As we first wrote late last Fall, the Virgin Group has launched ‘Virgin Money Giving’, an independent not-for-profit organization designed to facilitate widespread UK fundraising and help charities receive more of their charitable donations.

From today charities will be able to publish their own pages by visiting the site and registering. Once registered, charities will be able to customise their pages in their own brand colours, promote them to supporters, send out email alerts and manage their fundraising events.

As a not-for-profit business, Virgin Money Giving will only look to cover its costs, through a 2% transaction fee on donations and a one-off £100 set-up fee for charities. No charge will be made on administering Gift Aid. As a result Virgin Money Giving will cut the cost to charities of raising money online by up to 60%.

As well as cutting costs and increasing the amount of money that finds its way to good causes, Virgin Money Giving will also provide detailed reporting functionality. Charities will have the opportunity to view fundraiser and donor data through standard or customisable reports, enabling them to understand the profile of the people supporting them and enhance their own fundraising campaigns.

Virgin Money Giving is providing charities the opportunity to setup their pages on the website before opening the doors to fundraisers. The launch date to fundraisers will be announced shortly.