The National Funding Scheme
The National Funding Scheme is a UK-registered charity operating DONATE™, a unified digital fundraising platform providing text/SMS giving, contactless terminals, online raffles and auctions, and campaign pages to thousands of UK charities, schools, and community groups on a transaction-fee basis.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2011
- HeadquartersRichmond, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What The National Funding Scheme does
The National Funding Scheme is a UK-registered charity (also operating as a company limited by guarantee) that builds and operates DONATE™, a unified digital fundraising platform for UK charitable organisations, schools, PTAs, sports clubs, community groups, and visitor attractions. Founded in 2011 and headquartered in Richmond, Surrey, with a secondary London office, the organization maintains a lean team of 1-10 employees and serves what it describes as "thousands of charitable organisations" across the United Kingdom. The platform consolidates five core fundraising modalities into a single product: text/SMS giving via the UK 70970 shortcode with custom keywords, online raffles compliant with UK Gambling Commission rules, online charity auctions (live and silent bidding), branded campaign pages with recurring donation options, and tap+DONATE™ contactless donation terminals (Static units for permanent installation and Rent units for events) accepting cards, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. All products share a unified backend that includes fully managed Gift Aid processing (boosting eligible donations by 25%), real-time reporting dashboards with scheduled reconciled payouts, and multi-channel payment support.
The business model is a self-serve, product-led growth approach with no monthly subscription fees; revenue is generated through transaction fees on donations processed and through sale or rental of tap+DONATE™ contactless hardware. Distribution is exclusively UK-domestic via the nationalfundingscheme.org website, with charities able to launch campaigns without technical setup. The organization is licensed and regulated by the UK Gambling Commission for raffle and lottery operations and adheres to Fundraising Regulator codes — regulatory infrastructure that constitutes a meaningful barrier to entry in the UK regulated-fundraising market. Marketing is content-driven, centered on an extensive inspiration library of case studies demonstrating outcomes ranging from ~£870 (a PTA raffle) to ~£161,904 (Intensive Care Society COVID-19 appeal), with no disclosed venture funding, acquisitions, or leadership changes over its 15-year operating history.
The National Funding Scheme firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The National Funding Scheme
- Legal name
- The National Funding Scheme
- Website
- https://nationalfundingscheme.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2011
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- The National Funding Scheme is a UK-registered charity operating DONATE™, a unified digital fundraising platform providing text/SMS giving, contactless terminals, online raffles and auctions, and campaign pages to thousands of UK charities, schools, and community groups on a transaction-fee basis.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The National Funding Scheme industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Nonprofit Fundraising Technology
- NAICS
- Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132)
- SIC
- Services-Social Services (8300)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Grantmaking & Philanthropic Funds (Institutional Donors) (BPADAOAB), Volunteer Program Funding, Scholarships & Fundraising Support (EDAIAGAO)
Keywords
Where The National Funding Scheme is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Richmond
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
The National Funding Scheme business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Transaction Processing: Platform charges transaction fees on donations processed. No monthly subscription fees required. Free to join with revenue generated per transaction.
- Contactless Hardware: Sale and rental of tap+DONATE contactless donation terminals to charities for permanent or event-based use
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | No-cost entry model for charities |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
The National Funding Scheme product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The National Funding Scheme operates the DONATE™ platform, providing UK charities, schools, and community groups with an integrated suite of digital fundraising tools: SMS/text giving, online raffles, online auctions, campaign pages, and tap+DONATE contactless POS terminals for in-person donations. The platform handles payment processing, automated Gift Aid claim collection, real-time reporting, and scheduled payouts.
Product overview
The National Funding Scheme operates DONATE™, a fully unified digital fundraising platform designed for UK charities, schools, and community groups. The platform provides an integrated suite of five core products: Text/SMS Giving (for instant mobile donations), Online Raffles (fully compliant UK lotteries), Online Auctions (live and silent bidding), Campaign Pages (with recurring donations and Gift Aid), and tap+DONATE™ Contactless Terminals (for in-person venue giving). All products share a unified backend with real-time reporting, automated Gift Aid management, multi-channel payment support (Apple Pay, Google Pay, cards, PayPal), and scheduled reconciled payouts. The platform is known for its simplicity with no technical setup required and no monthly charges.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- DONATE: Digital fundraising platform providing text giving, contactless donations, raffles, auctions, and campaign management tools for UK charities.
