New app donates to charity at push of a button

New app donates to charity at push of a button

Giving to your favourite charity just got a little easier. A new app has been designed to get into the pockets of cashless donors, replacing the gold coin in a bucket with the push of a button.

Donations were few and far outside Sumner Village as the Surf Live Savers were asking for donations, but left hanging.

"When people are standing on the street corner for an hour and only getting $5 in their bucket, it is a wee bit of a struggle," says Stu Bryce from Surf Life Saving New Zealand.

It's a problem tax refund company Woohoo has solved, using the power of a smartphone to donate you your favourite charity.

"You're on the street, you're confronted by a bucket and you really want to give but you don't have any money and you feel awful," says EasyGiving founder Cilla Hegarty. "So this is a way where you can say, 'Actually, I'll give you some money on the app.'"

The app EasyGiving is free to download. It lets you give and also gives you a copy of the receipts, allowing donors to claim back a 33 percent tax refund.

Charities are delighted.

"You can donate that tax back to Save The Children, or any other charity, without having to fill in forms, which a lot of young people just don't do," says Save the Children's Anita de Ruijter.

Twenty charities have already signed up, including Plunket, St John and the Auckland City Mission, with more on the way.

"In the past charities have had difficulties reaching the young, digital literate-type people, so this is something that resonates with them," says Ms Hegarty. "They have it in their pocket. They find it easy to do."

It's a modern solution for the old fashion buckets that could pay off for your favourite charity.

Newshub.