Every year, millions of Canadians open up their hearts and wallets to donate money to the charities of their choice. In fact, a recent survey[1] found that 71 per cent of Canadians donated to charity last year. More than half said they wish they could have given more and 24 per cent said they would have given more if it was convenient to do so. Now they have no excuse.

ChangeIt® is an innovation in fundraising and acts like an automated spare change jar for charitable donations. By using the online portal, BMO customers can choose to round up their cashless transactions to the nearest dollar amount and direct it to the customers chosen charities. Every time a customer makes a purchase, their small change makes a big difference for a cause they care about.

“The BMO and ChangeIt partnership represents a first of its kind for charitable giving in Canada,” said Nick Mastromarco, Director, Loyalty and Partnerships, BMO Bank of Montreal. “We’re honoured to help provide customers with a convenient, flexible way to give back to their charity of choice, and keep track of their donations. As we approach the busy holiday season, it can be overwhelming facing multiple donation requests. BMO ChangeIt presents customers with the opportunity to simplify their charitable giving, while keeping their cause close to heart, every day.”

“ChangeIt harnesses the concept that small amounts of money from many people can result in big changes,” says Mike Kitchen, CEO, ChangeIt. “The whole process is effortless and puts ChangeIt users in control of their charitable donation choices – and they can make changes anytime to customize how they want to give. Not only is it easier to give but our charity partners benefit from participating because it is a more efficient way to raise funds.”

How does it work? It is so simple

• Customer spends $2.82 for a coffee and pays for it using a credit card

• Based on the pre-selected rounding preferences, an $0.18 pledge is calculated

• This $0.18, along with other purchase roundups, is accrued monthly and forwarded directly to the charities selected as one aggregate amount

It’s free to join and BMO customers will receive tax receipts for 100% of their donation.

“We are inspired by BMO Bank of Montreal seeing the value and being the first bank to bring ChangeIt to their customers,” says Kitchen. “As we move into the cashless era, we see bringing this product to not just credit cards but debit cards and mobile wallets so no matter how you pay, you can donate. 

ChangeIt allows donors to make a pledge, not a payment. Users decide how much they wish to donate by setting a monthly minimum and maximum amount and an online portal allows them to track how much they have given. A tax receipt will be issued by each charity they support at the end of the year for every cent donated.

BMO Bank of Montreal charity partners SickKids Foundation, Kids Help Phone and World Wildlife Fund all participated in the launch event and are just three of the nearly 86,000 charities who BMO customers can support. ChangeIt is open to any CRA registered charitable organizations and Registered Canadian Amateur Athletic Associations in Canada.

ABOUT CHANGEIT
ChangeIt® is an innovative and patent protected crowdfunding platform that allows a bank’s customers to round up credit, debit or mobile purchases, and donate it to as many as 5 of their favourite charities every month! ChangeIt® is akin to dropping your spare change into a container at the checkout but brings this into the future through your favourite payment card. Whether buying their morning coffee or grabbing some groceries, ChangeIt® enables a bank’s customers to automatically donate to the charities they choose. For more information please visit: https://changeit.com/.

ABOUT BMO FINANCIAL GROUP
Established in 1817 as Bank of Montreal, BMO Financial Group is a highly diversified financial services organization based in North America. The bank offers a broad range of retail banking, wealth management and investment banking products and services to more than 12 million customers. BMO Financial Group had more than $586 billion in total assets and approximately 47,000 employees at July 31, 2014.

ChangeIt

ChangeIt

ChangeIt® is an innovative charitable giving platform that harnesses today's rapid shift to cashless transactions by providing user with a patent protected charitable giving program that enables users to support their favourite charities and non-profit organizations with every electronic purchase.

ChangeIt® automatically rounds up users purchases based on their customized preferences (e.g., nearest dollar), creating Virtual Change®, which is automatically directed to the charitable organizations THEY choose.

Whether filling your car with gas or buying your favourite specialty coffee, ChangeIt® enables you to help those in need every time you make a purchase for yourself!

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