Quantifiable outcome
- Charities raise millions through the platform with demonstrated case studies ranging from £1,100 to £289,523 per campaign
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use The National Funding Scheme
Customer profileNamed customers15 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
The National Funding Scheme technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature6 records
The National Funding Scheme partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Gambling CommissioncoreRegulatory compliance partner. DONATE platform is licensed and regulated by the UK Gambling Commission for raffle and lottery operations.
- Fundraising RegulatorcoreAdherence to Fundraising Regulator codes and standards ensures platform maintains credibility and trust within UK charity sector.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves4 records
Expansion highlights3 records
The National Funding Scheme competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Donorbox: Online donation platform offering recurring giving, donation forms, and event ticketing to nonprofits globally. Comparable to NFS on donation processing, recurring giving, and event fundraising, though operating at broader international scale.
- Enthuse: UK-based online fundraising platform serving charities and community groups with event registration, donation processing, and peer-to-peer fundraising. Closely comparable to NFS across event-driven and campaign-driven fundraising use cases.
- Wonderful.org: UK-registered charity operating a donation platform that facilitates giving to other charities, with employer-matched giving functionality. Operates on a not-for-profit model similar to NFS and competes in the same UK charity donation intermediation space.
- JustGiving: UK-based online fundraising platform enabling charities and individuals to raise money via branded campaign pages. Directly comparable to NFS's campaign/text-giving functionality, though JustGiving operates at significantly greater scale and breadth (international reach, larger engineering team).
- Rapidata: UK provider of contactless donation terminals and digital giving solutions for charities, including contactless POS hardware and online donation tools. Directly comparable to NFS's tap+DONATE terminal offering and UK charity focus.
Broad incumbents
- GoFundMe: Global crowdfunding and online fundraising platform with massive scale, including charity giving functionality. Competes with NFS for digital donor attention in the UK, though GoFundMe's personal-crowdfunding focus differs from NFS's charity-centric model.
- Charities Aid Foundation (CAF): Major UK charity providing donor-advised funds, payroll giving, and donation processing services to individuals and charities. Overlaps with NFS on intermediating UK charitable giving, but with a much broader service portfolio and 100+ year institutional history.
- Blackbaud: Large enterprise software provider serving nonprofits with CRM, fundraising, donor management, and payment tools (owner of JustGiving). Overlaps with NFS on online giving and payment processing, but operates at vastly broader portfolio scale across the nonprofit technology stack.
Others
- Stewardship: UK Christian charity providing giving accounts, Gift Aid processing, and donation administration services to individuals and charities. Adjacent to NFS in the UK charitable giving ecosystem (especially on Gift Aid) but does not directly compete on fundraising technology.
Emerging players
- GoodSAM: UK-registered charity operating donation and community response platforms, including emergency and contact-based giving flows. Comparable to NFS's emergency-appeal use case (e.g., ICU COVID-19 appeal) but with narrower focus on emergency response.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
The National Funding Scheme social profiles
Digital presenceThe National Funding Scheme financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The National Funding Scheme leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
The National Funding Scheme funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The National Funding Scheme M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about The National Funding Scheme
What does The National Funding Scheme do?
The National Funding Scheme operates the DONATE™ platform, providing UK charities, schools, and community groups with an integrated suite of digital fundraising tools: SMS/text giving, online raffles, online auctions, campaign pages, and tap+DONATE contactless POS terminals for in-person donations. The platform handles payment processing, automated Gift Aid claim collection, real-time reporting, and scheduled payouts.
Is The National Funding Scheme a public or private company?
The National Funding Scheme is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was The National Funding Scheme founded?
The National Funding Scheme was founded in 2011. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is The National Funding Scheme based?
The National Funding Scheme is headquartered in Richmond, United States, in the North America region.
How does The National Funding Scheme make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Transaction Processing is the primary driver. The others are contactless Hardware.
Who are The National Funding Scheme's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Donorbox, Enthuse, Wonderful.org, JustGiving and Rapidata. Broad incumbents are GoFundMe, Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) and Blackbaud. Stewardship is listed as an others. GoodSAM is listed as an emerging player.
Does The National Funding Scheme have an API?
No public API is recorded for The National Funding Scheme.
What industry is The National Funding Scheme in?
The National Funding Scheme's product category is Nonprofit Fundraising Technology. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAKAE, Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries, with a secondary code of BPADAOAB, Grantmaking & Philanthropic Funds (Institutional Donors). Its NAICS code is 81321 and its SIC code is 8300.