Yahoo Finance Charities urge public to donate old round pounds as new £1 coin enters circulation
Charities are being urged to seize the opportunity created by the introduction of the 12-sided £1 coin.
Members of the public will be encouraged to donate ‘round pounds‘ before they are withdrawn from circulation in October. There are also being asked to donate the first new coin they receive.
The National Council for Voluntary Organisations says charities should seize the moment.
“Some of the most significant fundraising opportunities are likely to be after the launch and over the summer, as members of the public become aware of the withdrawal of the old coins and start to think about how to get value from them,” said Michael Birtwistle, senior policy officer at the NCVO.
He said that about 5% of the public would be willing to donate old pound coins to charity – potentially generating millions.
“We’ll be putting out more resources such as fundraising ideas in the coming months, but we know the best ideas will come from the voluntary sector,” Birtwistle added.
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The NCVO will be promoting a Twitter hashtag #PoundforPound to encourage people to give old coins for a new one.
Macmillan Cancer has also swooped, producing a gif that urges people to donate their first new coin to the charity. It says just 28 of them could pay for a Macmillan nurse for an hour.
Various other hospices up and down the country are also urging locals to hand over their first new coin to help good causes.
A similar campaign around the new ‘plastic fiver’ is estimated to have raised £12.5 million for charities.
There are about 2.1 billion round pounds in circulation – with about 700 million missing; in piggy banks, coin jars, down the back of sofas or lying about in the pockets of long forgotten jeans or jackets.
However, with one in 30 old £1 coins believed to be counterfeit, charities are also being urged to be aware of fakes.
UK Fundraising has urged all charities to ensure their equipment is ready to accept the new coin and to ensure all staff are trained to spot fakes.
