Frequently asked questions
Affiliate Marketing - what is it?
Affiliate marketing in the UK is very big business. Although you maybe not aware of it, when you make a purchase online another website will often be making a 'commission' from your purchase simply for directing you onto the retailers website. This is most commonly via a 'comparison' or 'review' website.
Affiliate marketing works by the process of dropping an invisible 'cookie' (tiny piece of computer code) when you visit the first website onto your computer. When you then go on to make the purchase on the retail website, they reward the cookie with a 'finders fee' commission for sending the sale to them.
Cookies work on a 'last one in is the winner' principle. This is important because if you use School Angel and want to ensure the donation gets to your school you need to always click from your page before you make the purchase. That will mean you need to close down the review or comparison website and then open up your fundraising page for the final click into your shop.
The UK online shopping spend is growing year on year. The forecast for 2017 is that we will spend over £52 billion through on-line shopping or 1 £billion per week with a 10% increase year on year. (Source ONS link opens in a new window - https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/retailindustry/bulletins/retailsales/jan2017) this upward trend is set to continue, and on-line shopping is expected to increase well into the foreseeable future.
Our choice of device for accessing the internet is steadily changing onto mobile although currently 66% of access is via computer and 33% mobile device.
Affiliate marketing works by the process of dropping an invisible 'cookie' (tiny piece of computer code) when you visit the first website onto your computer. When you then go on to make the purchase on the retail website, they reward the cookie with a 'finders fee' commission for sending the sale to them.
Cookies work on a 'last one in is the winner' principle. This is important because if you use School Angel and want to ensure the donation gets to your school you need to always click from your page before you make the purchase. That will mean you need to close down the review or comparison website and then open up your fundraising page for the final click into your shop.
The UK online shopping spend is growing year on year. The forecast for 2017 is that we will spend over £52 billion through on-line shopping or 1 £billion per week with a 10% increase year on year. (Source ONS link opens in a new window - https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/retailindustry/bulletins/retailsales/jan2017) this upward trend is set to continue, and on-line shopping is expected to increase well into the foreseeable future.
Our choice of device for accessing the internet is steadily changing onto mobile although currently 66% of access is via computer and 33% mobile device.
what could it mean for your school in actual numbers?
As a ballpark figure we assume that behind every child in a school there are approximately four adults (parents, grandparents, uncles, aunties, friends). As a general rule of thumb you can assume that 5% of your adult base could be engaged in supporting the school.
Okay so lets take a typical Primary of say 300 pupils.
This will have an adult base of 1200 of which we engage 5% = 60
Lets be cautious and say that we manage to capture just 20% of their £2000 yearly on-line spend = £24,000
We would expect that average affiliate income commission to be around 2.5% of this figure ie. £600 per year
So that's £600 raised for very little effort and we would anticipate that a well motivated school could engage a higher adult base, so this figure is not over optimistic.
Okay so lets take a typical Primary of say 300 pupils.
This will have an adult base of 1200 of which we engage 5% = 60
Lets be cautious and say that we manage to capture just 20% of their £2000 yearly on-line spend = £24,000
We would expect that average affiliate income commission to be around 2.5% of this figure ie. £600 per year
So that's £600 raised for very little effort and we would anticipate that a well motivated school could engage a higher adult base, so this figure is not over optimistic.
WHAT'S the downside?
There really is 'no catch' for schools. We don't make a profit, we don't capture any data from your parents so we never bother them with annoying junk mail or anything else! We are fully regulated by the charities commission so we have to be fully accountable, ethical and transparent in everything we do.
how do we measure up to other organisations which also help schools to fundraise?
Many schools already work with other fundraising organisations, so what's the difference with School Angel? Probably the most important single difference is that on average we generate at least three times more funds than any other fundraising website in the UK.
For a simple comparison between your schools options click here and for a rough guide to how much School Angel receives in commissions so you compare what other commercial companies offer you click here
For a simple comparison between your schools options click here and for a rough guide to how much School Angel receives in commissions so you compare what other commercial companies offer you click here
what does the school have to do?
