Donating to Insulin Pumpers

How to support Insulin Pumpers

With your generous contributions, Insulin Pumpers UK, Insulin Pumpers and the Insulin Pumpers Foundation have assisted more than 9,000 individuals and families with the everyday problems of living with diabetes.

Your donations support the Insulin Pumpers forums and websites and provide a place where people with diabetes and their families can turn to for answers to questions that can be answered best only by other people with diabetes.

It is our policy not to charge people for using Insulin Pumpers. All services are provided free. But it does cost money, and Insulin Pumpers depends on the generosity of donors and sponsors to fund these services for you. Each donation is vital, whether it is given by a sponsor, in a bequest, or pound-by-pound. Giving a little money will also remove the nagging header at the top of every email!

Insulin Pumpers is recognised as a charitable organisation in the UK, and is a tax-exempt publicly supported organization as described under Sections 501(c)(3) and 509(a) of the United States Internal Revenue Code and qualifies for the maximum contribution deduction allowed under United States revenue codes.

Your donation may be made anonymously or on behalf of another individual or loved one. Unless permission is given to acknowledge your contribution, you will not be listed as a donor on our Thank you page.

The easiest way to contribute to Insulin Pumpers is by credit card. The most cost effective way is by using the Charities Aid Foundation. For example, giving £10 by credit card at the end of July 2004 would have given Insulin Pumpers around $17. But giving the same £10 by Charities Aid Foundation would have given around $23. The process is rather Byzantine - you have to set up your CAF account, and then email or phone and ask them to move money to Insulin Pumpers - but for anyone giving more than £100 a year to charity in total, who pays UK income tax, it is well worth doing - and much easier to give to UK charities than those abroad.

It's very easy, safe and secure to make a donation using a credit card - just use the form below. However, your bank will charge you for the privilege, and Insulin Pumpers will also pay! Plus, if you have paid tax on this donation, there is no way to reclaim it.

If you donate using The Charities Aid Foundation - as safe and secure as using a credit card - there be no currency charges paid by either you, or by Insulin Pumpers. Plus, if you are a UK tax payer, the UK government will make a contribution, and if you are a higher rate tax payer, will pay you too! Details below!

Donate here using a credit card

You can double your contribution by making a Challenge Gift.

Your name:
Please make my donation:	Anonymous In my name On behalf of In memory of
Make a monthly sustaining contribution:	US$ 25 per month (about £14 / 21 EUR) US$ 20 per month (about £11 / 17 EUR) US$ 15 per month (about £8 / 12 EUR) US$ 10 per month (about £6 / 8 EUR) Other US$ per month
Or make a single contribution:	US$ 250 (about £140 / 207 EUR) US$ 100 (about £56 / 83 EUR) US$ 50 (about £28 / 41 EUR) US$ 25 (about £14 / 21 EUR) Other US$

Are you contributing £100 or more? Please consider making a Challenge Gift. Your contribution will encourage others to give and match your donation.

Please note: your credit card will be charged in US dollars, and converted to your local currency at the current exchange rate. The numbers shown above in pounds and euros were correct on 10 Sep 2004. Exchange rates do vary sometimes. Please check current rates at your bank or in your newspaper.

How to donate using the Charities Aid Foundation

First, you need to have a 'CAF Charity Account'. This method is suitable for people who have £100 or £10 a month to give to charity IN TOTAL - add up how much you give in door-to-door collections, television appeals, etc. it's surprising how generous one can be without really noticing it! With a CAF Charity Account you can use the funds you set aside each month to contribute to those door-to-door collections, make one-off payments to television appeals, and make regular or occasional payments to other charities, including Insulin Pumpers. You remain in control of your charitable giving.

The Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) acts as a charity bank. Payments into an individual's CAF bank account are paid net by the taxpayer and CAF claim the tax relief from the Inland Revenue. This tax relief is credited to the individual's personal CAF account. The CAF Charity Account provides you with a discrete, tax-free location for your charitable savings allowing you to make donations in person, by phone, post or online to any recognised charity whenever you want. CAF Charity Account is the ideal way in which to give to your favourite causes with complete flexibility and total security. This is a very similar method to making a donation by cheque or standing order to one charity and one that suits regular donors who support a number of charities. To use this method all you have to do is set up and fund an account at the Charities Aid Foundation. You can give as much (or as little) to as many charities as you want to, not just Insulin Pumpers. Read all about this on the CAF website. Higher rate taxpayers must declare the gift on their annual tax return to receive the balance.

To fund your CAF Charity Account you can either put in a one-off sum of £100 or more or make regular payments of £10 a month or more by direct debit, or you can donate stocks and shares which CAF sell on your behalf and place the proceeds into your account. CAF Charity Account holders are also able to top up their accounts by bank transfer, credit or debit card.

Please note that there is an alternative scheme called 'Give as you Earn' which is also a cost-effective way of giving, but this only works for UK charities - you cannot give to Insulin Pumpers using GAYE.

This page answers more questions about CAF Charity Account.

It isn't as easy as making a credit card donation. But it's more effective. A £10 donation sent via credit card will mean that the dollar equivalent of only around £8 or so will arrive with Insulin Pumpers - but if you send £10 via the Charities Aid Foundation, including the tax bonus, then Insulin Pumpers will receive the dollar equivalent of more than £12 - give Insulin Pumpers nearly 50% more by using CAF!!!!

How to donate by post

If you would prefer to contribute by cheque (drawn in US dollars), or to send your credit card details (number, expiry date, and the amount, in dollars, that you want to donate), please post your contribution to:

Insulin Pumpers
558 Valley Way
Milpitas, CA 95035
USA

It pays to shop around for the cheapest conversion rates/sales of US dollar cheques: in the past both American Express and the Co-operative Bank have been found to be the cheapest, at a cost of around £8 per cheque (but if you are sending so much that an extra £8 for the cheque seems reasonable, why not give via the Charities Aid Foundation? Costs nothing, AND gets you your tax back to give to Insulin Pumpers, or any other charity you like).

Author: Pat Reynolds <pat@caerlas.demon.co.uk>. Pat Reynolds is not a medical professional. She has Type 1 diabetes and uses an insulin pump. The information given here is based on her own personal experience. More about Pat Reynolds...

Created: September 2004; Last updated: Wednesday 14 September 2005

Reader comments

On 28 May 2006 Maribeth Hughes wrote:

I have been a member of IP since 2001. You just cannot find a better place to get answers. Doctors have the education, but the members of this list have the practical day to day hands on experience. There is no better place to get answers to your questions. For every question there is plenty of experience to share on this list.
On 5 Nov 2004 Terry Antell wrote:

One of the best web sites for ANY diabetic on, or considering using, a pump. I also rate INPUT as a great source of pumping info. You are the only two sites in the UK. Terry

This site subscribes to the HONcode principles of the Health On the Net Foundation

Insulin Pumpers and Insulin Pumpers UK are supported financially by voluntary contributions from members of its discussion groups and from all the principal insulin pump manufacturers.