I setup a donation page on charitygiving.com the other week, to raise some money for a charity that means a lot to me by riding the LEL in a couple of weeks.

Up to £462 in donations, but then this happened:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23315133

Does that mean the money is lost? what are the chances of the money ever getting to the right place?

In the meantime, I’ve setup a justgiving page instead:
Annoying though, that justgiving take more commission 🙁

See Charity Commission website for some info:
http://www.charitycommission.gov.uk/news/charitygiving-website-suspended/

Is that implying that donors will be refunded, or will the money to go to the charity? I can’t figure it out.

Annoying though, that justgiving take more commission

Sites like these – and all big charities really – are businesses and it’s clear that some people are making a nice profit out of the increasing number of charity events. Of course you could argue that the ease of donating via websites now means people are more likely to dip into their pockets so everyone benefits.

and the interim manager will now undertake an urgent, detailed review of the charity’s finances to establish the extent of the shortfall and which charities and donors are affected….

The Commission cannot assist individual donors, fundraisers or charities to advise whether or not they are affected, or whether or not their funds will be paid – any such queries must be directed to the interim manager. Donors and charities who are concerned about funds pledged via CharityGiving should contact:

DoveTrustInterimManager@crowecw.co.uk or phone 0207 842 7313.

Reading that it is clear they have more pledges ot make than cash to provide.
Where the shortfall will come form they dont know as yet

Sites like these – and all big charities really – are businesses and it’s clear that some people are making a nice profit out of the increasing number of charity events.

There are businesses that make profits from the charity sector – professional fundraisers etc. (including events organisers) but charities themselves are NOT businesses and it is illegal for a charity to make profits – some charities set up trading companies which can make profits, which go to the charity, e.g. those that own chains of shops or other money making ventures.

but charities themselves are NOT businesses and it is illegal for a charity to make profits

Right, but just because the charity doesn’t turn a profit that doesn’t mean INDIVIDUALS aren’t taking home a very nice salary does it? http://society.guardian.co.uk/salarysurvey/table/0,12406,1042677,00.html

If you don’t think some people are benefitting financially from the massive upturn in charity giving/sports events/etc then you’re pretty naivë. Obviously more money is going towards good causes too, which is a good thing, but there are plenty riding on the coat-tails.

Why not use JustTextGiving? All the cash raised goes to the charity.

Right, but just because the charity doesn’t turn a profit that doesn’t mean INDIVIDUALS aren’t taking home a very nice salary does it?

Looking at those figures I thought it was pleasantly surprising – listed there are some fairly massive organisations bringing in and spending very sizeable amounts of money. The CEO of some of those will have a hell of a lot of employees and volunteers to be responsible for with quite high levels of liability if it all goes wrong. I think you would be surprised what people in similar positions of responsibility would be earning (and therefore what these people could leave their charities and be paid if they so chose) in other sectors. Looked at the other way, they are donating an element of their worth and true salary potential by working on the cheap. Yes, they are paid more than a checkout worker but I suspect they earn it!

zilog – You seem to have linked to a list of CEO’s salaries there – that’s not “profit” that’s “salaries”. Not sure how much you think they should be paid, or do you not think they should be paid at all?

At first glance, it looks okay to me compared to what CEOs of similar size / profile commercial businesses pay their CEOs?

No, I agree with you in that if they were CEOs in the private sector they would probably be earning more, plus they have a lot of responsibility and the salary has to reflect if they want to attract anyone half competent. Doesn’t change the fact they are making a very comfortable living out of the charity though.

zilog – You seem to have linked to a list of CEO’s salaries there – that’s not “profit” that’s “salaries”.

Yes, that’s exactly what I said.

People in jobs get paid a competitive wage for their skills, talents and experience – what a shocker.

It always amazes me when people can’t equate this:-

Annoying though, that justgiving take more commission

With this:-

CharityGiving.co.uk is suspended over funding concerns

Any business is fundamentally simple in that you take something, do something to it then sell it for more than it originally cost. All that is necessary is to ensure that the work they do costs less than the difference between cost and sell. Clearly in this instance this is not the case, so in fact the basic problem is in all probability precisely the fact that they were charging less than Justgiving. As the saying goes, all that glitters is not gold.