Very little! Just have a look at the school contract (you can download it at the bottom of this page), it is written in plain English and very straightforward. Make sure you agree with the charities charitable aims (again available as a separate download at the bottom of this page). Our charitable aims govern what any monies generated can be used for. They are very broad, and we feel should enable any school to really positively help their children in a straightforward manner.
Please understand that in accordance with charity commission guidelines, all profits from monies raised through School Angel remain the property of the charity and not the school, but are allocated 100% to your schools charity pot. The school can use the fund for any items or services which meet the charities charitable aims. Once you feel happy just contact us via our web form and we will arrange your school sign up.
Once signed up you will need to promote the charity to your parents & carers by email or letter at least 6 times per school year (once every half term). You will also need to provide a permanent web link from your school website home page into the School Angel website. That's the minimum. Obviously to really engage your parents & carers, the more promotion you do the more they will use School Angel, and the more funds your school will raise.
Remember you must be an active fundraiser with the charity otherwise we recycle your fundraising page for another school keen to join.
Please understand that in accordance with charity commission guidelines, all profits from monies raised through School Angel remain the property of the charity and not the school, but are allocated 100% to your schools charity pot. The school can use the fund for any items or services which meet the charities charitable aims. Once you feel happy just contact us via our web form and we will arrange your school sign up.
Once signed up you will need to promote the charity to your parents & carers by email or letter at least 6 times per school year (once every half term). You will also need to provide a permanent web link from your school website home page into the School Angel website. That's the minimum. Obviously to really engage your parents & carers, the more promotion you do the more they will use School Angel, and the more funds your school will raise.
Remember you must be an active fundraiser with the charity otherwise we recycle your fundraising page for another school keen to join.
Free technical help for your school website.
Uedit are the web design company who have provided our School Angel website for free, and they maintain it. They specialise in building high quality websites for small businesses and school websites which you can easily update yourself and they have agreed to provide free help and advice to any school joining the charity on how to add in your website link if you need it. |
Can PTA's / School Supporter organisations join School Angel?
Yes they can.
We welcome PTA's or 'Friend Associations' but you must make sure that you have the permission of the Head Teacher for your school to register. You will need to be able to have a website button from the school website into your fundraising page as well.
We welcome PTA's or 'Friend Associations' but you must make sure that you have the permission of the Head Teacher for your school to register. You will need to be able to have a website button from the school website into your fundraising page as well.
Why we don't have a donation reminder tool
Donation reminder tools are used extensively by the commercial fundraising websites like easyfundrasing etc. They are effectively internet browser 'add ons' that remind you to click and activate their tracking code when you visit a shop that will allow a donation.
In theory this sounds great, especially since according to the websites using them they increase donation rates by five fold!
So why doesn't School Angel use them?
There are three main reasons why we decided not to use this technology:
In theory this sounds great, especially since according to the websites using them they increase donation rates by five fold!
So why doesn't School Angel use them?
There are three main reasons why we decided not to use this technology:
- Firstly in order to work they need to track every single website you visit (so they can compare it to their database), this raises obvious privacy issues as well as slowing down the computer you are using.
- Secondly quite a few of the major retailers do not allow themselves to be featured on them (for the obvious reason that why should they split their profit with a website which has not actually driven the sale to them), which greatly reduces their effectiveness.
- And finally they tend to be very 'buggy' meaning they don't always work, they can produce annoying pop-ups and generally you have to be using a desktop computer ie. they are quite limited in their capabilities.
Do you have a phone app?
Yes, we have a super fast shopping site for Apple and Android phones and tablets. This is automatically sent to your phone and you can lock your school's fundraising page onto your home screen by following the simple instructions on this page: Phone App
what is school angel?
School Angel is a charitable foundation regulated by the Charities Commission in England and Wales. Our registered charity number is: 1153856. The charity has two distinct arms; we operate a free fundraising platform for schools throughout the UK raising thousands of pounds a year, on average we raise three times more funds than any other fundraising website currently in the UK.
Also we specifically help disadvantaged children achieve their potential whilst at school by funding highly targeted interventions. You can read more about how we help here.
