBRATE COMPLETION OF FIRST YEAR |
00/00/02 |
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The
first anniversary of the major online giving site GiveNow.org is to be marked
by a number of enhancements to the site, including the addition of a volunteering
section.
Following the results of a usability study, which found donors to be very
positive about GiveNow.org overall, certain areas of the site will be expanded
or redesigned to make them more appealing to visitors, and more user-friendly
for charities.
The homepage is to be redesigned to give greater prominence to news, while
charities will be able to either upload their own images, or choose from
a stock of photographs to accompany their news and diary dates.
There will also be greater differentiation on the areas of GiveNow.org meant
for donors and charities, and navigation throughout the site will be made
clearer.
As well as changes to the look of GiveNow.org, there will be a number of
new features to encourage greater involvement by visitors and charities.
In partnership with do-it.org.uk, the UK's first and largest database of
volunteering opportunities, GiveNow.org will host a volunteering section
for those visitors wanting to give their time.
In addition, a new search facility incorporating the Charity Commission
database will enable donors to find and donate to any of the more than 180,000
registered charities in England and Wales.
To help charities make the most of GiveNow.org, a "virtual" toolkit
complete with a "how to" guide for posting logos, mission statements
and news is to be developed.
The toolkit will include a downloadable button for charities that already
have their own website, enabling them to link donors to their GiveNow donation
page, while those charities without a web presence can request a unique
URL address to add to their own fundraising materials.
Designed to offer all UK charities a platform from which to promote their
cause, target new audiences, and fundraise online, GiveNow.org is a joint
project between CAF, the AOL Time Warner Foundation and AOL UK, and has
already generated donations for over 350 voluntary groups.
According to Karen Astbury, research and development officer at CAF: "In
our pilot year, the site has raised over £90,000 for charities across the
country. Visitors have given between £5 and £3,000 each, but what is particularly
pleasing is the high number of donors that have made their gifts tax-effective.
"Up to 92% of GiveNow donations were made via Gift Aid compared to
a national average of just under 30% for offline donations.
"The usability study was very valuable in discovering what visitors
like and dislike about GiveNow.org and what additional services CAF and
AOL could provide. We are very pleased with the results so far and hope
that it will follow CAF's other giving site and increase its income year
on year."
AOL UK's director of policy Camille de Stempel added: "GiveNow.org is proving
to be a valuable resource for a number of UK charities, particularly smaller
organisations that do not have their own website.
"By introducing the enhancements to the site, we are making it even
easier for charities to upload news and pictures and for donors to find
the charity to which they wish to give. We are also very excited to be introducing
the volunteering section as this is such a growing area."
Many of the enhancements, including the redesigned homepage will be unveiled
at the CAF Annual Conference and Exhibition, One Great George Street, London
on Thursday 13 November 2003.
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