Understanding Commissions - a rough guide
Schools often ask us what commissions individual retailers pay to School Angel. This is clearly important information in helping them compare what we can offer versus other fundraising options they may already be using or considering.
Because School Angel is a very efficient charity and not a business, we are able to operate on the minimum possible funding. We have no paid staff so unlike all of the other fundraising websites currently operating in the UK we return all of the donation we receive. On average all other fundraising websites in the UK retain at least 50%. In addition to this, some retailers who recognise the value of the work the charity does pay us an enhanced commission rate which greatly boosts the donation we are able to deliver to our schools. The donation we receive is paid 100% to the school with no deduction.
On this page we will explain how Amazon commissions are paid and also some of the other large retailers. Unfortunately it is genuinely difficult to give a brief answer simply because most retailers use a tiered structure for commissions and often have exceptions for certain goods.
As a general rule of thumb commissions are paid on the shopping basket total, minus VAT and delivery charges.
Because School Angel is a very efficient charity and not a business, we are able to operate on the minimum possible funding. We have no paid staff so unlike all of the other fundraising websites currently operating in the UK we return all of the donation we receive. On average all other fundraising websites in the UK retain at least 50%. In addition to this, some retailers who recognise the value of the work the charity does pay us an enhanced commission rate which greatly boosts the donation we are able to deliver to our schools. The donation we receive is paid 100% to the school with no deduction.
On this page we will explain how Amazon commissions are paid and also some of the other large retailers. Unfortunately it is genuinely difficult to give a brief answer simply because most retailers use a tiered structure for commissions and often have exceptions for certain goods.
As a general rule of thumb commissions are paid on the shopping basket total, minus VAT and delivery charges.
to view Our Fundraising performance in 2018 - 2019 click here
To measure our performance against other fundraising alternatives in the UK we use three major retailers, namely Amazon, John Lewis and Marks & Spencer.
These are selected because Amazon is the largest retailer by sales volume in the UK with between 25 - 45% of all sales generated from online fundraisers coming via Amazon. John Lewis and Marks & Spencer are regarded by economists as the 'bellwether' of the British high-street with both generating large online sales volumes.
In the year ending 5th April 2019 School Angel achieved the following average donation rates:
We don't include gift aid since this is dependant upon several external factors such as the donor being a UK taxpayer, agreeing to share data with HMRC and opting into the system.
These are selected because Amazon is the largest retailer by sales volume in the UK with between 25 - 45% of all sales generated from online fundraisers coming via Amazon. John Lewis and Marks & Spencer are regarded by economists as the 'bellwether' of the British high-street with both generating large online sales volumes.
In the year ending 5th April 2019 School Angel achieved the following average donation rates:
- Amazon - 4.90%
- John Lewis - 3.98%
- Marks & Spencer - 4.99%
We don't include gift aid since this is dependant upon several external factors such as the donor being a UK taxpayer, agreeing to share data with HMRC and opting into the system.
This table directly compares the average donation rate from our most frequently used retailers against our main UK commercial competitors
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Amazon |
John Lewis |
Marks & Spencer |
School Angel |
4.5% |
4.0% |
5% |
easyfundraising |
0.5% |
1% |
1.5% |
Go Raise |
retailer not available |
1% |
1.5% |
Give as you live |
0.5% |
1% |
1.5% |
This table directly compares average donation rate from a charity cash-back competitor.
(non-gift-aided)
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Amazon |
John Lewis |
Marks & Spencer |
School Angel |
4.5% |
4.0% |
5% |
The Giving Machine |
0.5% |
1.5% |
1.5% |
Find out what some of the big retailers donate to School Angel
amazon
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Amazon use a system which rewards shoppers who make a purchase when sent to specific categories on the Amazon website rather than just landing on the homepage. They call these Direct Qualifying Purchases and the percentage raised depends upon the shopping category as detailed below. Shopping outside a category is called an Indirect Qualifying Purchase and generally raises a 1.5% donation.
For certain Amazon brand products they will also pay enhanced commissions, but 99% of all transactions will likely fall into the above structure.
john lewis + Marks & Spencer
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John Lewis vary commissions based on type of goods.
