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Formerly known as Pennies from Heaven

In the Workplace

Microhive makes donating to charity hassle-free and painless. Simply donate the pennies from your pay each month. Every single one of us can help, and just like our collective donations we can have a bigger impact together. If you earn £850.34 then you keep the £850 and donate the 34p to charity. The maximum amount you can give is 99p from every payslip and whilst a small ask of each of us, together we can make a big difference to our chosen charities.

To date Microhive (formerly known as Pennies from Heaven) has raised £8m for more than 800 charities. Easy to set up and run, Microhive is a simple way to support charities and demonstrate your organisation’s social purpose. Join the hive today.

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How it works

Microhive is simple to set up in the workplace and we are here to help you every step of the way. Once we have granted an employer a license to run the scheme, we will support you in payroll configuration, charity choice and communications. Upon joining the scheme, the penny donations will be automatically deducted from pay, shown on payslips and the collated donations are sent to Microhive each month for distribution to charity.

1

Check payroll

Most UK payroll systems can support Microhive such as ADP, Ceridian, iTrent, OpenPeople, Oracle, SAP, Workday and Zellis.

2

Choose your charity

The benefiting charity can be any charity of your choice. All staff give to the same charity (or basket of charities), and charities can change annually.

3

Invite staff to join in

Microhive will provide a range of digital communications to promote the scheme in your workplace and employees can sign up on the Microhive website.

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What are the benefits?

Microhive offers employers a simple and easy way to engage all employees in giving through pay. As the ask is always less than £1, most of us can afford to join in. Offering staff a way to donate to charity demonstrates an employers commitment to social purpose as part of its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) strategy. This initiative not only dedication to societal well-being but also encourages a culture of philanthropy and community engagement among employees.

  • It's a small ask - always less than £1
  • It is simple to set up and run
  • Supports employers ESG commitment
  • High participation rates - average 29%
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What employers say

Read what some of our 400 partners think of Microhive. We pride ourselves on making the scheme easy and simple to set up and work with you to ensure the scheme is popular with staff.

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“Since May 2018,UK Aldi colleagues have raised £380,000 through Microhive (previously Pennies from Heaven). This money goes directly to Teenage Cancer Trust who continue to provide outstanding care and support to young people with cancer. In addition, Aldi colleagues in Ireland have donated €13,000 to Barnardos ROI since 2021 through the scheme. Microhive is a great platform that enables us to provide impactful donations to our charity partnerships. “

Liz Fox, National Sustainability Director. Aldi UK/IRL

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“LV= is proud to be part of Microhive and we’re delighted that the success of our scheme has been recognised with Platinum Award status. This demonstrates that the donations from our pennies from payslips are making a big difference to the charities we support. It’s very simple for our colleagues to join the scheme and an easy way to donate to the charities nominated.“

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“It’s incredibly special to know so many of our Trust staff feel moved to support us by making a small monthly donation, which makes a difference in the hospitals and services where they work. Of course, we’re always grateful for every donation, but having a regular source of income like this helps us to plan for the future. We’re so pleased the scheme has been, and continues to be, successful. Manchester Foundation Trust Charity who have raised £130,000 through Pennies from Heaven.“

Manchester Foundation Trust Charity

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“Supporting local charities is important to Warwickshire County Council and this scheme enables our employees to make donations direct from their salaries, we are very proud of the level of take up of Pennies from Heaven amongst staff and pensioners. By donating a few pennies each month from their salary is something we can all be part of here at Warwickshire, and knowing that together we have raised over half a million pounds for our two local hospices proves the power of small change giving.“

Warwickshire County Council

Case studies

Reading case studies on employers who successfully engage their employees in workplace charitable giving offers valuable insights into best practices and strategies that can be emulated. These case studies provide concrete examples of how other employers have effectively communicated the benefits of micro giving, configured payroll systems, and delivered high take up rates.

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Read more

Aldi Case Study

Aldi colleagues have raised £380k since 2018 with 38% of colleagues taking part. Learn all about their success story.
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Read more

Setting up Microhive

In this case study we take a look at a successful NHS launch campaign from launch to ongoing communications.
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For Employees

Are you an employee interested in joining Microhive (you may know us as Pennies from Heaven in your workplace, we now have a new name). Tell us who your employer is below and we can check to see if you able to sign up straightaway.

Can't see your employer? It might be you need to sign up directly with your employer. Get in touch and let us know who your employer is so we can help you start mico-giving.

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Q&A Workplace

We're excited about the future and grateful for your continued support as we embark on this new chapter together. If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to us at info@microhive.org.uk. We're here to help.

Together we are all empowering change, one penny at a time.

Microhive, the act of donating small amounts to charity, is a powerful tool for individuals and businesses to support charities and communities. While the contributions may seem modest on their own, collectively, they make a significant impact. To date Microhive has raised £8m by employers inviting their employees, pensioners and suppliers to donate small amounts to charity on a regular basis.

We believe in making giving easy for businesses and individuals and want to transform the way people donate to charity. The opportunities to Microhive are endless, Let’s unleash the power of small change giving and empower change one penny at a time.

If you earn £850.34 then you keep the £850 and donate the 34p to charity. The maximum amount you can give is 99p from every payslip and whilst a small ask of each of us, together we can make a big difference to our chosen charities.

We used to call the scheme, Pennies from Heaven. If you are already part of Pennies from Heaven, there is no need to do anything – the concept and operation remain the same, it just has a new name. Your micro donations will continue as before.

