Since the awful events of Monday night, the JustGiving team has been working around the clock to help people from all over the world raise as much money as possible for the victims of the Manchester attacks and their families. The totals raised, through both crowdfunding pages and charity appeals, now exceed £2 million with more still coming in.

It is hard to imagine how such amazing amounts of money could have been raised so quickly without the service that JustGiving provides. Yet this morning the Daily Mail returns once more to the question: is it fair for us to charge a fee?

We have answered it many times before, and are happy to answer it again here: charities and crowdfunders choose JustGiving because we help them raise more money, net of fees, than cheaper alternatives.

They raise more because of the money we invest as a company, year in, year out, into making JustGiving better and more reliable than anywhere else.

Yesterday, we hosted peaks of over 36,000 visitors at once, and processed up to 7 donations a second – nearly twice our previous record.  Other fundraising platforms are routinely unable to cope.

We also invest into making giving easier than anywhere else: 80% of donations to Manchester have come through mobile: if it had not been so easy, many would simply not have given. 

To keep doing all this, and help great causes raise more money, we charge a small fee (of up to 5% of donations) to keep the platform innovative, safe and secure. 

Whenever there is a swell of compassion and support, JustGiving is there to allow people to take positive action to support those in need. This is our fundamental aim as an organisation, and like all of you, our thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected in Manchester. This is why, when the emergency appeal launched yesterday, we donated £50,000 to the fund. We will continue to support this effort in the days and weeks ahead.