Majestic, the UK’s largest specialist wine retailer, has partnered with fintech charity Pennies to enable its customers to quickly and conveniently donate to charity when paying by card for their wines, beers and spirits.
Wine lovers shopping in any of Majestic’s stores across England, Scotland, Wales and Jersey can now round-up their purchases to the nearest pound at the till, with the simple push of a button. The money raised will go to the Majestic Charitable Foundation, which was formed earlier this year to help Majestic support causes close to its colleagues’ hearts.
The Majestic Charitable Foundation has initially partnered with three national charities: The Brain Tumour Charity, Campaign Against Living Miserably and Child Bereavement UK – all of which were nominated by Majestic colleagues. The Foundation will also support Jersey Cancer Relief using donations from customers in its Jersey store, which opened in April. As the Majestic Charitable Foundation grows, it will also increase its support for smaller, local charities within the 212 communities that Majestic’s stores serve across the UK and the Channel Islands.
After raising almost £1,000 through just 10 stores during a short trial period earlier this year, Majestic has ambitions for its partnership with Pennies to generate a six-figure sum for the Majestic Charitable Foundation every single year – donations that will help thousands of individuals and families across the country.
Alex Jablonowski, Majestic Chief Financial Officer and Trustee of the Majestic Charitable Foundation, said: “We know how passionate our colleagues and customers are about supporting charities close to their hearts, so we are absolutely delighted to have launched this partnership with Pennies. We wanted to make it quick and easy for our customers to contribute to our fundraising efforts, and Pennies have helped us deliver a simple solution to ‘micro-donate’ at the point of payment.
“Christmas is a really important time of year for charities around the country and many of them rely heavily on the goodwill of shoppers over the next few weeks. We know our customers will welcome the opportunity to round-up their shopping bills for incredibly worthy causes during the festive season, and contribute to what will be a life-changing impact for the people we support through the Majestic Charitable Foundation.”
Pennies CEO Alison Hutchinson CBE, added: “We are really pleased to welcome Majestic to the Pennies’ micro-donation family. Our research shows that customers really value the opportunity to give little and often and we are excited that Majestic’s customers now have the opportunity to support the Majestic Charitable Foundation and the amazing charities nominated by Majestic colleagues. We look forward to the months and years ahead where their customers and Pennies will collectively contribute to significant social impact in our communities.”
Pennies has surpassed 200 million micro-donations across all of its partners – a milestone made all the more significant as growth in giving has accelerated in the last three years and weathered the worst of the Covid pandemic. The charity has estimated that micro-donations present an ambitious but achievable opportunity to inject an annual £1bn into the UK charity sector, based on every UK card holder giving just 35p a week.