Also we specifically help disadvantaged children achieve their potential whilst at school by funding highly targeted interventions. You can read more about how we help here.
how does school angel raise money?
We raise money using a process known as affiliate marketing. In a nutshell this means we provide a link (our links are simply the retailers official brand logo) from the School Angel site to your chosen shopping site. If you go on to make a purchase from the shopping site then the retailer has agreed to donate a proportion of their profit on the sale to School Angel.
how much does each shop donate?
This is a difficult question to give a simple answer to because each retailer donates varying amounts depending on the type of product, volume purchased, whether the item is on sale or promotion etc. To try and give you some actual hard figures we have created a guide to commissions with more detail showing how much some of our major retailers donate. You can read our understanding commissions guide here.
do i get exactly the same deal on my purchases?
Yes you do! You are guaranteed exactly the same deal on anything you purchase using School Angel as you would have by visiting the shopping site direct.
when do page fundraising totals get updated?
We update school totals on the first Monday of each month. (if the Monday falls on a Bank Holiday we update the next working day)
We update monthly for two reasons:
We update monthly for two reasons:
- It allows a decent volume of purchases to register.
- It allows time for returned purchases to filter out of the totals (returned goods generally get a full refund and we lose any donation).
what is the disadvantaged children's fund?
As well as helping schools to raise funds to directly help their pupils School Angel also offers a disadvantaged children's fund which is administered by our board of trustees. This fund is used to help children who have been identified as disadvantaged by their teachers either through a physical / mental disability or through social deprivation. A wide range of resources are considered for funding and examples may be discreetly funding a school trip for a child otherwise unable to attend through to funding a specialised piece of medical equipment enabling a disabled child to attend mainstream school.
where does the money come from for the disadvantaged children's fund
The money raised from our dedicated 'disadvantaged children's' shopping page and any funds which are left by school's who end up getting removed from the charity (due to complete inactivity if they opt not to claim the funds for themselves) are used for this fund.
do i need to register with school angel to use the site to help schools?
No, you do not need to register. We do not require you to give us any of your personal details. We never ask for your email address or even your name. We believe that one of the strengths of School Angel is it's simplicity, there are no passwords to remember, no logins and we will never bother you with any marketing. Only your local school will promote the site to you possibly through the school email system or school's newsletter.
does my school need to register with school angel for me to raise funds for it?
Yes, your school must register with the charity so we can build it a dedicated charity shopping page. Registration is free and simple and the online application form only takes five minutes to fill in. The school can register here.
I have got a DISCOUNT code / voucher for a shop, can i still use it on school angel?
If you want to be sure of the donation being made for your school then we advise not to use any discount or other form of either promotional or employer scheme discount codes as these frequently will stop your donation being made.
I cannot get the shopping links to work when i click on them
This will almost certainly be caused by you trying to use the website on a computer which is connecting to the internet via a web-filter. These are common in schools and many businesses and are programmed to stop you using social media, shopping, entertainment and various other types of websites.
There are two options to solve the problem : Use School Angel at home or anywhere without a web-filter, or add School Angel as an accepted site to your web-filter (this might involve you asking the I.T. firm who installed your filter to do this for you which is quick and simple, but they may charge a fee)
There are also several types of anti-virus software which block shopping links from working. Here you can easily get around the problem by just adjusting your anti-virus setting to allow School Angel to work.
There are two options to solve the problem : Use School Angel at home or anywhere without a web-filter, or add School Angel as an accepted site to your web-filter (this might involve you asking the I.T. firm who installed your filter to do this for you which is quick and simple, but they may charge a fee)
There are also several types of anti-virus software which block shopping links from working. Here you can easily get around the problem by just adjusting your anti-virus setting to allow School Angel to work.
why does school angel only have a limited number of shopping options?
School Angel is currently set up using a business model known as the 80/20 rule. Simply put 80% of all internet shopping occurs on just 20% of the top ranked retailers. By focussing on just the most popular shopping destinations we are able to cater for the majority of shoppers and it also gives the charity a negotiating advantage to achieve the very best donation rates from our business partners.
will you ever get more shopping choice on the site?
