FT.com / Your money / Your tax - The appeals broaden to the text generation

FT.com / Your money / Your tax - The appeals broaden to the text generationThe appeals broaden to the text generation
By Sarah Ross
Published: April 15 2005 16:29 Last updated: April 15 2005 16:29

The 46,000 runners in Sundays’s London Marathon will not only perform a challenging physical feat but will also raise an estimated £40m for charity.

It is a significant amount, and one that reflects the British public’s generosity. Last year, individuals gave £7.1bn to charity, while the most recent Red Nose Day raised a record £37m sumand £340m was donated to the victims of the south-east Asian tsunami.

But it’s not just what you give, but how you give which makes a real difference to the amount your chosen charity actually receives. Certain methods of giving to charity subtract far greater amounts from the original donation than others.

Donors to Capital Radio’s Help a London Child appeal at the beginning of this month gave £140,000 to help deprived children. Some £60,000 of this was pledged via text message from donors’ mobile phones, but the charity itself only received two-thirds of this.