Localgiving.com
Localgiving.com is a social enterprise and Limited Company that operates as a not-for-profit. Founded in 2008 by Marcelle Speller, it is jointly owned by the Community Foundation network (CFN) and the Ardbrack Foundation; both are registered charities and 50% shareholders.
Localgiving.com is a website for local charities and community groups to raise money, awareness and support. It allows supporters and donors to search for and find small charities and voluntary organisations in their community.
The website allows registered and unregistered charities to claim Gift Aid as all donations are processed through their local community foundation, who vets each group. It started a pilot phase in 2009 and began its UK roll out in July 2010 with plans to cover 44 of the 55 community foundations across the UK.
Localgiving.com’s stated mission is “to enable philanthropic giving to small local charities and community groups in the UK.”
Background
Localgiving.com founder Marcelle Speller and Matthew Bowcock, Chair of CFN, identified the need for Localgiving.com while at an Institute of Philanthropy course in 2007.
Pilot
The pilot phase of Localgiving.com began in autumn 2009 using a Pilot Launch User Group of 8 community foundations; supporting communities in Berkshire, London, Calderdale, Essex, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Hertfordshire, Kent, and Scotland. By the end of the pilot phase in September 2010, 161 local charities and community organisations had signed up.
Marcelle Speller
Marcelle Speller is the founder, Chief Executive and funder of Localgiving.com. She is also a trustee of CFN. In April 2010 she transferred all her shares to the CFN and the Ardbrack Foundation. After ten years in advertising agencies in London and Amsterdam, and an MBA at INSEAD, Marcelle held various Director and Board level marketing positions with multinational companies including American Express, Avis, Heineken and Inter-Continental Hotels. In 1996 she co-founded Holiday-Rentals.com which became Europe's leading website for advertising private holiday homes. The company was sold to HomeAway Inc in 2005.
Marcelle Speller appeared on The Secret Millionaire on Sunday 31 October 2010, where she went undercover in Plymouth, Devon. During the show she gave away almost £100,000 to five local groups: Diggin’ It, Friends and Families of Special Children, Jeremiah’s Journey, Welcome Hall, and Horizons.
In December 2010 Marcelle Speller contributed to the Cabinet Office's Giving Green Paper with the essay "Giving in Local Communities" and to the Thunderer column in The Times.
During Queen's Birthday Honours Ceremony 2011 Marcelle Speller has been awarded an OBE for her service to the voluntary sector.
Community Foundation Network
The CFN is a registered charity and the national association that connects all the UK community foundations. In addition the CFN also represents the UK community foundations at national and international level. There are 58 community foundations in the UK covering 98% of the population.
Gift Aid
Gift Aid increases the value of donations by allowing charities and Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCs) to reclaim basic rate tax on your gift. Charities or CASCs take a donation, which is money that a donor has already paid tax on, and reclaims the basic rate tax from HMRC.
Localgiving.com allows donors to claim Gift Aid when giving to voluntary community groups that are unregistered by the Charity Commission by having the community foundations, who vet the charitable groups, receive the money for them.
Press
Localgiving.com has featured in national publications, such as the Financial Times ‘How to spend it’ magazine in July 2010, The Wall Street Journal, Civil Society and UK Fundraising
Following the screening of The Secret Millionaire and the launch of Localgiving.com in Devon the website has featured in numerous local publications; including South West Business and the Plymouth Post.
Competitors
There are several other companies and not-for profits that seek to raise money for charity using a range of technology tools and services. They include: Justgiving, Virgin Money Giving, The Big Give and Bmycharity.