Fundraisers demand JustGiving waive admin fees for Grenfell tower as it’s revealed fundraising platform charged £25,000 for donations
JUSTGIVING has been called on to waive its administration fees after taking £25,000 in fees after donations were made for survivors of the fatal Grenfell Tower blaze.
The fundraising platform saw a number of appeals spring up after the tragedy that claimed 71 lives, with those running the fundraisers promising "every penny" would go to the families affected.
But under JustGiving's terms and conditions, it states that it takes a five per cent fee from each donation made through the site, with some charities, depending on their size, also required to pay a monthly subscription of up to £39.
Meg Hillier, the chair of the parliamentary public accounts committee, : "This is a very high percentage fee and the cost of doing this is much less than £25,000.
"It would be a sensible, reasonable, humane and a morale gesture of good will if JustGiving took a lesser fee or waived it in the circumstances."
Conservative MP Mary Robinson last night claimed in a Westminster Hall debate that about £25,000 of the total amount raised for Grenfell had gone to the website.
THE FEES: JustGiving's policy on administration costs
JustGiving takes a 5% fee from each donation made through the site, taking it from the Gift Aid that is reclaimed.
Explaining the reason for the fees on the site, the fundraising platform says: "In return we help people raise more money, more efficiently. By leaving the costly and time-consuming stuff to us, charities can spend more time, energy and money on doing good."
Karolina Hanusova was just one of those to start a fundraising page in the wake of the Grenfell disaster, raising more than £400,000 in donations.
But Mrs Robinson said that the west London local had been "surprised" that "such a significant amount was deducted from the total raised".
She added: "I applied for a debate on this subject because I believe transparency across the board is paramount, and can only serve to strengthen this increasingly popular method of fundraising and getting even more people giving with confidence."
A spokesman for JustGiving said: "As the leading online giving platform in the UK, JustGiving has always been open and transparent about its fees and what they enable."
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The Sun Online has contacted JustGiving for further comment.
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