Receiving help these days from strangers is a lot easier unlike before. When people are faced with financial problems, they usually first seek help from the people they know.
But today, getting financial help from people you don’t know it’s a lot easier, better and faster. That’s because many people are willing to support others in need. Most especially if the reason is genuine.
Previously, when people are faced with major financial challenge, and needs money to solve the problem. They would ask people they know to help them out with any amount they have.
Individuals in need also look for ways to raise money by hosting a small bake sale. This way, people buy the treats just to support the reason for the sale, not because they wanted to buy them.
Other ways people raise money for charity in the past is through:
- Door-to-door collection
- Hold charity concert to attract donors
- Sponsored walks or runs
- Organized auctions
However, this means of raising money is only limited to people within the community. It doesn’t go far because there’s no channel to reach out to many people.
There are site that can help people get to many audience within a short time. These sites are known as collective funding site, and JustGiving is one of these platforms.
JustGiving is a platform that has been around for years. It has helped individuals, churches, non-profit organization raise money for various needs.
JustGiving has the basic software that connects receivers to donors who’re willing to help. JustGiving is transparent, it shows how givers donate money. It makes sure donated funds get to the people they’re meant for, to solve their problems. It also gives beneficiaries the chance to send appreciation to benefactors.
Furthermore, let’s take a closer look at JustGiving supported countries and what this platform is used for.
What is JustGiving?
JustGiving is a website that helps people to raise money for different needs.
JustGiving is used for two major reasons. They are:
Raising Money for a Charity
Non-profit organization can use JustGiving to raise funds for:
- Sports: Sports activities like running, cycling, football, skydive and more can get sponsors through this platform.
- Special Occasions: Instead of receiving gifts from people on your birthday, you could ask them to donate to the charity, as a way of showing love to you.
- In Memory: You could raise money for a loved one who has passed to support the funeral expenses.
Raising Money for Yourself or Others
This is for raising money for personal needs or for others.
- Medical Bills: You can raise money for surgeries and other emergency medical treatments.
- Local Community Projects: This is for funding school projects, fixing the community and helping the people in need within the community.
- Personal Emergencies: It’s often used for urgent needs like fire outbreaks or disasters.
- Creative Projects: To support artists and innovators in turning their projects into reality.
How JustGiving Works
How it works for people raising money
- Create a Page: Sign up and create a personal funding page on JustGiving website.
- Tell Your Story: Explain to people the reason why you are raising money. Add a convincing pictures or videos. Set a target amount and include your payment link.
- Share the Link: You’ll receive a link after completing your profile. Share the link to family or people you know through email. Then reach out to other people including strangers through all your social media accounts.
- Track Progress: You can always see the amount you’ve raised as soon as the funds come in.
How it works for Donors
- Simple Giving: Through the link, donors can decide how much they’re willing to give. They can make payments safely using a card, PayPal, Google Pay or Apple Pay.
- Gift Aid: If the donation comes from a taxpayer in the United Kingdom, the beneficiary will get extra 25% more for free.
How the Money Moves
- For Charities: To get donations, create a page on the site. Give reasons why those funds are needed for the underprivileged. Choose a charity from the list and JustGiving sends the donations directly to them every week.
- For Individual Needs: For those raising money for personal needs, withdrawals can only be made after 14 days directly to your account.
Fees
Signing up and creating a profile in JustGiving site is free. However, unlike other public funding site that usually charge a small amount from any donation made, JustGiving doesn’t charge any amount. It only receive extra donation or gifts given to them willing by donors.
Furthermore, payment platforms like PayPal or Visa charges a small fee to process your payments.
In addition, from the extra 25% Gift Aid given to charities, JustGiving may take a 5% fee.
Moreover, JustGiving available countries are the only ones where individuals from can use this platform.
List of JustGiving Supported Countries:
Below is the available list of JustGiving supported countries:
- United States
- United Kingdom
- Canada
- Australia
- New Zealand
Check the site for the complete list
Nevertheless, there are specific countries where raising funds is supported. However, donors can give funds from any location using cards.
JustGiving processes donations in five major currencies, they are:
JustGiving Supported Currencies:
- Canadian Dollars
- Australian Dollars
- British Pounds
- US Dollars
- Euros
List of JustGiving Supported States in the USA
United States is among the JustGiving Supported Countries. This platform is used globally mainly for raising funds to support charities. JustGiving gives charities a special page for raising funds.
However, charities need to register with the state to legally ask for donations from people. This rule is required in 41 U.S states.
Supporters can donate funds to charities using US Dollars. JustGiving can only be used in the U.S for charity funding. Individual needs or anything else is not accepted. Individuals can use GoFundMe within the state to raise money for personal needs.
So, in the U.S, it’s more about supporting registered charities rather than personal needs. Therefore, many individual can create personal page for raising funds for a charity.
Moreover, it’s also important to know that JustGiving features in the United States are different from those in the United Kingdom.
JustGiving Alternatives:
- FundRazr
- GoGetFunding
- GoFundMe
- Givebutter
- Donorbox
- Zeffy
- Kickstarter
- Indiegogo
- Chuffed
- Spotfund
Conclusion
JustGiving is a website that helps people raise money for different reasons. It,s used by JustGiving supported countries to start a page and raise money for their needs.
However, people from any part of the world, whether in supported countries or not, can send money through their credit or debit card to the fundraiser’s account.
For user in the United States, this platform is mainly for charities rather than individual needs. There are other alternatives like GoGetFunding, Indiegogo, and GoFundMe that supports individual needs. So, U.S users can use any of the mentioned platforms for their personal needs.