JustGiving is criticised for taking up to £100,000 in fees from money donated to those affected by Manchester blast

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Fundraising website JustGiving has come under fire for taking more than £100,000 in fees from money donated to help those affected by the Manchester Arena bombing.

In the hours after the attack, the public rushed to set up donation pages for the victims’ families and a British Red Cross emergency fund.

By last night nearly £2million had been donated via the website to appeals related to the atrocity.

But JustGiving, which lets people raise money at the click of a button, pockets 5 per cent fees on what is raised through its pages.

Fundraising website JustGiving has come under fire for taking more than £100,000 in fees from money donated to help those affected by the Manchester Arena bombing. Pictured is a fundraising page for a homeless man, who helped victims

That means an estimated £100,000 will have gone into the website’s coffers, rather than to the intended causes.

Last night JustGiving refused to waive its fee. A spokesman said the website was donating £50,000 to the Red Cross Manchester Emergency Fund.

It also pointed out that the balance of its fees would be spent on administrative expenses so it would make no profit.

James Daley, managing director of campaign group Fairer Finance, said: ‘I think most people would be shocked to find out JustGiving is taking so much from their donations.

‘This shouldn’t be buried in the small print. There is an element of opportunism about the business model and it doesn’t feel right.’

JustGiving is used by millions of people to manage donations from friends and family when they are raising money for charity.

Around £440million was raised through the website in 2016, up from £404million in 2015.

Its donation pages do not declare the exact cut the firm will take. Instead, they show small print at the bottom which states: ‘Charities pay a small fee for our service’.

A link is then provided alongside the words: ‘Find out how much it is and what we do for it.’

On top of its 5 per cent cut, JustGiving charges subscription fees to charities which use the site.

Small charities raising up to £15,000 in a year have to pay £15 per month plus VAT. Larger charities pay £39 per month plus VAT.

In February a Daily Mail investigation revealed one of JustGiving’s founders took home a pay packet of nearly £200,000 in 2015.

A page set up by the Manchester Evening News to raise money for the British Red Cross’s Manchester Emergency Fund has already raised over £1.1 million.

Another page set up by Manchester City Council feeding into the same fund has raised more than £630,000.

JustGiving charges its fees on the total donation plus Gift Aid - the income tax charities can reclaim on your donation - so the total taken from these donations could reach £100,000 alone.

This graphic shows where the explosion took place on Monday, in the foyer area, leading towards Victoria railway station

A number of pages have also been set up to support individuals. More than £57,000 has been raised for homeless man Stephen Jones, 35, who helped panicked and injured girls in the aftermath of the attack.

Graeme Seddon, who set up one of the pages, posted that the money was help to get Mr Jones ‘back on his feet’, saying his good deeds had ‘restored some faith back in humanity’ after Monday’s terrible events.

Of the money raised for Mr Jones, JustGiving stands to earn £2,856 so far.

Another page set up to raise money for the funeral of schoolgirl Megan Hurley has raised £5,640.

The fundraising appeal’s founder Helen McDermott, from Halewood near Liverpool, posted: ‘Help fund a beautiful send off for Megan who was taken far too early due to the awful attacks.’

A further £5,737 has been raised for Alex Klis, 20, and her 12 year-old sister Patrycia, who have been orphaned after their parents Angelika, 39, and Marcin, 42 were killed while waiting in the foyer to pick the girls up.

A Muslim community group has raised £14,000 for affected families on a page called ‘Muslims For Manchester victims’, set up by Shazad Amin, chief executive of Muslim Engagement and Development.

Another page for families has raised a further £15,000. Meanwhile, more than £11,000 has been donated to set up a bar tab for hospital staff at the pub next to Manchester Royal Infirmary.

Fundraiser Edmund Hall posted: ‘I know alcohol isn’t the answer to the stress and trauma that the emergency services have experienced today, but it seems a simple and easy way to say thank you.’

Panicked families have turned to social media in a desperate attempt to locate their loved ones (man pictured comforting young girl outside Manchester Arena)

A spokesman for JustGiving said: ‘JustGiving has been working day and night to support fundraising efforts for the victims and their families.

‘As we did following the attack on Westminster, we are dedicating our staff and resources to making sure we raise as much for Manchester as we can.

‘We also wanted to show our solidarity with the people of Manchester by giving a donation as a company to the Emergency Fund of £50,000.

‘All of our thoughts go out to people of Manchester in the face of this awful attack – we will continue to support them in the days and weeks ahead.’

Mark Astarita, executive director of fundraising for the British Red Cross, said: ‘We are grateful to anyone that has chosen to donate to the Manchester Emergency Fund, whether via JustGiving or our own website.’

To donate direcly to the British Red Cross Manchester Emergency Fund visit redcross.org.uk or call 0300 456 4999.

JustGiving takes less commission from donations to charities receiving a large volume of donations, making it difficult to put an exact number on its cut.

The spokesman for JustGiving said: ‘Due to the level of infrastructure required to maintain these pages, not to mention the donation we’ve made to the appeal, we will make no money from this appeal.’