www.justgiving.com: The simple act of dipping your hand into your pocket and making a donation to charity has gone hi-tech. This week we look at a website which makes the act of giving easier than ever before ...

A LOT has been made of the increasing financial pressure under which charities operate these days.

More people (and animals) than ever before in need and less money coming in is clearly a testing combination.

An online service called justgiving.com aims to increase the flow of money to charities by making donations much easier.

Logging on to the website allows you to donate instantly to hundreds of charities using your credit card through a secure server. You can make a one-off payment or set up a monthly donation of an amount of your choice.

If you pay tax in the UK, justgiving will reclaim 28 per cent Gift Aid on your donation and the money will be paid directly into your charity's bank account.

If you want to do something worthwhile or wacky to raise money for charity, such as sitting in a bathtub of baked beans or running the London Marathon, then you can set up a fundraising page.

You can create your page in minutes, and then people can sponsor you via debit or credit card. You can watch your total grow and the money is sent straight to your chosen charity to save you chasing up sponsors.

In 2003, one in seven London Marathon runners used justgiving.com to raise £1.4m. This year the service expects to triple those figures.

An interesting section for businesses is payroll giving, which allows employees to make charitable donations. The charity ends up with almost twice what the donor gives, thanks to government incentives and tax breaks.

Go on, do your good deed for the day and give to charity the modern way.