How to set up a JustGiving page

JustGiving is one of the most recognisable names in fundraising. Launched in 2000, the online fundraising platform was built to “enable charities to receive donations online from anywhere in the world”. More than £6 billion has been raised for causes since then, with nearly half a million charities choosing the platform. 

JustGiving, and platforms like it, provide vital streams of income for charities and allow charities to expand their reach beyond their loyal supporter base. It enables charities, communities, and individuals to raise money and awareness by sharing fundraising pages that tell their story and their connection to the cause. 

Indeed, more than a quarter of donors (28%) find out about the charities they support through friends and family, according to the 2024 UK Giving Report from Charities Aid Foundation, second only to personal connection. 

The 2023 Donor Behaviour Insights report revealed that 46% of respondents said they were motivated to give to charity to help a friend or family member fundraise, while social media posts from family, friends, and colleagues was the second most cited “trigger” for donating. 

So being able to share fundraising pages easily with their networks, and use them to tell their story and reflect their values, is vitally important to both fundraisers and charities. With fundraising pages, charities empower their most vocal advocates to raise more money for the causes they care about. Whether they are running a marathon, doing a sponsored silence, or raising money for their birthday, JustGiving helps people give something back with ease.  

In this article, we outline how fundraisers can set up their JustGiving pages and use them to supercharge their fundraising. 

How to set up a JustGiving page: fundraisers 

To set up your fundraising page on JustGiving, you can click the “Start fundraising” button at the top left-hand side of the homepage. JustGiving will ask you if you are fundraising for a charity or a personal cause in order to determine Gift Aid eligibility – Gift Aid allows UK charities to reclaim an extra 25% in tax on every eligible donation made by a UK taxpayer. Once you have chosen the appropriate option, you’ll be asked to log in or sign up to JustGiving in order to proceed. 

Once you have signed up, you will be able to start creating your fundraising page. If fundraising for a charity, you can search for an organisation you’d like to support. Once selected, you’ll then be asked if you are raising money in memory of someone.  

Next, you’ll be asked if you are fundraising as part of an event (such as a marathon), creating your own activity (such as a bake sale) or simply fundraising for its own sake (asking people to donate to a cause you care about). You’ll be asked a little bit more about your activity and asked to enter the date, if applicable. 

Next comes the target – how much money you’re aiming to fundraise.  

Finally, it comes to the creative bit – personalising your fundraising page. You will be able to change the title of your fundraiser, tell people why you are raising money, and make use of JustGiving’s writing assistant if you need help. With a detailed page summary, JustGiving says you can raise up to 65% more. If inspiration is yet to strike, you can also edit this page at a later date – it comes pre-populated with the basic information.  

Next, add an image or a video to your page. According to JustGiving, fundraisers who add a photo to their page tend to raise 14% more than those who don’t. To change the image on your page later, scroll down to the “Page Cover” section and remove the default photo to add one of your own. Choose a photo and add a caption. Images should be no larger than 4MB and no bigger than 1000 x 563 pixels.  

Once complete, press “Launch page” and your fundraiser is officially live. You can edit, post updates, and link to fitness apps if preparing for a physical challenge event. To edit your page, simply visit your fundraising page, log in, and click “Edit page” in the top left corner.  

Alternatively, if searching for a specific charity to raise money for, you can search on the homepage to find other fundraising campaigns and crowdfunders relating to your cause.  You can find a charity’s official page by scrolling to the bottom of the results page. Once there, you can choose either to make a one-off donation or click the “Fundraise for us” button. The website will then ask you to sign up, or log in if you have already done so, before taking you to create your own bespoke fundraising page as outlined above.  

Alternatives to JustGiving 

JustGiving is just one fundraising platform out there – but there are many, many more, all with different functionalities that can help boost digital fundraising efforts. Here are three more options available on the Charity Digital Exchange. 

DonorPerfect 

DonorPerfect Online is online fundraising and donor management software with an all-in-one database that stores information nonprofits need for fundraising and reporting. With DonorPerfect Online, charities can consolidate their constituent and fundraising data in a single place, save time with mass mailings and automated gift acknowledgements, and add online forms to their website to collect donations or event registrations. 

Through the Charity Digital Exchange, charities can access a 15% discount on any one-year DonorPerfect Online subscription at current rates, if a new user.  

Find out more about DonorPerfect 

Enthuse 

Enthuse is a fundraising, donations, and events registration technology provider which offers charities everything from custom all-in-one fundraising and events solution to easy-to-implement branded payment solutions for regular and one-off donations. Its solutions also include event registration, virtual event registration and fundraising pages, and co-branded corporate fundraising and events pages with matched funding.  

Enthuse’s solutions are customised under a cause’s own brand and put the organisation in control of the data. This allows charities to build and nurture a loyal supporter base, raise more and ultimately have more impact. 

Find out more about Enthuse 

GivenGain 

Founded in 2001, GivenGain is a non-profit fundraising platform that supports more than 400 UK and Irish Charities, including Alzheimer’s Research UK and Muscular Dystrophy UK.  A subscription-free service, GivenGain collects one service fee to cover its costs (including standard card transaction fees). This is an optional 5% donor-covers-the-fee model at the point of donation (82% do), meaning fees are always at a minimum. 

GivenGain has lots of innovative functionalities, including “Champion pages” which totalise and share fundraisers’ impact over time, in one place. It also allows fundraisers to select up to five charities to support, splitting donations across them all, and offers charities dedicated 1-1 support free of charge. 

Find out more about GivenGain