Common Questions
Everything you need to know about how Legacy is changing the way we give, track, and connect.
The Essentials
Once you’ve signed up, you choose the causes you care about and set a monthly budget. From there, Legacy handles the rest with one simple Direct Debit, and your money moves through two regulated partners before it reaches your charities.
1. Stripe collects and processes your payment
Each month, Stripe (authorised by the FCA) takes a single Direct Debit from your bank account for your chosen budget. Your card and bank details are encrypted and held securely by Stripe, never by Legacy. None of your money ever sits in a Legacy bank account: Stripe passes the collected funds straight on to Charities Trust.
2. Charities Trust distributes the funds
Charities Trust (Registered Charity No. 327489) is a regulated charity overseen by both HMRC and the Charity Commission. They act as the secure bridge between you and your causes. Each month they receive your donation, split it across the charities in your portfolio exactly as you set it, and pay each charity their share. Because they are HMRC-registered, they also reclaim Gift Aid on eligible donations.
3. You stay in control
Your portfolio, your budget, and the timing are all yours to change. Update your causes, adjust the amount, pause, skip a month, or resume at any time from the app. No phone calls, no cancellation periods.
Absolutely. Life is not linear. You can pause, skip, or resume your giving with a single tap in the app. No phone calls, no cancellation periods, and zero guilt.
Unlimited. Build a portfolio that reflects what matters to you, whether that is one cause or a much broader mix. Legacy keeps it clean with one monthly payment, so you can back as many charities as you like without creating admin chaos for yourself.
Mainly because processing and distribution fees add up. At less than £10 a month, we would not be able to run the service properly. We also think £10 strikes the right balance: small enough to keep giving open to as many people as possible, but meaningful enough to make each donation count.
We believe in “what you see is what you pay.” Your total giving budget is the final amount you will be charged.
To keep the platform running and move your money securely, two things are deducted from that total:
1. Third-Party Costs (3.75%)
This covers the direct costs charged by our regulated partners to process and distribute your funds:
- Stripe Direct Debit: 1% (Min 20p)
- Stripe Connect: 0.25%
- Charities Trust: 2.5% (Registered Charity #327489)
2. Your Optional Legacy Tip
Legacy charges zero platform fees, so we don’t take a cut of the 3.75% above. To support our mission, you can choose to include an optional tip. Like the processing fees, this tip is deducted from your total budget, not added on top.
Example: If you set a budget of £100, you pay exactly £100. The 3.75% and your chosen tip are carved out of that amount, and the remainder goes directly to your chosen causes.
Tips are our fuel. They cover our lean team and our tech. To stay true to our mission, if we have any surplus at the end of the year, we do not pocket it. We donate it back to the very causes our community supports.
Charities Trust is a registered charity (No. 327489) that acts as the secure bridge between your generosity and the causes you care about. They are the engine that ensures your funds are distributed safely, accurately, and efficiently. Regulated by both HMRC and the Charity Commission, they provide the high-level financial oversight that gives you peace of mind, ensuring every penny of your impact reaches its destination exactly as you intended. Visit Charities Trust
Trust & Safety
None of your donation ever sits in a Legacy bank account. Payments are processed by Stripe (FCA authorised) and funds go directly to Charities Trust (Registered Charity No. 327489), who distribute them to your chosen causes. Charities Trust is regulated by both HMRC and the Charity Commission.
Not directly. Legacy is not itself a charity, but we are a registered non-profit with a mission that is firmly aligned with charitable goals. We also have Social Enterprise UK accreditation. For the parts of the journey that require formal financial oversight, we work with regulated partners: Stripe is FCA-authorised, and Charities Trust is a regulated charity overseen by HMRC and the Charity Commission.
We treat your data with the same seriousness as your money. Personal information is encrypted, handled in line with GDPR requirements, and only used where it is needed to run the service properly. Payment details are processed through Stripe, so we are not asking you to trust a homemade payments setup.
Only if you ask them to. By default, Legacy acts as a privacy shield. We pass your donation and Gift Aid information through Charities Trust, but we do not hand over your email or home address to charities' marketing lists.
Charity Information
Not yet. At the moment, charities can only appear in Legacy if they are registered with Charities Trust. If the charity you want to support is not currently listed, contact us at support@givewithlegacy.com and we will see if we can help.
The most common reason is that the charity is not yet registered with Charities Trust. Right now, charities need that registration to appear in Legacy. If your charity wants to explore that route, contact us at support@givewithlegacy.com and we can help.
Legacy helps people discover charities and set up flexible recurring giving. Donors choose the charities in their portfolio and their monthly giving is distributed across those selections until they update their portfolio, change the amount, pause their giving, or close their account. Donations are passed via Charities Trust, so the payment may appear from Charities Trust on your bank statement. Donations received through Legacy count as unrestricted income.
No. Charities do not need to register with Legacy directly to appear in the app. They need to be registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales and with Charities Trust. Some charity profile information is pulled from trusted public data sources, so if something looks wrong, the source data may need to be updated.
None. We do not charge charities to receive donations through Legacy.
If you want your charity removed from Legacy, contact us at support@givewithlegacy.com and we will remove it.
Impact & Details
If you're a UK taxpayer, Gift Aid lets your chosen charities claim an extra 25p for every £1 you donate - at no additional cost to you. Legacy works with Charities Trust to handle Gift Aid claims on your behalf. They recover the eligible tax from HMRC and pass the extra funds directly to your charities. See what your donation is worth with our Gift Aid calculator.
Beyond the 25% Gift Aid we claim for charities, you may be entitled to personal tax relief. Legacy generates an annual Impact Report that summarises your total giving, making it much easier to include on your Self Assessment. Use our Gift Aid calculator to estimate the extra relief you might claim.
Yes. Instead of hunting through emails for individual receipts, you can download a single HMRC-friendly PDF covering your entire year of giving in seconds.
Donating should be as easy and rewarding as any modern digital experience. Legacy simplifies giving - making it effortless, flexible, and transparent. With easy donation management, impact tracking, and seamless Gift Aid processing, we’re bringing philanthropy into the digital age, helping you give with confidence.
Still have questions?
Can’t find what you’re looking for? We’d love to hear from you.
support@givewithlegacy.com
Join the movement and turn your generosity into a lasting legacy.
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