I used JustGiving a great deal during my LEJOG and Back ride in 2006 and it was fantastic to raise so much dosh. JustGiving were great, claiming the Gift Aid and paying all the donations to my chosen charity. I raised the money for the Alzheimer's Society, and not only were they getting funds via JustGiving, we collected cash and cheques personally too.

The system works well, and I recommend it to any fundraiser .........

However, my thoughts have changed. It was time to start publicising my Chopper JOGLE and as I'd chosen to raise money for Gunnislake Primary School to improve the playground and play equipment for the little-uns in the infants classes, I tried to see if JustGiving would work.

Gunnislake School is a tiny school, not more than 70 children in Infant plus Junior. They have only two teachers and a few support staff. They are as impoverished as any school I suppose, but as they are local, and the Chopper is really a kids' bike, I thought of local children. If you look on the JustGiving site, they are geared toward Charities. That's all very well, but a school isn't a charity, so you have to set up an account and I looked into this. JustGiving make its money by holding back on a percent or two from the Gift Aid they claim. Also, they charge the charity £15 per month. If I were to set up an account with them now, and keep it going during my ride and afterwards too, the school would have to pay in excess of £60. They can't afford that, and I wouldn't ask them.

Consequently, the chairman of the governors is giving us the paperwork, and today we are going to open a dedicated bank account instead.

JustGiving is great for bigger concerns, but not for little ones. I know that JustGiving will provide an extra percentage via Gift Aid, but the money is offset by the £15 per month. Not really a good deal on a small scale.

See ya later,
Mick.