When donating to your favourite charity online, there are usually 2 options. 1. You can find a fundraiser on a fundraising platform like JustGiving, or you can 2. Go directly to the charity’s website and donate.
What often happens is that people opt to use online fundraising platforms like JustGiving because of the user experience, as many charity websites don’t have great checkout flows, which can often make it confusing for donors.
Online fundraising platforms are also great for charities, and we believe they should be used as they allow charities to have fundraisers join one of their campaigns and fundraise on the charity’s behalf.
Which Option Is Better?
There is no universal answer. The “best” option often depends on the situation.
Third-party fundraising platforms can be highly effective for:
- Sponsored events
- Peer-to-peer fundraising
- Viral campaigns
- First-time supporters
- Rapid campaign setup
Direct charity donations may work better for:
- Regular giving
- Long-term donor relationships
- Membership programmes
- Major donor campaigns
- Charities with strong digital infrastructure
In practice, many successful charities use both approaches together.
To benefit from access to as many donors as possible, the best way to go about it is to have a website that has an easy-to-use donation function, which isn’t confusing to users. As well as being on fundraising platforms, too.
Why don’t Charity websites operate like fundraising platforms?
To be able to have peer-to-peer fundraising functions on a charity website, they would need to be running on expensive servers that can handle many users at the same time. This is how fundraising platforms like JustGiving work; they have built robust platforms which run on expensive servers, and they can do this due to the ability to earn a lot from the millions of people who use their platform.
A small charity cannot invest in the same level of infrastructure or handle the maintenance cost, as it wouldn’t be cost-effective. So, a simple donation function which allows users to donate directly to the campaign of their choice on the charity’s website is more affordable as it doesn’t require specialised, expensive servers.
For charities, it can also be of benefit to have their own set of donors, who donate directly through their website, as they can stay in touch with those donors directly. No third party gets access to that donor’s information.
Online fundraising platforms have opened the door for millions of people to support causes quickly and socially. At the same time, direct charity donations remain valuable because they can strengthen long-term supporter relationships and maximise organisational control.
Rather than viewing the two models as competitors, many charities see them as complementary tools within a broader fundraising strategy.
The most important outcome is that donations, however they are made, help charities continue their work and create meaningful impact.
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