The Charity Shop Gift Card was launched to offer consumers a sustainable option when buying presents and the chance to donate money to good causes.

Thousands of charity shops join gift card scheme to help customers on a budget

Sales are up and the future is ‘really positive’ for the sector, experts say - but what is the secret of their success?

In-depth: How charity shops are thriving against the economic odds

It’s just in time for the festive season and can be spent exclusively in charity shops across the UK.

The scheme will allow charities to tap into the £7 billion-a-year gift card market

A hospice has signed up a new gift card that can only be used in charity shops.

Hospiscare signs up for charity shop gift cards

Forget gift cards for high-street stores, it’ll soon be possible to buy gift cards to use in participating charity shops […]

‘The most circular gift card out there’ - Smiley Movement

I have a background in financial services including gift cards having worked for a global gift card issuer and processor.
I'm the Managing Director and co-founder of The Charity Shop Gift Card, a social enterprise that has launched a gift card that can only be spent in charity shopping.  Ideal for conscious consumers and councils, charities and other support agencies that are disbursing funds to people in need.
The gift card helps reduce the number of items going to landfill, raises funds for charities and offers a way of stretching funds further in the cost of living crisis.

management

retail

business

environment

politics

Green Gift.pdf

Standard Logo.png

Landscape Christmas Gift Card 2.jpeg

Landscape Christmas Gift Card 6.jpeg

Giftcard on denim landscape.jpeg

Shop (1).jpg

Clothing-Collective-X-Charity-Shop-Gift-Card-1060x675.png

Shop (5).jpg

Lee Fellows

facebook

instagram

twitter

linkedin

tiktok

<img>The Charity Shop Gift Card is a social enterprise that aims to provide councils and charities a way of offering welfare assistance to people experiencing financial hardship so they can shop for essentials in charity shops with dignity and autonomy.​&nbsp; Feedback from recipients has been overwhelmingly positive and research from one foodbank in Birmingham shows how effective this approach can be.&nbsp; The research was conducted in September 2022 at the Trussell Trust B30 and South Birmingham Foodbank. Many recipients spent their gift cards at the nearby Acorns Children’s hospice shop.&nbsp; Key findings from the research are:&nbsp; - Most recipients prefer the idea of receiving a The Charity Shop Gift Card to an Argos voucher as their money goes a lot further.&nbsp; - The money participants received was spent on a range of items from necessities to ‘little treats’​, the purchases were reported to have a positive impact on physical and mental health​.&nbsp; - The importance of choice was valued: in a follow-up interview one mum who had benefited from the scheme said: “It’s a brilliant idea, people can choose what they actually need.”&nbsp; Other feedback:&nbsp; - Charlotte, a single mother of two children, said: “I felt overwhelmed that I needed [something] and I could actually buy it.” She bought a winter coat for her son and said: “I haven’t had the money to buy him a proper winter coat [before] –he absolutely loves it!”&nbsp; - Michael, a single man in his 40s, has been housed in a flat with no means to cook. Look what I got,” he said having bought an electric grill with his gift card. “I wouldn’t have got that anywhere else – it would have cost a lot more. I’ll be able to have something warm to eat. And the money goes back into the charity.”&nbsp; The gift cards distributed in the trial were funded by Utility Aid, an energy broker in the third and fourth sectors and the research was conducted by Sally Beswick at Shine Business Research Ltd. More donations will make it possible to give out more gift cards via foodbanks and other charities and we are about to launch our Gift of Thrift Advent Campaign encouraging businesses to fund gift cards to support organisations this festive season, as the cost-of-living crisis has created more demand than ever.&nbsp; The three key pillars of The Charity Shop Gift Card scheme are:&nbsp; 1. Supporting people experiencing financial hardship (centred around the importance of choice).&nbsp; 2. Supporting the amazing work of charity partners (as the cards are spent in their shops).&nbsp; 3. Supporting the growing second-hand revolution and circular economy (which is helping to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill).<blockquote>Sarah Cox, co-founder of The Charity Shop Gift Card, said: “We’re really excited about working with foodbanks in this way as it is one more step on the path to achieving a more circular approach to welfare – it is a way of making sure that financial support given to people in need stays within the charity sector. The findings of our research show how even a £20 gift card can have a huge impact on someone’s physical and mental well-being.”</blockquote>

