The Great North Air Ambulance Service has launched a new website to encourage its supporters to share their fundraising exploits online.
The Create&Donate platform is already proving popular at a time when helicopter expenditure is on the rise.
Site users can create events, share with friends, and encourage online donations. They can upload photographs and update their supporters about how their fundraising is going. In turn, friends and family can leave messages of support while donating to the cause.
The site has only been operational for a month, but has already seen 29 pages created and more than £4,000 donated. Users have created pages for sponsored silences, runs and bike rides. Others have created pages in memory of deceased loved ones.
Mandy Drake, deputy director of fundraising at GNAAS, which is entirely charitably funded, said that because the website is run by the organisation, every penny donated comes straight into its bank account.
She said: “Online donations are growing all the time, which is great, but we noticed that our supporters are becoming more assertive when giving through third party sites because they are concerned about the amount that actually comes through to the charity.
“We wanted to build something ourselves that ensures 100 per cent of every donation comes to the charity, boosting funds by cutting out the middlemen.
“With rising fuel costs and expensive maintenance bills to pay, we have to make the most of every penny given to us.”
The site was created by Darlington-based web design firm Geonet Solutions as part of a wider redesign of the charity’s main website.
Anthony Lewis, sales and marketing director at Geonet Solutions, said: “The internet continues to offer fantastic opportunities to charities and businesses in general. We are just pleased to have been able to support GNAAS, and delighted to see it is already reaping the rewards of the website.”
To visit the website, please visit www.createanddonate.co.uk
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