Phone operators must abolish SMS charity donation charges, says industry chief

30/06/09

Graham Rivers of SMS service provider Win told Third Sector that charity fundraising tools such as SMS donations should be supported by major firms such as Orange and O2.

Win recently abolished its charges for all donations made via mobile phone, a move that Rivers hopes will encourage the bigger service providers to follow suit.

Speaking to the news source, the chief executive said: 'Charities get treated like political parties - operators have a favoured charity they will drop charges for.

'But why should that be the case? It's charity, not politics, so they should all be treated equally.'

Mr Rivers added that the removal of VAT on text donations alone would not be enough to encourage donors to pick up their mobiles for charity fundraising.

According to a recent report by Professional Fundraising, SMS donations could bring £100 million to the third sector every year if handled correctly.

Read more Sector News >>

This news item is © CTT Copyright