Pioneer scheme gives out Charity Shop Gift Cards at foodbanks

<img>The Charity Shop Gift Card is partnering with Clothing Collective to support the growing number of people in need as the cost-of-living crisis deepens.&nbsp; For people experiencing financial hardship, clothing needs can get pushed down the list of priorities as food and fuel poverty are often the most pressing issues. This partnership hopes to support people facing these challenges.&nbsp; The Charity Shop Gift Card, developed in partnership with the Charity Retail Association, is the first multi-retailer gift card that can be used exclusively in charity shops. This partnership will see Clothing Collective fund gift cards to distribute to their partner organisations to support people experiencing clothing poverty, utilising The Charity Shop Gift Card’s growing network of regional and national charity shops, including Marie Curie, YMCA, The Children’s Society, Shelter and Crisis. Using The Charity Shop Gift Card’s redemption network, Clothing Collective are able to distribute gift cards to organisations around the country including Trussell Trust, Centrepoint and Migrant Help.&nbsp; The Charity Shop Gift Card is delighted to be working with an organisation that shares our core value of support centred around dignity, providing people with the autonomy to choose what they want or need from charity shops.&nbsp; This work is a step on the path to achieving a more circular approach to welfare as the financial support given to people in need stays within the charity sector and supports the amazing work of charity partners as the cards are spent in their shops. The Card supports the growing second-hand revolution and circular economy by reducing the amount of waste sent to landfill. As a social enterprise, a minimum of 65% of the gift card scheme’s surplus will go towards funding charity shop gift cards for people facing financial hardship.&nbsp; For further information contact info@thecharityshopgiftcard.co.uk<blockquote>Founder of Clothing Collective, Antony Wroe, said: “Clothing Collective is so pleased to be partnering with an organisation that is trying to reduce the stigma around charity shopping. The partnership is creating an infrastructure that makes distributing the Cards easy and the process of using them free from judgement.”</blockquote>

The Charity Shop Gift Card teams up with Clothing Collective

Derian House Children’s Hospice is now accepting The Charity Shop Gift Card — the only nationally accepted, multi-retailer gift card that can be spent exclusively in charity shops. The Charity Shop Gift Card is a social enterprise that has been developed and launched in association with the Charity Retail Association. Derian House is now selling and accepting the card in its 6 shops, which help to fund the hospice that needs to raise £6million per year to provide respite and end-of-life care to more than 400 children and young people across the North West. The gift card for good is being accepted by regional charities in most areas of the UK and in the national network of shops run by Marie Curie, YMCA and The Children’s Society. The scheme will support the growing second-hand revolution, which is helping to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill. It will also help national and regional charities boost their own income by giving them their first collective opportunity to tap into the £7billion-a-year gift card market.&nbsp; &nbsp;<blockquote>Andrew Upton-Ford, Head of Retail and Online Sales at Derian House, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to finally be joining the scheme. With Mother’s Day just around the corner, the gift card makes a perfect present and encourages shoppers to visit our charity shops and discover something unique and special. “It will cost us £6 million to run services at Derian House in 2023 and we rely on our shops and the generosity of our supporters for 70p in every £1. We have ambitious plans to open more shops across the North West and so having a truly sustainable gift card that can be spent at all of our shops is a great thing for our customers."</blockquote>

Derian House Children’s Hospice signs up to The Charity Shop Gift Card

I have a background in financial services including gift cards having worked for a global gift card issuer and processor. I'm the Managing Director and co-founder of The Charity Shop Gift Card, a social enterprise that has launched a gift card that can only be spent in charity shopping. Ideal for conscious consumers and councils, charities and other support agencies that are disbursing funds to people in need. The gift card helps reduce the number of items going to landfill, raises funds for…

has been added

Address

Media Pack / Portfolio

Lee Fellows

Media Coverage