OK, this is going to be a very short post today (promise 
) because I really need your input and advice. I talked yesterday about the perils of Paypal for a charity such as ourselves. I also celebrated what an awesome job both Charity Choice and BMyCharity do for us. However, despite lots of lovely people clicking and finding out more, so far, not a single person has given a single pound via Charity Choice or BMyCharity.
Therefore, even if you’ve never left a comment before, please can you today take a minute of your time to answer one simple question?
Here goes … If Paypal was an option, would you Give A Brick right now?
If you’d like to, you can answer the more tricky question too … What’s stopping you from Giving a Brick via Charity Choice or BMyCharity?
I’m meeting with the trustees of Give A Brick on Sunday so the more comments and specific feedback you can give me, the better. If Paypal needs to be a prominent option, I need proof I really appreciate your time. I promise you won’t be inundated with email as a result of adding a comment. In fact, unless you contact me first, I promise I’ll never email you ever
So that’s it. No link asking you if you enjoyed the post. Just a simple request for feedback. If you’re very succinct you can even give me your feedback via Twitter. Or do you prefer Facebook, that’s possible too I just want to know what you think 
The first project Give A Brick is supporting is the building work at 
What should Give A Brick support next? If you have an exciting community project that, 
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Twitter: TheInfoPreneur
January 13, 2010 at 8:17 pm
I gotta say if paypal was an option on here I definately would donate. The only reason I haven’t donated up till now is because i’m that busy those extra seconds getting my card out of my wallet put’s me off.
I say go for it, manage paypal’s fee’s into the donation
TheInfoPreneur´s last blog ..Don’t Be Afraid To Change Your Plan
Twitter: GiveABrick
January 13, 2010 at 11:05 pm
Thanks James,
) and the general consensus seems to be to add Paypal. I mentioned it to some GAB supporters offline tonight and they said 79 pence was better than zero pence 
I appreciate you taking the time to add your thoughts to the mix. I’ve been chatting with some folks via Twitter too (although when you’re working with 140 characters or less ‘chatting’ is a loose term
All I need now is for our treasurer (Dr Egg, did you meet him yet?) to get the paperwork faxed off and we’re good to go.
I’ll let you know when we get it set up (although I suspect I might tweet it a little too so you’re probably hear about it
)
Eleanor
Twitter: TheDrEgg
January 14, 2010 at 9:27 am
Thanks for the prompt, I’m working on it. In the meantime, it occurs to me that the suggestion above has real merit, “Manage PayPal’s fees into the donation.” What I think this could mean is we need to develop a calculator, rather like the currency exchange calculators, which calculates how to give £1.00 to Give a Brick if donating by a variety of web resources, including PayPal, taking into account any fees but also the exchange rate for the currency. After all, the dream is for Give a Brick to become a worldwide resource although we are working from an initial single project. On that basis, while previously Eleanor has suggested a brick = £1 or $1, how would it relate to other currencies? I think we need to either stick to £1 (or $1) and then calculate from there.
Twitter: Bigredtomato
January 14, 2010 at 11:17 am
Hi Eleanor, that’s exactly what I was going to email you about. I think the concept of your site is top notch. Whilst I understand you’ll face higher costs with paypal I’m certain you’ll get more revenue. Simply because it’s easy (touch of a button and a password)and secondly it’s trusted.
To be honest getting my credit card out to donate a £ isn’t something I’m going to do and also the organisations you mention in your post I’ve never heard of. So, it would be yet another company I’d be giving my details to.
Personally I only buy from a couple of sites online, in these days of identity theft the risk (I percieve) is far greater than the £ I would donate.
Get that button on there and I’ll send you a £.
Matthew Needham´s last blog ..5 Days only – 31 Days to Build a Better Blog + 3 Free Bonus Offers
Twitter: GiveABrick
January 14, 2010 at 1:33 pm
Matthew,
I understand where you’re coming from. I just set up a link to donate via Paypal and it took literally seconds.
Thanks for the comprehensive feedback, and for saying the sites ‘top notch’
We have a Paypal account set up and as soon as they give us the 2% discount for being a registered charity I’ll get those buttons up. In the meantime I’ll be changing the links at the ends of posts to point to Paypal. It’s similar to the ‘buy me a beer’ you see in some forums.
And Dr Egg, I hear you
Something we can be working on behind the scenes.
Catch you all later, I’ve a birthday cake to decorate
Twitter: bluepop13
January 17, 2010 at 3:07 pm
Hey Eleanor, I haven’t donated yet and haven’t really used PayPal actually. I’m not a huge fan of putting my debit card online. I’ve done it for particular websites but would probably feel more comfortable if I at least had more options.
As soon as time goes on and you get things set up, I’ll donate.
Looking forward to supporting you!
Eric´s last blog ..Inspiration, Smart Work, Success | The InfoPreneur
Twitter: GiveABrick
January 17, 2010 at 8:48 pm
Hi Eric,
Paypal is now a visible option all over the site. I understand your reluctance to add your card details. I’ve had first hand experience of having my card details used fraudulently online so believe me, I understand 
Thanks for stopping by
Other than Paypal and credit/debit cards, I’m not sure what other options we can have. Any ideas?
I was tweeting with a lady from Switzerland a couple of days ago and she has real issues with both Paypal and BMyCharity. She comes back to the UK next Summer so I’m hoping she might Give A Brick then
Thanks again for your support and well done again on those guest posts
El
Eleanor´s last blog ..Act of Random Kindness
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