Popular Questions & Answers on Virgin Money Giving

Why has Great Midlands Fun Run chosen to work in partnership Virgin Money Giving?

Virgin Money Giving is a not-for-profit online fundraising service launched by Virgin Money. It has been designed to support charities, fundraisers and sponsors raise more money online for good causes

Why has the Fun Run not offered an on-line fundraising package before?

Until now, none of the operators were able to provide the Fun Run with the necessary information to allow us to accurately announce at the end of the year, how much money had been raised on-line and for which charities. Unless Fun Run entrants told us how much they had raised, we had no means of knowing how much had been raised and for which charities. So that money has never been included in the annual total announced towards the end of the year.

Virgin Money Giving is now in a position to provide this information to the Fun Run, which means we will be able to include all sponsor money raised by Fun Run entrants using Virgin Money Giving fundraising pages.

How does Virgin Money Giving pass the money I raise to my chosen charity?

Virgin Money Giving will ensure all of your sponsors’ money is forwarded directly to your chosen charity’s bank account. Virgin Money Giving also claim the Gift Aid on behalf of your chosen charity and forward that separately direct to your chosen charity, usually within a month of your sponsor making their donation.

Does my chosen charity know I have raised money for them?

Yes. Each charity which registers with Virgin Money Giving is provided with the necessary tools to check and validate how much money has been raised by each supporter. They can print off detailed reports to ensure your sponsor money and any Gift Aid has reached their bank account.

Can I use Virgin Money Giving to raise sponsor money for my local branch of a National Charity?

In most instances any money raised on-line will be paid into a single head office bank account and not distributed to your local branch. If you wish to have your sponsor money distributed to a specific fund or local branch, you would be best advised to contact your chosen charity first before using the on-line fundraising package with Virgin Money Giving.

You can obviously use the official Great Midlands Fun Run sponsor form and pay in to the Great Midlands Fun Run Sponsorship Account after the Fun Run using the Lloyds TSB pre-printed credit slip, included in your information pack posted to you three weeks before the event.
As has been tradition, we will ensure it reaches your chosen organisation.

Neither Virgin Money Giving nor Great Midlands Fun Run can guarantee your sponsor money will reach your specific fund or branch. That would be the responsibility of your chosen charity.

What about Just Giving?

If you use Just Giving to raise sponsor money on-line, the Fun Run has no means of monitoring what money you raise. Your charity also receives less of your sponsor money, as Just Giving has higher charges for collecting your sponsor money and also charges on the Gift Aid. Virgin Money Giving does not make any charge on the Gift Aid element of your sponsors’ donation.

What if my charity is not registered with Virgin Money Giving?

Only charities can register for sponsor money to be collected on-line by its supporters. Voluntary Organisations and Community Interest Groups cannot.

If your charity is not registered with Virgin Money Giving, please contact your chosen charity and ask them to register with Virgin Money Giving and then ask them to contact you once that process has been completed so you can then set up your fundraising page.

What is 

Under the Gift Aid scheme, charities can reclaim an extra 25% in tax on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. This equates to an extra 25p for your charity without any additional cost to you or your sponsors. When your sponsors visit your fundraising page and pledge a donation, they will be asked if they wish to Gift Aid their donation. If they say yes, their donation is worth a further 25p to your charity for every pound they donate, without any additional cost to you or them. Gift Aid is money which charities reclaim from Her Majesty’s Revenue & Tax. If you want to find out more, click here.

Can we still collect sponsors using the official Fun Run Sponsor Form?

Yes. We will issue an official Great Midlands Fun Run sponsor form to every entrant once they have completed their registration process. If you enter by post or on-line, this form will be posted to you within 10 working days of processing your application. If you enter in person, you will be handed your sponsor form at the time of entering. You can use your sponsor form on its own to raise sponsor; a combination of on-line Virgin Money Giving fundraising and the GMFR sponsor form or Virgin Money Giving on-line fundraising on its own.

As usual we will post a pre-printed Lloyds TSB credit slip in your information pack on Monday, 14 May to enable you to pay in any sponsor money collected using your sponsor form. This money will then be assigned to your chosen charity, voluntary organisation or community interest group for distribution later in the year.