How is Captain Tom Moore's fundraising money helping the NHS and will JustGiving profit from it?

20 April 2020, 17:10 | Updated: 20 April 2020, 17:14

The 99-year-old war veteran has raised tens of millions for the NHS and counting.

Captain Thomas Moore has raised in excess of £27,000,000 for the NHS after walking a hundred laps of his garden in the run up to his 100th Birthday on April 30th, following a recovery from a broken hip and skin cancer.

The 99-year-old war hero went viral after his efforts to raise money through his JustGiving page, Tom's 100th Birthday Walk For The NHS, were highlighted on Good Morning Britain, with Piers Morgan donating £10,000 of his own money in the first few days of Captain Tom's efforts.

Starting off with a goal of a modest £1,000, it was increased to £5,000, then to £500,000 before Thomas' story went global and celebrities such as the Beckhams started supporting his fundraiser.

He even inspired 91-year-old retired Welsh farmer Rhythwyn Evans to walk 91 laps of his bungalow on his 91st birthday to raise money for his local health board, and he has since raised over £30,000.

There are endless calls for the veteran to be knighted for his 100th birthday following his incredible efforts to show his thanks to the National Health Service, which as of April 20th, 2020, has raised £27,092,672 for NHS Charities Together.

What is the NHS Charities Together organisation?

Capt Tom stated he wanted to raise the funds "for the sake of the nurses and the NHS we have, because they are doing such a magnificent job".

The umbrella NHS organisation supports more than 140 member health service charities, which are typically linked to specific hospitals or NHS trusts.

The funds donated to NHS Charities Together are then shared out to different charities to use at a local level, which is where the millions will be spent.

Donations since COVID-19 hit the UK have been used to help set up wellbeing spaces in hospitals.

These include sleep pods, reclining chairs and so-called "wobble rooms" - areas where staff have a safe space to release emotions after a traumatic experience, such as losing a patient.

As well as this, things such as wellbeing packs are being created which include everyday items such as porridge, tea or hand cream, and these are given to the hardworking staff.

The money will also go towards electronic tablets such as iPads which will allow patients who are in isolation in hospital to have contact with their friends and family.

It'll help provide mental health support for NHS staff and volunteer who deal with the traumatic effect of the pandemic and be used to plan how patients can leave the hospital quicker and safely.

Chairman of the organisation Ian Lush said: "It's extraordinary to see the amount of money and the outpouring of goodwill towards the NHS and towards all the NHS charities, who will take good care with the money that he's raising."

Will JustGiving profit from the fundraiser?

In short, yes they will, and a lot of people are very angry about it, despite JustGiving themselves giving the fundraiser £100,000.

However, there's more to the logistics of it, as the money comes out of each individual donation in order to keep the company running.

JustGiving used to operate so that any donation had a mandatory 5 per cent platform fee, but that was abolished in March 2019 and replaced with a voluntary contribution model, starting at 10 per cent, which people can opt out of.

However, 3 per cent of the fundraising total, which at the moment, sits at over £810,000, is set to be deducted through transaction fees, which is a significant amount heftier than the company donated.

This number also doesn't include any voluntary platform donations.

A significant proportion of the 3 per cent deduction is set to go to card companies through transaction fees, as 1.9 per cent of all British card transactions will be deducted, plus 20p, and 2.9 per cent plus 20p will be taken from non-British currencies.

JustGiving will receive a proportion of this deduction, which is used towards operating costs, but they weren't able to provide a figure for how much money they'd made from transaction fees and contributions.

A spokesperson for Just Giving has stated of their voluntary contribution model: "This model provides donors with choice and transparency, as well as allowing JustGiving to maintain the technology that keeps our site running 24/7, provide top-notch customer service and give everyone the best experience on JustGiving."

She added that 97% of all monies raised would go to NHS Charities Together, as with any other fundraiser on the donation site.