GlobalGiving (www.globalgiving.com) is an online marketplace that gives donors access to well-vetted development projects in over 60 countries, along with an easy, engaging way to donate. After GlobalGiving’s success in the US, where donations have reached $6 million since 2001, it is now launching in the UK. The UK website is expected to go live in the spring of 2008, and will include features such as the ability to claim GiftAid on donations.

Sharath Jeevan, previously head of eBay’s UK charitable giving service, is UK Chief Executive. ‘We are excited about the potential demand from donors in this country,’ Jeevan says. ‘Fourteen per cent of UK donors give to international development causes, compared to 2 per cent in the US. Donors will be able to give anything from £10 to tens of thousands of pounds to a chosen project. The UK is also home to hundreds of successful international development NGOs, who could use the marketplace for project-level fundraising,’ he adds.

GlobalGiving UK, which will be a UK registered charity, is currently seeking philanthropic funding from major donors and foundations to help cover initial start-up costs and working capital requirements.

For more information
To learn more about GlobalGiving’s UK launch, contact Sharath Jeevan at sjeevan@globalgiving.com