Welcome to Zeffy’s blog

Planning a silent auction for your charity, PTA evening, or gala dinner? This guide covers everything you need: a free bid sheet template, step-by-step instructions for organisers and bidders, tips for going digital, and essential UK regulatory guidance on Gift Aid and the Gambling Act 2005.

Read more

PayPal is familiar, but that familiarity carries a cost for UK charities. This article covers the seven most documented reasons charities are leaving PayPal in 2026, what UK charities gain by switching to a purpose-built platform, and how Zeffy compares on fees, Gift Aid handling, and fundraising infrastructure.

Read more

A practical guide for small UK charities to build a realistic crisis communication plan. Covers holding statements, the Circle of Three, UK reporting duties to the Charity Commission, Fundraising Regulator and ICO, real-world case study lessons, and a step-by-step update checklist. No PR budget or agency required.

Read more

Learn how to price tickets for your UK charity event in 2026. Covers the ticket price formula, UK benchmarks by event type, nine practical pricing strategies, Gift Aid rules for event tickets, tiered pricing, and the most common mistakes to avoid. Built for heads of fundraising, trustees, PTA leads, and committee members at small-to-mid UK charities.

Read more

A website is not the gating step for fundraising in the UK. Discover 8 proven ways for UK charities, community groups, PTAs and village halls to collect donations without one, from free Zeffy donation pages with Gift Aid handling to QR codes, email campaigns, peer-to-peer fundraising and text-to-give at events.

Read more

A step-by-step guide for UK charities and their trustees on accepting gifts of listed shares: choosing a UK charity broker, writing a gift acceptance and share disposal policy, publishing transfer instructions, valuing gifts using the quarter-up rule, recording donations under Charities SORP, acknowledging gifts for HMRC Share Giving relief, and promoting share giving at the right point in the UK tax calendar.

Read more

Cryptocurrency is the smallest revenue stream you will spend the most time setting up. For most small and mid-sized UK charities, it is a side door, not the front door: a handful of large gifts a year from tech-savvy donors who want to reduce their Capital Gains Tax liability. This guide gives you the honest UK playbook, use a dedicated crypto processor, convert to sterling immediately, and stay on top of HMRC and Charity Commission reporting from day one.

Read more

Most articles about why people donate tell a tidy story: giving feels good, so people give. The honest answer is messier, and it matters if you run a small UK charity. This guide unpacks the real psychology behind charitable giving, layers in the behavioural science, replaces US tax framing with UK Gift Aid realities, and translates each motivation into something a one-to-two person fundraising team can act on this week.

Read more

A practical guide to wine fundraiser ideas for UK charities and community groups in 2026. Covers 15 formats with fit verdicts for small trustee-volunteer committees, step-by-step planning for a full wine tasting, UK licensing (Temporary Event Notices), Gift Aid on ticket-plus-donation splits, and small-society-lottery rules on raffle add-ons.

Read more

Data analytics helps UK charities understand their supporters, improve fundraising performance, and make the most of every pound raised. This guide covers the three core types of fundraising analytics, how to collect and organise data across channels, how to track Gift Aid as its own analytics stream, and how to meet UK GDPR and ICO expectations. Whether you run a registered charity or a community group, you will find practical steps to build a data-informed fundraising operation without a large budget or technical team.

Read more

Digital wallets make it easier for UK charities to accept donations from supporters who no longer carry cash. This guide covers Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, Open Banking, contactless tap-to-pay at events, and Direct Debit, with practical setup guidance, Gift Aid handling, and UK-specific compliance notes.

Read more

A practical guide for small UK charities on choosing the right digital fundraising channels in 2026: mobile-first donation forms, peer-to-peer campaigns, donor email, social media, and digital wallets, all on one zero-fee platform. Written for the small-team fundraiser who is also the programme manager, the grant writer, and the one who answers the phone.

Read more

A practical small-donor engagement guide for UK charities: 15 tactics ranked by impact-per-minute, a 12-month calendar built around UK fundraising moments, Gift Aid declaration tips, and a free donor CRM to take the admin off your plate.

Read more

Asking for legacy gifts can feel daunting, but with the right approach it becomes an opportunity to build deeper relationships with your donors while securing your charity's future. This guide covers UK-specific mechanics, the six-step conversation framework, and how to handle the ask with confidence.

Read more

Text-to-give and mobile-giving platforms let UK charities collect donations via smartphone in seconds. This guide explains how the UK mobile-giving landscape works in 2026, which platforms UK charities actually use, what Gift Aid means for SMS donations, and the five features your charity should look for before choosing a platform.

Read more

A practical guide for UK charities on using YouTube to drive donations in 2026. Covers the YouTube Nonprofit Program (including UK eligibility via Charity Commission and Google for Nonprofits), 10 tactics that work for every charity, Gift Aid on YouTube-driven donations via Zeffy, and advice for community groups and CICs that aren't yet registered charities.

Read more

Year-end giving is one of the most important fundraising periods for UK charities. This guide covers a month-by-month plan, Gift Aid mechanics, UK matching opportunities, and real Christmas appeal examples to help you end the year strong.

Read more

Text-to-give fundraising lets UK charities collect donations via mobile phones. This guide explains both UK routes (carrier-billed SMS and SMS-to-link), covers Gift Aid capture, PECR compliance, and best practices for running a successful mobile giving campaign in 2026.

Read more

Most charity merchandise articles read like a product catalogue: 40 items, no opinions, no idea whether any of it makes sense for a three-person team with no logo on file. This guide takes the opposite angle. For a small UK charity, the question is not "what merchandise to order" but "how do we sell it without burning a volunteer's Saturday on a sizing spreadsheet?" Below: the two or three items a small team can actually execute this month, how to design a shop that converts on a phone in 20 seconds, recipient-by-recipient ideas with a small-org feasibility verdict on each, verified bulk pricing, and the two-decision way to think about where to order.

Read more

TikTok is one of the fastest-growing fundraising channels for charities, and Zeffy helps you capture every donation without losing anything to fees. Whether you are collecting donations through your TikTok bio link or running a full LIVE fundraising event, the right setup makes the difference between engagement and actual revenue. This guide covers every TikTok fundraising path, native donation stickers, LIVE fundraising, bio-link donations, and how Zeffy fits into each one.

Read more

A four-month winter fundraising guide for small UK charities, covering November through February with 50+ ideas rooted in the UK charity calendar: Remembrance Sunday, Christmas appeals, the Big Give Christmas Challenge, Gift Aid mechanics, small society lottery rules, and the January Self Assessment window. Each idea includes a send cadence, realistic £ range, and lead time. Strategy sections cover donor fatigue, list segmentation, UK GDPR, and the Fundraising Regulator badge.

Read more

A clear mission statement is the sentence your governing document, your Charity Commission registration, your HMRC charity recognition application, and your donation page all inherit from. This guide walks UK charities, CICs, and community groups through what makes a strong mission statement, how to write one, and where it has to work, with real examples from Macmillan, WaterAid, Shelter, Teach First, and more.

Read more