Please find us with a new look here:

http://blog.justgiving.com

To get all the latest updates on the problems with the new site please refer to the new blog.

The old posts will be available both here and on the new blog.

The London to Brighton Bike Ride is coming up this Sunday and it will be a very special day for Carl Fivey and his family. Carl, Karen and Daniel are all cycling the 54 miles from London to Brighton in memory of Leo Fivey who unexpectedly passed away in February of this year. Leo was only 61 when he suffered a heart attack – it came as a huge shock to the whole family as Leo was a very fit and active man.

Carl, Karen and Daniel are raising money for the British Heart Foundation because “The Manor House, where Leo died did NOT have a defibrillator which may have saved him as Leo was still relatively young and very fit indeed. Maybe one day all fitness and leisure clubs and sports teams will have a defibrillator on site. We hope to raise enough money to fund the placement of a defibrillator at the Manor House Hotel and reduce the chances of this happening to another family.”

Not only is the Bike Ride for Leo on Father’s day but it is also just 2 days after his 62nd birthday and it was something that he had often talked about taking part in. Carl added that his father Leo was “a wonderful man who would do anything for anyone and is a sadly missed husband, father, brother, uncle, grandfather and friend.”

Please visit Carl’s  Justgiving page and show your support to him and his family this Sunday.

Part 2 of the report includes benchmarking data on totals raised by different charity categories, as well as revealing average individual totals and donation amounts by category. If you want to know how well your charity did in the context of the total raised, or in comparison to other categories, this is the only way to find out.

Download your copy now below in your preferred format:

Flora London Marathon 2009 report – part 2 (pdf, 1.4 MB)

Flora London Marathon 2009 report – part 2 (Word doc, 1.33 MB)

Please let us know any feedback by leaving a comment below or emailing our insights team at insights@justgiving.com.

So, what are all these changes to the Justgiving website going to look like? Well, first of all, we’ve got a new logo:

You’ll see it in blue on our homepage and other information areas, but we want it to be a bit of a chameleon and change colour according to the company it keeps. So, in future, you’ll see it in different charities’ colours too.

We’ve also got a new thermometer:

At Justgiving, charity fundraising is all we do, and we want our charities and fundraisers to shine. So we’ve made a new thermometer that can take on the colours you choose. The starburst shape celebrates the wonderful things you do and it’s nice and eye-catching, wherever you see it.

And here’s how your Justgiving page will look (depending on the colour you choose):

We’ve worked hard to bring out the really important bits – the button that asks people to donate and the thermometer that shows how much you’ve raised. There’s also more space for your own photos (yay), and some new colour themes to choose from.

Plus, it’ll be much faster and easier for people to donate on your page, and they’ll also be able to choose a little icon to go with their name and message.

So how about sharing your page with other people?

As well as our Justgiving widget and Facebook app, you’ll be able to use the very handy ShareThis button to broadcast your fundraising through lots of different social websites and networks, from Facebook and Twitter to Digg and Delicious.

And what about making changes to your page? Well, we’ve also made your account much easier to use and added even more resources, including tried and tested tips from fundraisers on how to raise as much as possible.

And now you can extend your page for as long as you like, from your account – so if you want to carry on fundraising for a few extra months, you can.

We’re really looking forward to hearing what you think of our new look and features, so please let us know, emailing any ideas and suggestions you have to heather@justgiving.com

We submit claims to HMRC every month who then process the claim and send the Gift Aid to us. This process usually takes 6-8 weeks. We then deduct the fees and we pay the funds directly to the charity’s bank account.

Our systems and processes were adjusted last year on short notice to accommodate the change to the basic rate of tax and the introduction of Transitional Relief. (If you’d like to find out how we did this then you can read about it here)

For the charities who use JustGiving the new Gift Aid rate and Transitional Relief has been claimed correctly by us for them.

However many charities have been experiencing difficulties in incorporating the new Gift Aid and Transitional Relief for their offline donations, and this has resulted in an increased number of incorrect Gift Aid claims being submitted to HMRC.

The knock on effect of this has been that HMRC have had to extend their turn around period for processing Gift Aid claims while they deal with the backlog caused by these incorrect claims.  But with the extra training and technology upgrades they’ve been putting into place this is expected to only be a short term measure.

So, if your charity is experiencing a delay with a Gift Aid claim for donations made through JustGiving then please be reassured. The claim will have been submitted correctly, we are in regular contact with HMRC about the issue and we’ll make the payment through to you as soon as HMRC are able to process the claim.

This Saturday, 42 year old Edward Spencer, a train operator on the Piccadilly Line, is going to run and walk the entire 40 mile length of the Piccadilly Line to raise money for the NSPCC. All in one day.

You can follow his training and event updates on his website and help him exceed his £750 target by making a donation on his JustGiving page.

We really like the way his website uses Google maps, Flickr and the JustGiving widget to make his fundraising even more personal and engaging for supporters.