There’s never been a more important time to take care of each other and our communities, by leveraging the collective power of many small donations, Microhive cultivates a habit of generosity, empowering individuals and businesses to become active participants in creating positive change.

  • It’s a small ask – most people can afford to join in and be part of the collective impact.
  • It’s simple to set up – Microhive administers the scheme and has 25 years’ experience.
  • Demonstrates social purpose as part of ESG reporting – show you are acting in a manner benefiting society as a whole.
  • Supports a Social Enterprise – Microhive exists to create meaningful change by using business as a force for good in our communities and beyond.

Microhive is the UK’s largest micro giving scheme for employees and pensioners and to date has raised £8m for over 800 charities. Our partners include Aldi UK, Barclays, HSBC UK, Cadbury Schweppes, Harrods, LV=, Puregym, TUI, WHSmith and the largest UK employer the NHS. We are proud to share that NHS employees have donated £1.6m much of which has benefited NHS charities.

Yes, Microhive is a way for you to show your external stakeholders that your organisation is committed to go above and beyond to support charities and the communities it operates in.

In 2023 we launched the Microhive Pennies from Heaven Quality Mark (formerly known as Pennies from Heaven) and shared it with our winners. This mark demonstrates an organisations dedication to support society and add value to the charities and communities they care about. Working with Microhive also generates a much wider impact than the donations the charities receive. We are a Social Enterprise that wants everyone to be part of micro giving, so as employers join the Microhive family, all working together for the betterment of society, the deeper the social impact we have together. Only our Award winners can use this mark on their websites, ESG reports and other stakeholder communications.

All staff give to the same charity (or basket of charities) nominated by the employer. The charity can be any UK registered charity including NHS charities.

The concept of Microhive is centred on collaboration, whilst individuals give a little amount, together we make a big difference for good causes.

Most UK payroll systems run the scheme such as ADP, Ceridian, iTrent, OpenPeople, Oracle, SAP, Workday and Zellis. As part of our services we will support you in getting everything set up.

Setting up Microhive is simple, and we are here to guide you. Once we have issued you a license to operate the scheme, you would need to:

  • Check your payroll system can support the deductions (we have a payroll guide)
  • Choose a benefiting charity (any charity of your choice)
  • Decide how employees will join the scheme (this can be through the Microhive website or an internal platform)
  • Invite employees to sign up (Microhive will provide a suite of digital communications to support the launch).

We have launched in as little as five days.

We are a restless fundraising company on a mission to champion the collective power of giving pennies, not pounds. We want to grow micro-giving across the UK and show everyone how easy it is to collectively make a difference. As part of our ongoing commitment to innovation and growth, we’ve decided to rebrand ourselves to better align with our vision and values. We wanted our name to be unique, adaptable, portray a sense of community and momentum and bring in the micro giving element and felt that the name Microhive better reflected this.

Microhive is our new trading name. Pennies from Heaven Fundraising Limited and Pennies from Heaven Distribution Limited remain the company names registered at Companies House.

Yes, you can change the benefiting charities annually.

Yes, employees can opt out at any time. They will simply need to email your payroll team or Microhive at info@microhive.org.uk. It might take a couple of pay cycles for the deductions to stop.

Most of our employers run Microhive and Payroll Giving as they represent different types of giving. If an individual want to choose a specific charity and give more, then Payroll Giving is the perfect choice. Most employers want to ensure that all staff can be part of a work based giving scheme and this is what Microhive provides. Microhive allows the majority of employees to support charities as the individual ask is less than £1. Collectively teams can raise thousands of pounds for charity and all be part of the success.

Yes, Microhive donations are eligible for Gift Aid. This can be claimed annually or when charities change.

Microhive will agree a modest fee for the license to run the scheme to not only cover the costs of the services we provide but also support us to continue our charitable work. As a Social Enterprise, our employers realise the scheme can accomplish more by working together than acting alone. We are on a mission to grow micro-giving across the UK and our fees enable us to do this. Without employers recognising the value we bring to the wider charitable sector Microhive would cease, costing the charity sector ~£700,000 a year of donations. The fee will depend on the level of services provided and the number of employees. Microhive receives no other income and does not charge the charities anything.

Microhive is here to make the set up and running of the scheme simple working with you at every stage. Some of the services provided by us include:

  • Payroll set up – we help set up the scheme on payroll systems and share best practice from other employers using your payroll, saving employers time and change costs.
  • Set up and administration of scheme – Implementation guides, consent form wording, promotional artwork and HMRC gift aid wording (without which staff will have to re-join the scheme if charities change).
  • Distribution of donations – Microhive receives and sends the donations to charities and send employers quarterly audit trails confirming this. Microhive is externally audited each year providing employers with assurance of our credible donation processing.
  • Online sign up – Staff can join the scheme via the Microhive website.
  • License Provision – We provide employers with the Intellectual Property of the scheme and the use of the name and registered trademark.
  • Awards Program – Each year we recognise employers who have high levels of participation in the scheme.

Yes, you can choose any charity to benefit from the donations.

What to do next…

Giving small amounts is affordable, simple, and impactful. It shows how we are all working together for the betterment of society. Employees and pensioners can Microhive through their monthly pay and supply chains can be empowered to harness greater purpose. Get in touch with us to see how you can join Microhive.

Download the brochure

For more details on how your organisation could set up and run Microhive, please download our Employers brochure. This is packed with information on who needs to be involved in the process, things to consider, top tips and much more.

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