More than 30 per cent of Britons who donate to charity do so by text message, with 61 per cent of those who donate doing so through online giving websites, according to a study by online shopping scheme Give as you Live.
The results come from Give as you Live’s shopper insight study, which questioned 4,000 of its shoppers on their digital charity support.
The study by the website, which allows users to raise money for charity as they shop, also revealed that half of Britons still donate to charity using direct debit payments.
The findings come as it was revealed a new service called #Donate allows the public to donate to charity with a tweet.
Users can donate to a charity by retweeting or tweeting a hashtag that is registered with the service. The process has been set up by a retail technology company called #Pay, which uses APIs (a set of routines, protocols, and tools for building computer software) to link Twitter and Paypal accounts.
#Pay then verifies both accounts as being genuine, at which point the charity is upgraded by #Pay to being a verified merchant. Charities are then able to set up campaign hashtags that enable the public to donate to a cause with a tweet.
The study by Give as you Live revealed that 55 per cent of people follow their favourite charities on Twitter, while one in five of those surveyed said that they follow a charity’s blog or website for updates.
Steff Lewis, head of consumer insights at Give as you Live, said: “Charity donations are rapidly going digital with mobile phones and online giving being two of the most popular ways for consumers to donate to charity
“Unlike payroll giving and direct debit, many online and mobile donations can be one-offs; for example, texting in to support a national campaign like Red Nose Day or sponsoring a friend. The challenge charities now face is finding creative ways to ensure these channels provide regular and dependable funds.”
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