Frequently Asked Questions

How to Register

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  • If your charity meets the below criteria, you are eligible to register:

    A charity operating in the Republic of Ireland with a valid CHY number. You can find your CHY number here.

    Have a company number or be able to send us one of the following: constitution, trust deed, or memorandum and articles of association. You can find your company number here.

    Agree to create an account with the Communications Regulator (ComReg). LIKECHARITY can help you with this process.

    Please note that we only work directly with registered charities. For transparency and accountability purposes, registration must be completed by a charity staff member and not a third party, individual fundraiser or volunteer.

  • We’ll assign you an account manager who will guide you through the registration process. The registration process typically takes between 10 and 14 days.

    The 6 steps are as follows:

    Complete our registration form

    Suggest a preferred keyword

    Register as a premium rate service provider with ComReg & apply for a licence using our helpful guide

    LIKECHARITY will accept your licence and complete technical set up with the network operators

    Sign an agency agreement with LIKECHARITY and pay the invoice.

    LIKECHARITY will activate your keyword and you can begin advertising!

  • We recommend that you choose a short keyword that reflects your charity and what you do. It is important that your keyword is easy to spell and remember. If donors misspell your keyword or include spaces or extra information, their texts will not be recognised by our system and you will miss out on donations. Keywords are not case specific (e.g. give and GIVE will both be recognised).

How Does The Service Work?

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  • At the moment LIKECHARITY operates in Ireland and the UK. We are continually growing so if you are interested in working with us in a location that isn’t mentioned above please contact us here. We look forward to hearing from you!

  • We provide you with a keyword which your supporters can text in to 50300 (our dedicated shortcode) to donate to your charity. You can choose the donation amount of your keyword to be €2, €4 or €6. Money is deducted from donors’ credit or added to their bill. The phone networks pass any funds raised to LIKECHARITY and we pass these funds directly to your charity via electronic transfer. The service is limited to the Republic of Ireland.

  • A shortcode is a phone number that people can send text messages to. The LIKECHARITY dedicated shortcode is 50300.

  • A keyword is the word that donors text to our registered shortcode (50300) to donate to your charity. Keywords are how we know which charity a donor is giving money to. You can choose the donation amount of your keyword to be €2, €4 or €6. (e.g. Text GIVE to 50300 to donate €4 to Charity Name).

General

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  • Yes you can!

  • Donors will receive a standard thank you message that says

    “Thank you for your €X donation to Charity Name. SP: www.likecharity.com Donation Receipt: XXXX. Helpline: 0766805278”.

    Your charity technically owns all of the phone numbers that text in using your keyword. However, you are forbidden by Data Protection from contacting these donors.

  • We’ll set you up on our account management system - Oz. There you will be able to see revenue broken down by hour, minute, day or month. You also will see how much you have raised each month broken down by network and payment information. Oz can be accessed here.

  • Donation payments are transferred electronically to the bank account you specified on your registration form. We endeavour to transfer payments 90 days after the end of the month in which donations were received. For example, donations raised in January will be transferred at the end of April. This is dependent on LIKECHARITY receiving funds from each of the mobile networks. You will receive an email circa the last day of every month letting you know that the payment run has taken place and to log into our account management system - Oz, to see the payment breakdown.

  • Your account manager will send you a troubleshooting guide for you to consult. If this doesn’t solve the issue, please obtain the donor’s phone number and email it to your account manager so we can check our system.

  • No, you’ll just need to submit a new keyword form: wait for us to confirm its availability and then create a ComReg licence for that keyword. When we accept your licence we can activate your new keyword.

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ComReg

  • The Commission for Communication Regulation (ComReg) is the statutory body responsible for the regulation of the electronic communications sector. LIKECHARITY and ComReg are separate entities. As a donation text message costs more than a regular text message, ComReg need to ensure that you are advertising this clearly with the public with certain terms & conditions. You can learn more about your regulatory obligations here.

  • ComReg licences are issued for 2 years. As the expiry date for your licence approaches you will receive email notifications letting you know.

    Our ComReg licence guide has all the information you need. https://api.likecharity.com/oz/guides/ComRegGuide.pdf

    To renew your licence

    - Go to

    https://www.elicensing.comreg.ie/licences/manage/view.aspx

    - Select PRS licences

    - Select KeyWord from the dropdown, enter your keyword and search

    - Press details button

    - Press reapply button

    - Update Service Commencement Date to today

    - Press next until you reach the Numbers & Short Codes section. As you go check the fields match our ComReg guide for new licences and amend as needed.

    - Submit

Donor Queries

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  • Pay as You Go

    The donation amount is taken from your credit when you receive your receipt message.

    Bill Pay

    The donation amount will be added to your bill.

    Some networks may charge €4 donations in two separate transactions, meaning it will appear on your bill as two charges of €2.00.

  • Texts cost €2, €4 or €6.

    Charities receive a minimum of €1.80 of €2, €3.60 of €4 and €5.40 of €6.

  • LIKECHARITY works directly with the staff/board members of registered charities. We can’t register third parties, individual fundraisers or volunteers on our platform. We’d recommend that you contact the charity you’re fundraising for to learn more about the options available to you.

  • Yes, please see the charities page here. We’re always bringing new charities onboard so make sure to check this page regularly.

  • The keyword is set at the amount advertised. You can donate three times per keyword in any 24 hour period. This is to protect donors from accidentally donating more times than intended. To donate another amount please visit the website of your chosen charity or wait 24 hours before texting again.

  • Some networks process donations in amounts of €2 so you should receive two receipt messages. The first message will say (1/2) and the second message will say (2/2) in the body of the message. Some phones prevent duplicate messages from appearing in your inbox in which case you will only receive one message with (1/2) in the body of the message.

  • Yes, for a list of keywords available to your chosen charity please see our charities page.

  • Please send your phone number and your query to hello@likecharity.com and we’ll be happy to help you.