But only a fraction of the price paid goes to charity. In fact, very few so-called charity cards give more than 10p in the pound to charity. A report published today by the Charity Advisory Trust will expose the Scrooge stores which give back the smallest amount. Director Hilary Blume told the Mirror: “Most so-called ‘charity’ cards don’t deserve the description. The charities see very little, just a few pence per card.
“You can’t call a meat pie a meat pie if there’s less than 10 per cent meat in it, so how can you call it a charity card if so little goes to charity? “Shoppers don’t realise they’re being conned.” On the high street yesterday the Mirror found dozens of cards which used a charity’s name but offered a mean donation. Many of the leading chains such as Boots, Next, M S and Fenwick offer as little as a 10 per cent donation on their cards. Some stores give less.
A 3.99 box of cards from Ryman carrying the Oxfam name hands over just 28p to the charity. Since 1992, charity Christmas card have had to display how much they give to their cause. But many shops show this as a proportion of the retail price and some quote an ex-VAT value. One pack of cards at Clinton boasted ‘25% TO CHARITY’. But the words ‘ex VAT’ reveal the amount is actually 21 per cent.
Hilary Blume believes charities sell themselves short by letting card publishers use their name for just a tiny donation. She also points out that, while John Lewis is only selling charity cards this year, 38 per cent of the designs give less than 10 per cent to charity. Some packs of John Lewis cards give 25 per cent to charity, others as little as 5.1 per cent.