Tag: church fundraising

Dona ‘Highly Commended’ in Barclays Entrepreneur Awards

Post author By agnes
Post date 7th November 2025

Dona Donations Highly Commended at the Barclays Entrepreneur Awards 2025 for Innovation in Finance

We couldn’t be more proud to share that Dona Donations has been ‘Highly Commended’ for the Innovation in FinTech Award at the Barclays Business Banking Entrepreneur Awards 2025.

To put this wonderful recognition in context:

1000 companies were nominated in total for the awards
There were 80 finalists selected
10 companies were official award winners
Only 3 companies were highly commended across all the award categories, of which Dona was one!

Special mentions were given by the award presenters about Dona AI – launched this year to provide fundraising insights and forecasts to our charities – and the Digital Collection Plate that has helped thousands of UK charities fundraise over £53 million (as of November 2025).

Dona also received substantial praise and applause from the crowds, which was heart warming for our team members Elroy Fernandes and Ellen Watts, who were attending at the event, and have been with Dona since its foundation in 2020.

Around 200 people attended the ceremony, hosted by Barclays Innovation Hub powered by Eagle Labs and sponsored by Innovate Finance.

Elroy Fernandes and Ellen Watts at the Barclays Entrepreneur Awards 2025 Dona Donations Highly Commended

Dona Donations with Innovate Finance teams at the Barclays Entrepreneur Awards 2025

Dona Donations with Barclays teams at the Barclays Entrepreneur Awards 2025

Elroy Fernandes and Ellen Watts at the Barclays Entrepreneur Awards 2025 Dona Donations Highly Commended Award

What are the Barclays Entrepreneur Awards?

The Barclays Entrepreneur Awards 2025 take place each year to recognise innovative and disruptive entrepreneurs in the UK who are changing their industries, economy, and society.

The Entrepreneur Awards feature various categories that highlight fast-growing startups, companies with high growth, and those who are making a significant contribution in specific fields like climate tech, AI, and health.

Dona was rare among the companies nominated for providing solutions to support the charity sector, and unique among those in the Innovations in FinTech category.

About the awards:

Purpose: To celebrate and recognise UK entrepreneurs who are driving positive change through innovation and disruptive business practices.
Recognition: The awards highlight both the entrepreneurs themselves and their impact on the broader economy and community.
Process: The awards include a nomination period followed by a shortlisting stage and a national final held in London.

Eligibility: Businesses can nominate themselves or other businesses that have demonstrated the skills to turn unique visions into reality.

Dona Awarded ‘Most Innovative Contactless Donation Technology Provider 2025′

This is the second major recognition for innovation in technology that Dona has received this year.

Earlier in 2025 Dona Donations was honoured with the ‘Most Innovative Contactless Donation Technology Provider 2025’ award at the prestigious Non-Profit Organisation Awards.

Learn more…

Call Sales: 0203 488 5038

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Follow Dona on social for more fundraising tips and inspiration

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Tags card donations, charity donations, charity fundraising, Church, church fundraising, contactless fundraising, Customer Support, digital fundraising, dona donations, dona donations review, donation security, donation technology, Hindu, performance data, tap and go, tech innovation

The Rise and Rise of Pass-Around Digital Collection Plates

Post author By agnes
Post date 3rd November 2025

As churches continue to serve their local communities in new and creative ways, how we give and receive donations is also evolving.

Fixed digital donation stations are becoming a familiar feature in church buildings, mounted on walls, countertops or kiosk giving stands around the church building. However, congregations are also increasingly embracing the use of pass-around Digital Collection Plates to give with greater ease during offertory or Sunday collections.

Rather than replacing cash collection, contactless donation devices handed up and down pews alongside the traditional collection bag, basket or offertory plate, give donors more choice and control over how they wish to give.

Digital Collection Plates enable donors to select how much they would like to give, add Gift Aid seamlessly to increase donation amounts by 25% and reduce admin for church volunteers, and even choose to keep in touch with future messaging to learn more about how their donations are having an impact.

