We live in an increasingly digital society, and this includes how we store and spend our money. At Ansvar, we have noticed charities become more innovative in their fundraising methods as traditional cash collections are becoming less effective because many people simply no longer carry cash.

To ensure their longevity, a charity needs to work with the times and adopt the developing technologies, which will ensure they can decrease friction during the donation process and make it as easy as possible for someone to make that all-important donation. A contactless or card payment is an effective solution to this, with most people carrying a card or smartphone with them where they can make a donation with minimum effort; the easier it is to make a donation, the more likely it’ll be made.

In this blog post we will be talking about TapSimple, a portable product we wanted to share, which your charity could find really useful for contactless payments when fundraising.

Contactless is king

TapSimple was first explored by the founders, Alex Coleridge and Tom Montague, back in 2015 when they worked together on a campaign to help homelessness in London; it was then launched by Coleridge and Montague in April 2018. They wanted to help the third sector raise more donations, recognising that charities needed innovative new ways to fundraise, as contactless payments continued to take over from cash donations.

How it works

The product itself is a case-like device that attaches to any popular smartphone, and synchronises with an app. Payment can then be taken through contactless or chip and pin, and can be a specified or nominated amount, within the app you can also apply Gift Aid, and collect GDPR compliant contact details.

Because this was designed with charities in mind, the dashboard also allows you to manage volunteers and their permissions, as well as customise your campaign imagery, messages, and logos to make it unique to your cause.

Who they work with

TapSimple has been used for charities collecting on the street, door to door, at gala dinners, and at church services, all with great success rates.
Some bigger charities to mention who have worked with TapSimple for fundraising in the UK are Macmillan, the NSPCC, and Christian Aid; but they also work with many smaller charities as their pricing is very accessible and there are no fixed contracts or upfront costs. This is one of the reasons we wanted to share this company with you, we know not all charities will have the funds available for costly solutions and every penny counts.

Another important note, is that TapSimple is a trusted supplier to the NCVO (National Council for Voluntary Organisations), which is a reassuring sign that this product can be used safely as well as effectively.

Covid-19 and contactless

It would be impossible to write an article in this current global situation, without mentioning the impact that COVID-19 has had on charity fundraising, when face-to-face fundraising isn’t really an option, virtual events are absolutely key.

During lockdown, TapSimple launched TapSimple Events which was designed for both in-person and virtual events. With this service, charities can create events, set fundraising targets, and manage attendees with their ticketing software. The event can also be hosted with their integrated video conferencing software which can either be a group chat, or a live stream. Users can donate online before and during an event without ever having to leave the page, which can really help build the momentum you would usually get at a physical event. This could be a great alternative to Zoom, as the content and donation facility are all in one place rather than on another platform.

We are all familiar with the type of virtual event that takes place during lockdown, but some honourable mentions are virtual cocktail classes and coffee mornings. In our opinion, the more unique your event, the better!

Looking forward

Once the world resumes normal scheduling and distancing is a thing of the past (which it will be, we just have to be patient and wear our masks!) users will also be able to use the events function for in-person fundraisers for a charity-centric alternative to Eventbrite, handling invitations and donations in one place.

Alex Coleridge, one of the founders of TapSimple said: “Charities have had a tough time during lockdown, so we are excited to add TapSimple Events to our list of services. We know how important it is for charities to be able to raise donations while social distancing continues, and our new virtual events platform brings a fun and effective new way for charities to boost donations and interact with supporters.

With TapSimple Events, every office quiz, Q&A, webinar or virtual coffee morning is now an opportunity for charities to raise donations at a moment when their supporters are most engaged."

Consider contactless

We hope you have found this article useful, and that you might consider how you can implement contactless and card based giving to your fundraising efforts. TapSimple could be a great addition to your arsenal of tools to increase donations and continue to do the amazing things you work so tirelessly for.

Sarah Cox is the Managing Director of charity and faith insurance specialist, Ansvar, the sponsors of this piece.

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