What Donr does

Donr is a UK-based digital fundraising platform that enables charities to collect donations and run fundraising competitions via SMS. The company operates a self-serve platform serving 6,500+ UK registered charities, processing over £57 million in cumulative donations across 2.3 million+ individual transactions. Its core products are Text Giving (one-off and recurring donations billed through UK mobile network operators EE, O2, Three, and Vodafone), Text Raffles (compliant prize-led fundraising competitions that do not require a gambling licence), and GiveCircle (a 2024-launched sub-brand platform for managed charity lotteries with 10,000+ weekly supporters).

The platform architecture is built on direct carrier-billing integrations with all major UK mobile networks and their associated MVNOs, complemented by Stripe for card-based fallback donations and a real-time reporting dashboard. Donr is headquartered in Newcastle upon Tyne, operates with 11-50 employees, and is registered as Donr Ltd (CRN 10402410) in England and Wales. The company has raised funding from Northstar Ventures across two disclosed rounds (2019 and 2020) plus a 2023 undisclosed round.

Donr monetizes through a pure transaction-fee model: 5% plus VAT of gross donation value for both Text Giving and Text Raffles, plus a £5-per-month payment processing fee (capped at 50% of payout for amounts under £10). There are no setup fees, no subscription fees, and no contracts. Customer acquisition runs entirely through content marketing (blog, case studies), organic social, and PLG self-serve onboarding via the dashboard, with no field sales motion. The leadership team comprises founder/CEO Chris Newell, co-founder/COO Paul Paterson, Chief Payments Officer Adam Williams, and CFO Ken Waitt.

Name

Donr

Legal name

Donr Ltd

Website

https://donr.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Donr is a UK-based digital fundraising platform that enables over 6,500 registered charities to collect donations and run compliant prize-based competitions via SMS, using direct carrier-billing integrations with UK mobile networks and a 5% transaction-fee model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Charity Fundraising Software

NAICS

Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518)

akta.pro primary industry

Sweepstakes, Contests & Giveaway Administration (BPAFAMAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Ticketing, Registration & Event Technology (Badging, Apps) (BPAFAGAL)

Keywords

• Text message donations
• Charity fundraising platform
• Mobile giving solutions
• Text giving software
• Charity lottery management

Headquarters

HQ city

Newcastle Upon Tyne

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Transaction Fees - Text Giving: Donr charges 5% plus VAT of the gross donation amount for Text Giving. This is the primary revenue stream. Card donations that fail and require alternative payment incur an additional 1.5% + 20p card processing fee.
2. Transaction Fees - Text Raffles: Text Raffles also charged at 5% plus VAT of the gross donation amount.
3. Payment Processing Fees: A fee of £5 for each bank transfer payment to charities, or 50% of gross payout if under £10. VAT charged at 20% on all fees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Donr provides a digital fundraising platform that enables UK charities to collect one-off and recurring donations via text message (Text Giving), run compliant prize-led text competitions without a gambling licence (Text Raffles), and manage charity lotteries (GiveCircle). Donations are processed through direct billing connections to UK mobile network operators and charged to the supporter's phone bill or deducted from phone credit, with automated Gift Aid capture and a real-time reporting dashboard.

Product overview

Donr provides a unified digital fundraising platform with three core solutions: Text Giving (for one-off and regular text donations), Text Raffles (for prize-based fundraising competitions), and GiveCircle (for charity lottery management). All solutions are managed through a single, secure, easy-to-use dashboard. The platform serves 6,500+ UK charities and processes donations via mobile text messages with direct billing connections to UK mobile networks (EE, O2, Three, and Vodafone).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• GiveCircle: A dedicated platform for charity lotteries, launched to help charities grow income from lotteries. GiveCircle acts as the lottery manager handling administrative and regulatory work.