Why Digital Collection Plates matter

Today’s congregations are more comfortable than ever using contactless and digital payment systems. From tapping a card to using a phone or smartwatch, digital transactions have become second nature. Yet, despite a huge decline in cash use across the UK, many churches still rely heavily on cash collections, reducing the amount of donations they are able to receive.

Average donation amounts are higher with digital giving – typically over £12 on Dona per donation, with Gift Aid rates of over 40%.

Contactless donation machines also provide valuable tools for churches to inspire their congregations to engage with different campaigns. From important building repairs to supporting community initiatives, showcasing the different causes that a church is fundraising for can encourage donors to give more generously.

By offering digital donation machines during services and events, churches ensure that everyone can take part in giving, whether they carry cash or not. It’s a simple but powerful way to make generosity accessible to all.

Supporting giving, not replacing tradition

Importantly, digital giving is not about replacing traditional cash offertory – but enhancing it.

With Dona, you can offer pass-around donation devices alongside online, QR code, coin, envelope, and standing order collections, allowing the congregation to choose how they’d like to give.

Dona digital collection plates can be configured in two simple ways:

Tap to give with pre-set suggested donation amounts: Perfect for busy services or high-footfall times such as Advent, concerts or community groups.
Choose your own donation amount: Dona donation machines showcase 6 suggested donation amounts, with the additional option to choose your own “other amount”, allowing donors to give whatever they feel able to contribute, providing a flexible and personal giving experience.

Inspiring generosity through a range of campaigns

One of the most rewarding benefits of digital giving is the opportunity to create inspiring campaigns. From supporting your church’s community outreach work to raising funds for restoration projects, digital fundraising devices make it easy to highlight specific causes and engage your congregation to understand more deeply the range of your church’s mission.

For congregation members using standing orders to manage their regular parish giving, stewardship or tithe donations, digital offertory machines can also empower one-off or supplementary fundraising boosts.

Your church’s fundraising volunteers can easily track which donations have gone to which campaigns through their Dona Management Portal. Gift Aid declarations are provided ready to download in the right format to submit to HMRC, speeding up fundraising admin, saving time and increasing accuracy of reporting.

Celebrate the inclusivity of contactless giving

By integrating digital donation options into your regular offertory, you help normalise contactless giving as a natural part of church life. This not only futureproofs your fundraising but also helps create a culture where giving is joyful, inclusive, and accessible for everyone within the community.

With only 6% of payments predicted to be made with cash in the UK by 2033, adopting digital donation tools isn’t just practical, it’s pastoral: to ensure your church remains relevant and inclusive for today’s communities and enable everyone, whatever their means of giving, to share in the act of generosity that sustains your church’s mission.

Ready to inspire generosity this Advent?

Add digital donation machines alongside your cash offertory and empower your congregation to give more easily, more often, and more joyfully.

During December, with the busy Advent period and run-up to Christmas, churches using Dona see a 45% increase in donations compared with other months. That’s a remarkable uplift, reflecting both the generosity of congregations and the ease of giving through contactless technology.

Get in touch to receive a quote for your church today.

Call Sales: 0203 488 5038

Complete our enquiry form

Follow Donoa on social for more fundraising tips and inspiration

Join a Webinar

Sign up for a Dona webinar to see our donation machines, online giving pages and management portal in action. Learn more about how to make the most of digital fundraising for your organisation.

Join a Webinar

Dona ‘Highly Commended’ in Barclays Entrepreneur Awards

The Rise and Rise of Pass-Around Digital Collection Plates

50 Creative Fundraising Ideas for Charities and Places of Worship

Introducing the New Dona Support Hub

How to Prepare for Diwali Fundraising

Growing Together: How Dona’s Donation Machines Keep Improving Performance

Dona Donations Nominated for Barclays Innovation in FinTech Award

Why Schools, Colleges and Universities are Embracing Digital Fundraising Solutions

Dona Supports Turning Tides with a ‘Tech For Good’ Donation

Tags card donations, charity donations, charity fundraising, Church, church fundraising, contactless fundraising, Customer Support, digital fundraising, dona donations, dona donations review, donation security, donation technology, Hindu, performance data, tap and go, tech innovation

Case Studies

Verso Vineyard Church

Post author By agnes
Post date 14th October 2025

Verso Vineyard Church

"We are pleased with the latest version of our Dona machine and particularly its improved visibility, because the new design ensures the machine is more noticeable helping to attract attention. The expanded display provides greater clarity for users, and we now have the capability to display additional funds. Overall, this version is much better."

