Pennies ‘round-up’ charity drafts in 40 British bosses

penniesPennies, the digital charity service which asks customers to round up card payments when shopping with participating retailers, has signed up 40 leaders from across retail, hospitality, payment, and technology to help accelerate its micro-donation movement.

Bosses from the British Retail Consortium, The Very Group, Toolstation, Currys, Hello Fresh, Wilko, and JD Outdoor have joined the charity’s advisory board.

Launched in 2008, Pennies has enabled over 125 million micro-donations, raising millions of pounds in much-needed additional income for charities in the UK and Republic of Ireland.

Together, payment providers, retailers and their customers are helping hundreds of charities make a meaningful difference to the causes and communities they serve. There is an estimated annual £1bn opportunity for digital micro-donations for the UK charity sector.

Pennies was advised by the MBS Group on a pro-bono basis to draw up the new Retail & Services Advisory Board, which includes Wilko group CEO Jerome Saint Marc; JD Outdoor CEO Lee Bagnall; Pets at Home managing director David Robinson; Portfolio non-exec and former Tesco marketing chief Matt Atkinson; and Nando’s CEO Colin Hill.

Retail veteran and non-executive director Angela Luger chairs the group. She said: “The retail sector has been pivotal to the adoption and success of Pennies, helping to unlock over 125 million micro-donations which has transformed individuals’ lives and communities across the UK, yet Pennies is possibly one of the best kept secrets in our industry. This voluntary income is more vital now than ever as charities face a decrease in donations, but a greater demand on their services post-pandemic.

“The new advisory board that I have the honour of chairing, aims to support the continued growth of pennies as we work towards our audacious goal to raise £1bn per year in micro-donations’ for UK charities. We cannot wait to get started.”

Pennies chief executive Alison Hutchinson said. “We are overwhelmed by the support from the retail industry, stepping forward to unlock even faster growth of this fantastic movement that has raised over £30m for 750+ charities – which for us is really just the start.

“Our success so far belongs to the millions of people who have given their digital spare change when shopping – and our next challenge is to ensure every consumer is able to do just that, no matter the environment in-store, online or in-app. There is a great deal to do together.”

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