'Charity Vouchers' is the original charity gift token scheme, first proposed by us in 'The Times' on November 28th, 1989!  We are a not-for-profit company (Limited by Guarantee) and we can donate to all UK Registered Charities and some overseas charities as well.

One of our core objectives is to make redeeming vouchers by charities as quick, easy and therefore as cheap as possible.  We don't want you spending money on unecessary staff time, phone calls, stamps, or writing letters and therefore reducing the value of the donation.  Similarly, we do not charge charities any fees to benefit from the service, unlike some similar schemes in other countries.

At the same time we recognise that adding a new donor to your mailing list may prove many times more valuable to you than the original donation.  As a result, we now ask all donors whether they would like to be added to the mailing lists of the charity they chose to give their voucher to, and we then pass this information on to the charity, along with documentation of the donor's request (for Data Protection compliance).

How to collect donations

All charities can redeem any Charity Vouchers given to them.  The charity receives 100% of the face-value of the voucher.  There is no charge at all to the charity for our service and no need to sign-up in advance or be a formal member of the scheme.  (Please note that we are almost always able to redeem vouchers which are past their expiry date so please redeem any such vouchers in the normal way.)

If you have received a Charity Voucher made out to your charity, the easiest thing to do is simply click the link below and fill in the minimal information required.  It takes less than a minute.  We will then either send you a cheque (with a letter confirming details of the donation) or, if you prefer us to pay directly into your charity's bank account we can do that instead (thereby usually avoiding any charges which may apply when paying in cheques - and faster too).  There is no need to post the voucher back to us.

Alternatively, you can, if you prefer, call us on 0800 652 3185 (free from UK landlines) and give us the details by phone.  You may prefer to simply post the voucher back to us using our Freepost address and we'll do the rest when we get it.  Whatever is easiest for you!

Has your charity been sent a completed voucher?

Click here to collect the donation now!

We usually process redeemed vouchers within a week.  Redeeming vouchers quickly is a good way to build the confidence of donors, who can check when their voucher gets redeemed by using the voucher checking tool on our website.

When your cheque arrives, you simply bank it... there is no need to send us a receipt, acknowledgement or any further information; we know we've sent the cheque and we confirm with our bank that all cheques got cashed... so you don't need to spend valuable time telling us.

Please note that most customers redeem their vouchers directly with us via our Freepost address or via the on-line form on our website.  If so, your charity will usually just receive a cheque directly from us.  If we have your bank details we will usually make a bank transfer instead, which we always accompany with an email to a charity's Donations Department, giving all the necessary details of the payment.

Donors details and mailing lists

We give donors the option of completing their personal details when sending in a voucher or redeeming it on-line.  Some people like to give anonymously and won't provide this information.  Others may request a receipt or acknowledgement for their donation and to receive more information about the charity they have donated to.  We'll pass on people's details to you where they have been given, and permission to do so has also been given.

Encouraging giving

Charity Vouchers are an increasingly popular gift and a great way for recipients to support their favourite charities.  You can encourage use of the service and help raise more money for your own charity by including a link to us on your Charity's website.  We are currently developing an innovative affiliation system whereby all orders placed via a link on a charity's website will earn a commission of £1 for that charity.  Please contact us if you would like to add your charity to the list of charities who have already asked to join this scheme when it goes live in December 2010/January 2011.

Any questions?

We're here to support charities and to make the Charity Voucher scheme even more successful.  If you've any problems or queries, please don't hesitate to get in touch!