Sally Mannington

Admin and Business Operations Assistant

Verso Vineyard Church has been fundraising with Dona’s Digital Collection Plates since 2021, and began trialling our Digital Donation Box range (launching November 2025, available for pre-order now) in 2025.

Verso Vineyard Church is a vibrant and welcoming community with a simple mission — to become more like Jesus and invite His presence into every part of life. Based across St Albans, Hatfield and Hemel, Verso creates spaces where people can encounter God, build authentic relationships, and make a real difference in their local communities. Their gatherings, worship, and outreach reflect a passion for helping people discover faith, hope and purpose in everyday life.

From Sunday gatherings to community projects, youth work, and discipleship courses, Verso Vineyard Church is deeply rooted in serving others. The church encourages people to grow spiritually, care practically, and bring the love of Jesus into their families, workplaces, and neighbourhoods. Whether through moments of worship or acts of compassion, Verso is committed to seeing lives transformed and communities strengthened.

Since partnering with Dona Donations in 2021, Verso Vineyard Church has raised an incredible £232,926 (as of October 2025), with an average donation of £67.71. Thanks to Dona’s integrated Gift Aid technology, an impressive 42% of those donations included Gift Aid — boosting every pound given and helping the church do even more to serve their mission. This partnership has made generosity simpler, more impactful, and a powerful part of how Verso continues to grow and give back.

£233k+ |Total fundraised on Dona since November 2021

£67.71 |Average donation value

42% | Donations given with Gift Aid

Learn more about Verso Vineyard Church

Learn More

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Call Support: 0203 488 8095

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Margaret Green Animal Rescue

Verso Vineyard Church

The Gurkha Museum

Sacred heart Wimbledon internal church image

Sacred Heart Church, Wimbledon

Discrete and custom-placed card donation machine on a pillar of a mosque

Newton Mearns Islamic Centre

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Outside image of St Peters church at Gorleston

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Lantern Arts centre promotional image where donations can be made via cards contactless

The Lantern Arts Centre, Wimbledon

West London Islamic Centre

Tags card donations, charity donations, charity fundraising, Church, church fundraising, contactless fundraising, Customer Support, digital fundraising, dona donations, dona donations review, donation security, donation technology, performance data, tap and go, tech innovation

Case Studies

Sacred Heart Church, Wimbledon

Post author By agnes
Post date 14th October 2025

Sacred Heart Church, Wimbledon

“Using Dona’s donation terminals has helped us raise over £200,000 in the last four years! The Management Portal is easy to use and allows us to download reports of Gift Aided donations and track what our parishioners are giving towards. Dona also provides a Donation Webpage, making it simple to manage all our donations in one convenient place. This system has completely transformed the way we collect donations, making the process smoother and more efficient than ever. It is an invaluable tool for our parish, and the positive impact is clear in the results we achieve.”

The sacred heart church exterior with blue skies

Christopher Woodman

Parish Priest

In 1884 young architect, Frederick Walters, designed the Sacred Heart Church in the stunning late Decorated Gothic style.

As one of the largest parishes in England, the Sacred Heart Church in Wimbledon has a dynamic community that has used the church as a place of worship for over a century. At the heart of our parish are the many people of all ages who work, study, pray and share their lives together.

With large numbers of donors, it was important for the church to be able to customise the donation terminals for several funds they were collecting for and have a clear reporting portal that was easy to manage.

£332k+ |Total fundraised on Dona since 2020

£11.73 |Average donation value

46% | Donations given with Gift Aid

Learn more about Sacred Heart Church

Learn More

Call Sales: 0203 488 5038

Call Support: 0203 488 8095

Complete our enquiry form

Message on our social channels