Update - March 2024
As part of its aim to provide financial advice and support to our churches, we recommend you take a look at a free fundraising option - easyfundraising.
Through the easyfundraising partnership, 8000 retailers including eBay, John Lewis, Etsy, Amazon, M&S, Screwfix, Waitrose, Argos, Moonpig, Boots and trainline will donate money to your church when your parishioners and church community shop online with them – for free.
When your supporters use the easyfundraising website or app to find a retailer they want to shop with, the retailer sends your church a free donation based on how much they spend. It doesn’t anything extra as the retailer pays the donation, not the shopper.
It’s a bit like using a cashback site, but instead of one individual benefiting, your church community can pull together and raise for your church. Anything from a weekly grocery shop to a family holiday can generate a free donation.
How it works
Parishioner Sarah wants to buy a birthday present for her friend. Instead of directly visiting the M&S website, Sarah first goes to easyfundraising's website and then clicks on the M&S link.
easyfundraising will redirect Sarah to the M&S website, where she can browse and make a purchase just as she normally would. The fantastic part is that since Sarah started her shopping journey at easyfundraising, her church will receive 3% of her spending directly from M&S without any additional cost to her.
The benefits:
- Completely free to register and use
- Open to churches of all shape and size – you don’t need to be a charity
- The funds you raise class as unrestricted fundsso you can use your donations as you wish
- Easy and quick to sign up and get started – no paperwork
What do other churches think?
‘We would absolutely recommend easyfundraising to other churches! It’s such an easy way to raise much needed funds. Since joining less than six months ago, we’ve raised £365, for our youth programme. All this without one person spending an additional penny. It also encourages people to feel more involved and part of the parish, in that they are making a difference even through their everyday shopping, which is a community benefit that you can’t place value on!”
Director of Youth Ministry Georgia, St Elizabeth’s of Portugal
Getting started
- Click here to create your church profile on the easyfundraising site.
- Get familiar with easyfundraising. You can book a call with one of the team, who will show you around, so you are up to speed on how it works.
- Use the free marketing tools including social media copy, images, posters, and flyers in your easyfundraising account to tell your church community how easy it is for them to support you when they shop online.
Register your church with easyfundraising here
If you have questions, our contact at easyfundraising is very happy to help you - email becky@easyfundraising.org.uk
easyfundraising Testimonials - we hear you!
We often say the best recommendations are word of mouth, and we couldn’t recommend easyfundraising enough for our churches. Since our partnership began in 2021 our churches have raised over £10K in free donations.
Offering an easy, continuous, and accessible fundraising option, easyfundraising gives churches the chance to raise money to support themselves and the wider community through online shopping.
‘This really is easy fundraising from my point of view. We get a regular stream of modest remissions and these involve me in no work whatsoever!’ – Stewart, Treasurer at St John the Baptist, Westbourne.
easyfundraising digital team visited a number of our churches already successfully using easyfundraising. Watch their video here.
The Diocesan Digital Team visited churches across the Diocese to hear what they had to say about easyfundraising. The team visited St Richard Aldwick (watch it here) St Mary Salehurst (watch it here) St Mary Billingshurst (watch it here ) St Giles Graffham (watch it here) and Chanctonbury churches (watch it here)
PCC member Jason Pimblett from St Laurence Church in Falmer tells us here how easy easyfundraising is and encourages parishes to give it a go!