School Angel receives commissions ranging from 2.5% up to 7.0% we average 4.0% |
Product categories
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Baby & Child - 6.0%
Beauty - 6.0% Electrical - 2.5% Gifts - 4.0% Home & Garden - 5.0% Men's Fashion - 7.0% |
Product Guarantees - 2.5%
Special Offers - 2.5% Sports & Leisure - 6.0% Toys - 6.0% Women's Fashion - 6.0% Shop by brand - 2.5% |
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M&S simply pay School Angel 5% on everything.
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supermarkets
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Asda Direct now operate through George.com and feature on School Angel.
They pay commission rates of between 2 - 3 %. (note nothing is paid for grocery orders). Waitrose pay £5 for a new customers shop and then 75p for existing customers shopping. |
apple - we stopped using the apple store recently and now offer a better way to buy apple
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The Apple Store has very strict terms & conditions and Apple has asked that the charity makes these clear to anyone considering using the Apple store. We have listed these below. Donation rates from the Apple store tend to be small (typically 1-2%).
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- Donations are not paid on new Apple product launches. If you have any questions regarding donation rates please contact the team
- Donations are available for up to five eligible products within a 30 day period, except iPhone
- Donations are only available on up to two iPhones within a 30 day period
- Donations are not paid on non-GBP purchases, you must remain on www.store.apple.com/uk
- Donations are not paid on one-to-one membership, shipping, iTunes gift cards, Apple gift cards purchases and gift wrap
- Donations are not paid on reserve and collect purchases or pre-orders
- Purchases made through Employee Purchase Programmes are not accepted
- Please note if you return or exchange purchased products in the Apple Retail Store your donation may be affected
- Your donation is paid via School Angel, not directly from Apple Store
- Donations will not track if you are using university/company login to purchase via the Apple Store. Simply click "Institution not listed? Shop Now"
- Donations may only be paid on the net value excluding VAT, all other taxes, surcharges and any additional costs such as delivery.
hotels
Commissions in this sector vary widely. These are the percentages paid on the room booking cost, we do not receive commissions on extras like food and drink.
LateRooms.com 7% - our most generous hotel partner
Hotels.com 6%
Travelodge 1%
LateRooms.com 7% - our most generous hotel partner
Hotels.com 6%
Travelodge 1%
extra generous retailers
We always work really hard to try and achieve the maximum amount of donation from retailers and some big names are far more generous than others.
Kitbag donate 7% of every sale
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LateRooms.com now donate 7% from every booking
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Large single transaction Donors
If you are interested in how large amounts can be raised in a single transactions then you need to look at holidays, mobile phones and TV/broadband packages.
School Angel covers all of these sectors and donations range from about £20 to £70 for a single transaction.
We feature the best Which? recommended suppliers for these sectors.
School Angel covers all of these sectors and donations range from about £20 to £70 for a single transaction.
We feature the best Which? recommended suppliers for these sectors.
Gas & Electricty
The gas and electricity market in the UK is dominated by comparison websites, however the validity of these sites has been recently called into question by the regulators having found evidence they are only promoting suppliers who pay them, and therefore not necessarily offering the consumer the best deals.
With this in mind we have decided to only offer a single service which is an automated switching service. You will have the option of various different levels of service: a free service which mirrors that provided by comparison sites or a subscription service which consistently checks that you are on the cheapest tariff in the entire market, and automatically switches you if you are not. It is claimed that the service saves you at least £100 more than comparison sites and is free until you can save at least £50.
With this in mind we have decided to only offer a single service which is an automated switching service. You will have the option of various different levels of service: a free service which mirrors that provided by comparison sites or a subscription service which consistently checks that you are on the cheapest tariff in the entire market, and automatically switches you if you are not. It is claimed that the service saves you at least £100 more than comparison sites and is free until you can save at least £50.
Switchd donate between £15 - £30 depending on the level of service you subscribe too.
For every £100 in donations collected this is what you will get back:
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(all figures are without gift-aid)