Products and services

• Text Giving Enables charity supporters to make one-off or recurring donations by sending a text message to a shortcode using a keyword; donations are added to the supporter's phone bill or deducted from phone credit. Includes Gift Aid declaration capture and a conversion message add-on that prompts supporters to upgrade to monthly giving.
• Text Raffles Allows charities to run prize-led text competitions where supporters enter to win prizes by texting a keyword; the platform handles regulatory compliance (including free-entry routes) so charities do not need to obtain a gambling licence. Integrates with Gift Aid collection.
• GiveCircle A dedicated charity lottery platform launched by Donr that enables charities to grow income from lotteries. GiveCircle acts as the lottery manager, handling administration and gambling-regulation compliance, and provides social media campaign support to help charities reach new audiences; over 10,000 supporters play Mobile Lotteries weekly on behalf of partner charities.

Quantifiable outcome

• Conversion message can boost campaign income by over 30%
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers19 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• GiveCirclecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2022GiveCircle is a dedicated platform for charity lotteries launched by Donr. The first mobile lottery was launched in partnership with Newcastle Dog & Cat Shelter in May 2022. GiveCircle enables charities to grow income from lotteries and has partnerships with Edinburgh Dog & Cat Home, Hope Rescue, Birmingham Dogs Home, and Animal Rescue Cumbria. Over 10,000 supporters play Mobile Lotteries each week on behalf of partner charities.
• UK Mobile Network Operators (EE, O2, Three Mobile, Virgin, Vodafone)coreTechnology or IntegrationDonr has direct billing connections with UK mobile networks enabling text donation processing. Network operators are referenced as part of the service infrastructure, with their associated MVNOs also supported.
• Newcastle Dog & Cat ShelterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLaunch partner for first mobile lottery in May 2022. Shelter has been an early adopter of both Text Giving and Mobile Lotteries through GiveCircle.
• Edinburgh Dog & Cat HomeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner charity in Mobile Lotteries through GiveCircle platform.
• Hope RescueminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner charity in Mobile Lotteries through GiveCircle platform.
• Birmingham Dogs HomeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner charity in Mobile Lotteries through GiveCircle platform.
• Animal Rescue CumbriaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner charity working with GiveCircle, raising profile and reaching new supporters through Mobile Lotteries.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• JustGiving: UK-headquartered online fundraising platform for charities, now part of Blackbaud. Directly comparable to Donr in target market (UK charities), donation flow design, and self-serve onboarding, making it the closest like-for-like competitor.
• Donorbox: Online donation platform purpose-built for nonprofits, offering recurring giving, branded donation forms and CRM integrations. Comparable to Donr on transaction-fee pricing model, nonprofit focus, and self-serve onboarding of small/mid charities.
• GiveButter: Modern fundraising platform for nonprofits with donation forms, events, auctions and peer-to-peer campaigns. Overlaps with Donr in recurring giving, donor management and campaign tools for small/medium charities, though primarily a US/online-card product.
• Give Lively: Free online fundraising platform for nonprofits with donation forms, event ticketing and recurring giving. A direct competitor on nonprofit donation flows, differing by offering 0% platform fee while Donr relies on transaction-based pricing.
• Funraise: Nonprofit fundraising software offering donation forms, recurring giving, CRM and donor management. Comparable in target customer (US/global nonprofits), transaction-based revenue and self-serve onboarding of small charities.

Broad incumbents

• GoFundMe: Global consumer crowdfunding and charitable giving platform with significantly larger scale. Overlaps with Donr in online donation flows for charities and individuals but operates a much broader personal-fundraising model rather than a charity-specialist platform.
• Charities Aid Foundation: UK charity operating donation platforms, donor-advised funds and workplace giving services. Comparable to Donr on UK charity donation infrastructure and Gift Aid handling, but as a much larger, diversified charity services organisation rather than a software-focused tech company.
• Blackbaud: Enterprise nonprofit software suite including JustGiving, eTapestry and CRM products. Broad incumbent in the UK/US nonprofit technology stack, competing with Donr on donation processing and broader fundraising software for larger charities.

Others

• Stripe: Global online payment processor integrated into Donr's platform for card donations. An enabling infrastructure peer (and competitor for card-based donation flows), widely used by charities for direct online giving and a benchmark for modern payment UX.
• Twilio: Cloud communications platform providing programmable SMS/messaging APIs. Relevant to Donr as the underlying infrastructure layer that powers text-based donation flows, and a potential substitute/partner for charities building in-house SMS donation capabilities.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/hello_donr

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Donr