The ‘digital charity box’ will enable customers to donate to CVS’ Charity of the Year as they pay
CVS Introduces Pennies Donations In More Than 400 Practices To Support The Charity Guide Dogs
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This month CVS is introducing Pennies’ ‘digital charity box’ at client payment points within 440 of its first opinion practices throughout the UK.
Monies collected will be donated to CVS’ Colleagues’ Charity of the Year Guide Dogs, to go towards; breeding and training guide dogs, supporting them from birth to retirement; supporting adults, young people and children with a vision impairment and their families; and, ongoing research and development.
Pennies is the UK’s leading micro-donation charity, working with businesses to offer digital donation opportunities at the point of sale. Their ‘digital charity box’ is a digital upgrade of the traditional cash charity collection box, which CVS practices still offer too. Pennies is designed to make it easier for the public to give money to good causes in an increasingly cashless society. A recent Pennies survey[i] showed that 71% of Brits prefer to give to charity in small amounts on an ad-hoc basis, with more people now frequently leaving the house with no cash.
Within CVS practices, the Pennies option lets clients voluntarily add a small donation to their purchases, when paying by card or mobile wallet. The option to round-up their payment to the nearest pound appears automatically during the payment process[ii]. At the same time, CVS’ reception colleagues will also ask every customer if they wish to donate. Every micro-donation is anonymous and funds collected are granted to CVS chosen charity Guide Dogs.
Early trials of the Pennies donation option within select CVS practices showed clients have been donating an average of 45p per transaction.
Kevin Fry, Director of Client Operations at CVS said: “We are proud to be working with Pennies. It gives our clients the chance to support our Charity of the Year, Guide Dogs. Pennies offers a simple way for our clients to discretely choose to make a donation, when they are paying for our services. We truly hope that by working together we can make a huge difference to the incredible work that Guide Dogs does, day in and day out.”
Kiera Auty, National Corporate Partnerships Manager at Guide Dogs said: "We were delighted to be chosen as Charity of the Year by CVS colleagues, who we know get to meet some of our life-changing guide dogs and their owners at practices around the country. The introduction of Pennies at CVS to help generate micro-donations to support our work is such a great initiative. As with many charities in today's increasingly cashless society, we have felt the impact of fewer face-to-face cash donations. The support of CVS customers through Pennies will make such a difference in enabling us to help people with sight loss live more active and independent lives through our guide dogs and other services.”
Pennies CEO Alison Hutchinson CBE, added: “We are really pleased to welcome CVS to the Pennies’ micro-donation family, and know that customers will be generous and appreciate being asked to contribute a few pennies to such a fantastic cause. We look forward to the months and years ahead, seeing CVS and customers making great contributions in their communities with Pennies.”
CVS announced its Charity of the Year partnership with Guide Dogs for the Blind in July 2023 and collections will continue until the end of June 2024. Since then its colleagues and customers have undertaken a variety of individual and group fundraising activities including charity bake sales, walks and challenges, in addition to donations via traditional cash collection boxes.
CVS Group operates across small animal, farm animal, equine, laboratories and crematoria, with around 500 veterinary practices and referral centres in the UK, the Republic of Ireland and the Netherlands. In the last five years the company has invested nearly £80 million in its sites, facilities and equipment, in addition to industry leading training and support, to give the best possible care to animals. For more information about CVS Group visit www.careerswithcvs.co.uk.
[i] 2000 respondents by Sapio in October 2023
[ii] A clear YES or NO option will be presented on the card terminal
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