Possibly. School Angel is a new charity but as it grows and we receive feedback from all our users, the charity will no doubt evolve. If we adopted a website model which allowed many hundreds of shopping options then it would involve a large investment in our I.T. infrastructure and would also mean that visitors would have to create login accounts to use our site.
This is something we would need to consider very carefully.
This is something we would need to consider very carefully.
why does the school money page total say 'funds pledged rather than 'funds donated'?
This is because many online purchases can be cancelled and customers can claim a full refund of any monies paid from a retailer in accordance with customers rights under european consumer law and the distance goods selling act.
Examples
Examples
- For instance you decide to book a hotel using School Angel for a holiday in June. You make the booking in January, School Angel will show your donation as a pledged amount. But your circumstances change and your terms and conditions allow you to cancel your booking and receive a full refund, which you do. School Angel will in this instance never receive any donation.
- You purchase some goods from Amazon through School Angel. The particular goods you have bought allow you to return them within 60 days for a full refund if not happy. Your donation again can only show as a pledged donation, until the time window for returning the goods for a full refund has expired.
i use cashback sites when i shop, why don't i just donate that money to school?
You certainly could do, but School Angel gives you a much more efficient way to help schools for two important reasons:
- Firstly businesses tend to give us much higher donations than cashback and voucher sites, often up to three times as much!
- Secondly we are a foundation registered as a charity, which means that we can donate to schools without there being any complicated tax implication for the school.
- We raise on average more monies than any current UK cash back website per shop including Topcashback and Quidco.
WHAT'S the difference between using the disadvantaged children's page and a SPECIFIC school's page?
If you shop from the 'Disadvantaged Children' page then the profit raised is put into a discretionary fund for distribution by the charities trustees. This fund is used in accordance with our third charitable aim which is : 'To assist UK schools in advancing the education of children suffering with mental and / or physical disability and including children suffering from social deprivation in such ways as the charities trustees think fit'
If you go to a specific schools page then 100% of the profit from the donation will be allocated to that school
If you go to a specific schools page then 100% of the profit from the donation will be allocated to that school
i cannot find my school in the school search
This will be because your school has not currently registered with School Angel. Perhaps you would like to suggest to the headteacher that they become registered so the school can start to benefit. School Angel is free to all UK schools to join
how do you track my donation and how can i be sure it has tracked correctly?
Donations are tracked by a simple type of computer code called a cookie. This is a small line of code which the link you click on to visit a retailer/shop places on your computer, this then allows us to track that purchase. The code tells us the name of the retailer, the school you have supported, the value of goods purchased and the value of the donation. It does not contain personal information and it is not harmful in anyway to your computer. Cookies are used by almost all websites on the internet. You can read our full cookie policy here.
We do not show donations as 'live' data so you will not see your donation immediately showing up on your school page. However we use a very accurate method for tracking donations and over 98% are accurately tracked. School page totals are updated on the first Monday of each month with a running total. The commonest reason a donation may not be successfully picked up is if you have opted not to allow cookies on your computer.
We do not show donations as 'live' data so you will not see your donation immediately showing up on your school page. However we use a very accurate method for tracking donations and over 98% are accurately tracked. School page totals are updated on the first Monday of each month with a running total. The commonest reason a donation may not be successfully picked up is if you have opted not to allow cookies on your computer.
how long after making a purchase will it take for my school to RECEIVE the donation?
This will vary depending on what you have bought. For instance for a holiday purchased for next summer, School Angel would not receive the donation until the holiday has actually been taken. This is because someone may book a holiday or hotel and then change their minds and cancel for a refund. For most other purchases once paid for in full, we would expect to receive the donation somewhere between 30 and 60 days after the purchase date. Exactly when the school then receives the money from School Angel will depend on what the school is saving for, but this is a decision made jointly between the charity and the school.
how much money does school angel take from my donation for running costs?
School Angel is proud to be run as one of the most efficient charities in the UK. Most large charities consider themselves to be offering good value to donors if a minimum of 66 pence in every pound donated reaches its intended cause. School Angel returns 100% of all monies raised to schools. This makes School Angel easily the most efficient way for any school to fundraise and return the maximum funds back.
