FAQ
Common questions
What is SwiftCause?
SwiftCause is a donation platform for UK charities. You can take donations in person and online, run several campaigns at once, record Gift Aid, and see all your fundraising in one dashboard.
How does Gift Aid work on SwiftCause?
When a UK taxpayer chooses to add Gift Aid, they complete the declaration on screen, so there are no paper forms. SwiftCause then prepares your claim file in the format HMRC requires (R68), ready for your treasurer to upload and claim the extra 25%.
What is GASDS, and how does my charity benefit?
The Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme (GASDS) lets eligible charities claim a 25% top-up on cash and contactless donations of £30 or less, without a Gift Aid declaration. You can claim on up to £8,000 of small donations a year, which is up to £2,000 in top-ups. There is one condition, the matching rule: in the same tax year, your small donations can be at most 10 times the donations you have claimed Gift Aid on. So for every £10 of small donations, you need at least £1 of donations with Gift Aid claimed. SwiftCause tracks GASDS-eligible donations for you.
Do donors need to create an account?
No. Donors give by opening a link, scanning a QR code, or tapping a card or phone. They don't need to download an app or create an account.
How is donor data protected?
Card payments are handled by a PCI DSS Level 1 certified payment provider. Donor records are encrypted and held in UK and EU data centres, and each member of your team sees only what their role allows. We use a small number of providers to run the platform, for payments, hosting and email, and our Privacy Notice names each one.
How soon can we start taking donations?
Once your charity's account is approved, you can create a campaign and start taking donations. Donors can give by QR code, or by tapping a card or phone on an Android phone or tablet, so there is no hardware to buy.
Find out if SwiftCause is right for your charity.
Questions about the pilot, getting set up, or whether SwiftCause suits how your charity fundraises? We aim to reply within one working day.