Go Edward! A brave challenge for a great cause…

Get free money saving tips from Justfourquid.com and give some of what you save back to charity.

The ME Association, which supports thousands of people in the UK suffering from ME and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, has created Justfourquid.com because, as they say, “if each of the estimated 250,000 people in the UK with ME/CFS gave just four quid, we could raise £1 million.”

There will be a different credit crunch-friendly tip on the website every week. This week’s tip could help you save £40 a year and inspires you to get creative into the bargain…

Once you start saving, just make a donation to the cause on one of the campaign’s two JustGiving pages:

http://www.justgiving.com/jfq-rrf

http://www.justgiving.com/jfq-meruk

We loved having her here and asked her to write a little something for the blog before she left. Here’s what she said.

“This month, my whole year group had to find a place that would accept you for a week of work experience. Lucky for me, I was able to get a place at Justgiving for the week of 11th-15th May. First of all, I wasn’t too sure about it, it was all the way in London which is about an hour journey from where I live, when I could have just gone somewhere right near where I live. However, after a couple of hours of being here I was so glad that I did choose to come here over everywhere else.

The team at Justgiving are unlike anywhere else. The jobs they do and how they do them are unbelievable. The first day I came into the office, I was nervous as anyone would be, there were around 40 of them, and one of me, but I got taken round and said hi to everyone, and everyone was so friendly and helpful. As soon as I came into the office I had someone that was showing me round and introducing me to everyone. Everyone was getting up and shaking my hand and saying hi and introducing themselves. Also people were asking me if I wanted anything, or if I knew where the tea and coffee was.

The first thing I also realised, was everyone was so relaxed, wearing jeans and having a laugh at the same time as getting their job done, I think this is so much nicer and easier than having an office where everyone is in suits and sit in silence. The office environment is one of the things that makes Justgiving different to everywhere else. Another thing which makes it so different is the people. The people here are all so hard-working, but have a really funny sense of humour as well. I mean right now behind me during the lunch hour someone is saying to someone else ‘dip the burger in the beans mate, they’re heavenly!’.

I have been having fun as well as working and getting an insight into how the company works and what work is like, just like the employees of the company do every day (except they know what they are doing). I’ve been helping with the files, scanning and sorting out charity applications – not the most amusing thing to do, but it’s work. Oh, I was also zooming around the office on my wheelie-chair, taking pictures of everyone for the Flickr page, so check them out.

I have been so lucky to get this placement at Justgiving, and I have had so much fun and also learned so much from the Justgiving team. How to use Photoshop, HTML codes, Flash cs4, filing and what the helpdesk does. Might try and get a job here when I leave school – the team would be happy about that, seeing their faces with the amount of biscuits I brought in this morning. Perfect job, perfect team, perfect work experience ”

Thanks for all your help Mia, it was great working with you, and good luck with your studies!

We also have the winner of the ‘best dressed runner’ competition. Thank you for all your wonderful entries, there were loads of really excellent costumes to choose from. We chose Rose and Carla Dolan,  aka Wilma Flintstone and Betty Rubble, because their costumes are excellent and they look so happy wearing them!

Thanks to everyone who entered all of our competitions – we’ve had a lot of fun judging them. We put all of your drawings up in one of our meeting rooms to judge the competitions and they brightened it up so much we decided to keep them there. Pop by for a cup of tea and a look if you’re ever in town!

If you have any ideas for other competitions please get in touch by emailing heather@justgiving.com or leaving a comment below.

Even though he has beaten his target he isn’t stopping now and on the 9th June he will attempt to pull himself up El Capitan Mountain – 1800ft, with 4254 pull ups over 3 days. Find out more about his next challenge on his website and sponsor him on his Justgiving page.

Phil wanted to thank everyone who has supported him through his challenges and asked us to share this message with you all:

“The intent to raise £1million for Help for Heroes was, I have discovered, my way of taking some form of responsibility and role to replace those that disappeared on the 19th February last year when I left the men and women I commanded and cared for passionately. I felt I lost control of everything; felt inadequate, my confidence disappeared and I woke up with a feeling of complete emptiness. This original Quest was a way of giving something back and selfishly perhaps, was a way of filling the void in my life. I appreciate every donation I have received; I read every letter and every message. I could never have reached this target without the constant support of all my family and friends that have worked tirelessly to help me. The National Press have been fantastic and have raised the profile of my campaign, and so many, through their generosity, have made this £1million for those that need such vital support. Thousands of remarkably selfless acts of kindness that make a difference.

I will continue to strive to boost the £1million we have reached and go all out to gain more support for Help for Heroes whilst on the El Capitan Mountain Challenge. I also sincerely hope that these challenges are and will raise awareness of disability and enthuse others. When I have reached the summit, I hope to be able to announce where and how this Quest will develop and then to provide a Statement of Intent and the next stage of this journey.

Once again, to everyone who has made this possible and made this happen; thank you – I would not be here without your support and your kindness. It doesn’t stop here!”