We are able to do this because firstly our running costs are very low because the charity is run on a voluntary basis in our free time.
The small amount of unavoidable cost such as website hosting, domain name maintenance, telephone, postage and office costs are covered by the few schools who join the charity, raise some funds, and then become inactive and get removed having failed to respond to our requests to claim any outstanding funds raised on their dormant pages.
This is accordance to our Terms and Conditions when school's sign up to join.
We are able to do this because firstly our running costs are very low because the charity is run on a voluntary basis in our free time.
The small amount of unavoidable cost such as website hosting, domain name maintenance, telephone, postage and office costs are covered by the few schools who join the charity, raise some funds, and then become inactive and get removed having failed to respond to our requests to claim any outstanding funds raised on their dormant pages.
This is accordance to our Terms and Conditions when school's sign up to join.
how can i update the details on my school's fundraising page?
Simply send us an email to admin@schoolangel.org.uk with your updated message and we will update your page for you. Please note you can update your school email address on our contact page.
Schools do not have direct access to edit the School Angel website themselves.
Schools do not have direct access to edit the School Angel website themselves.
how can schools drawdown THEIR funds?
Just visit our 'Drawdown Funds' page and submit the online form.
what the difference between school angel and other affiliate fundraising sites?
There are lots of other affiliate shopping fundraising sites which work with schools and PTA's in the UK. The well known ones are 'easyfundraising', 'give as you live', and 'go-raise'. Of these, easyfundraising is the biggest and has a partnership with the trading arm of PTA-UK, while give as you live is advertised with PTA+. These are all commercial UK based businesses which help anyone who wants to raise money for a 'good cause' by linking them up to affiliate marketing raising money when they shop online. They are all run as a profitable businesses and generally retain at least 50% of every donation to cover their running costs and profits. None of them are charities. You can see a more detailed comparison between the various companies here.
School Angel is a charity so we make no profit. Because of this we generate at least three times more funds for schools than the commercial companies offer. We make no deduction from any monies raised and because we are a charity we are often able to achieve higher donation rates from our business partners. School Angel only supports schools.
School Angel is a charity so we make no profit. Because of this we generate at least three times more funds for schools than the commercial companies offer. We make no deduction from any monies raised and because we are a charity we are often able to achieve higher donation rates from our business partners. School Angel only supports schools.
WHY DOES SCHOOL ANGEL REMOVE SCHOOLS FROM THE CHARITY?
Unfortunately we find that quite a few schools join the charity and then fail to ever use their fundraising page. It is difficult to understand the reasons for this but the net effect for the charity is that they drain the charities most precious resource - our volunteers time. The charity's trustees have now taken the decision to swiftly remove and recycle unused pages giving them to new schools wishing to join and become active members of our fundraising community.
Schools now get removed if they fail to use their page for three months or more. The removal process is as follows:
1. The charity emails the school using their email address as shown on their current school website informing them that their fund-raising page has been removed and re-cycled for another school wishing to join. The email invites the school to contact the charity to claim any funds already raised above £10 within the next 10 days.
2. If the school wishes to claim their funds then they will be asked to submit a draw-down request form and upon receipt of such a form the charity will pay out any owed funds to the school in accordance with our draw-down policy.
3. If after 10 days we have had no contact from the removed school then any remaining funds on the removed schools page will be allocated 100% to the charities running costs fund in accordance with our school/charity contract.
Schools now get removed if they fail to use their page for three months or more. The removal process is as follows:
1. The charity emails the school using their email address as shown on their current school website informing them that their fund-raising page has been removed and re-cycled for another school wishing to join. The email invites the school to contact the charity to claim any funds already raised above £10 within the next 10 days.
2. If the school wishes to claim their funds then they will be asked to submit a draw-down request form and upon receipt of such a form the charity will pay out any owed funds to the school in accordance with our draw-down policy.
3. If after 10 days we have had no contact from the removed school then any remaining funds on the removed schools page will be allocated 100% to the charities running costs fund in accordance with our school/charity contract.