CommuniTie vs Neighbourly, WhatImpact and OnHand: what makes us different
There are several platforms helping businesses give back to communities. Each does something valuable. But if you want to give local schools and charities the specific goods they have asked for, with full HMRC compliance, here is how CommuniTie is different.
The one-line summary
OnHand organises employee volunteering. Neighbourly helps large businesses share surplus and run community funds. WhatImpact matches businesses with social value partners. CommuniTie lets local businesses buy specific items schools and charities have asked for, with delivery confirmed by the recipient and a donation certificate for your HMRC records for every gift.
In this article
What the other platforms do
Let's be clear: these are all good platforms doing important work. They just do different things.
OnHand
Employee volunteering and engagement
Employees choose from a large library of volunteering actions, from mentoring to clean-ups, plus team volunteering days, employee giving with matched donations, badges and leaderboards, and CO2e and impact tracking. A Dragons' Den winner.
Pricing: Approx. £1,500 per year for up to 50 employees
Neighbourly
Community giving for large businesses
Large businesses such as M&S, Aldi, Lidl, Coca-Cola and B&Q use it to redistribute surplus food and products, run community funds and organise employee volunteering. More than 45,000 vetted local causes, including schools, and £2 billion of social value reported.
Pricing: Bespoke annual licence, aimed at large and enterprise businesses
WhatImpact
Social value matchmaking
A two-sided marketplace matching businesses with charities and social enterprises for social value partnerships, with volunteering management, money and in-kind donations, a social value planning tool and impact reporting.
Pricing: Free tier; approx. £300 per Social Impact report
What CommuniTie does differently
1. donation certificate for your HMRC records for every gift
Every completed donation gets a certificate with the recipient's HMRC charity reference, the goods and their recorded value, and the recipient's own confirmation that the goods arrived. That is the evidence HMRC's guidance asks for when goods are donated, in one document. As far as their websites show, none of the platforms above offers this.
2. Donation records for your accountant
CommuniTie brings donation details, delivery confirmations and receipt references together in CSV and PDF records. Keep the original supplier invoices; your accountant confirms the account code and VAT treatment.
3. Wishlists of specific items
Every school and charity is checked before its wishlist goes live. Schools and charities list exactly what they need, item by item, with who it helps and when it is needed. Businesses buy a specific thing rather than giving to a general pot, so both sides know exactly what the gift did.
4. Delivery confirmed by the recipient
When the goods arrive, the school or charity confirms it in one click. That confirmation is the record: delivered gifts and commitments are always kept separate, so nothing is counted before it has arrived.
5. Procurement framework Social Value reporting
Every donation automatically feeds your social value records, grouped under PPN 002 themes with the evidence behind each one. Download them as CSV and PDF files, ready to use as evidence in National TOMs, Loop, Pagabo, SCAPE and other social value reporting tools, or in a tender response.
6. Coming soon: employee-directed giving
Employees will be able to nominate causes for company-funded giving. This is being built and is not yet available in the Bedford pilot. Its tax and benefit treatment will be reviewed before launch.
7. Built for small businesses
Free for schools and charities. Most wishes are under £50, so a café or a sole trader can give as easily as a contractor, and the thank-you is made quick and easy for the school.
8. Hyperlocal community infrastructure
CommuniTie is partnered with Bedfordshire and Luton Community Foundation (BLCF) and works closely with Bedford Borough Council and Bedford Borough Learning Exchange. That local trust can't be replicated by a national platform; it's built relationship by relationship.
A conditional tax illustration
Illustration only: you pay £100 upfront. It assumes full recovery of £16.67 input VAT under normal business rules, a deductible cost against profits taxed at 25%, and an eligible recipient, use and item within HMRC’s value limit so no VAT is due on the gift. The £62.50 after-tax cost is not guaranteed and does not measure social outcomes. Ask your accountant.
Buy goods for a school: £100 (inc. VAT)
VAT recovered: +£16.67
Corporation tax relief: +£20.83
Illustrative after-tax cost: £62.50
Purchase value of goods: £100
In this example, 62.5p of after-tax cost supports £1 of goods. This ratio is not a guaranteed saving or a tender valuation. The tax treatment comes from the tax rules, not from any platform, so it applies however a qualifying donation is made. What CommuniTie adds is the records.
Who should use which platform
Different tools for different jobs:
OnHand: You want a volunteering and engagement programme for your employees
Neighbourly: You're a large business with surplus, community funds or volunteering to manage at scale
WhatImpact: You want charity and social enterprise partners for social value commitments, often for tenders
CommuniTie: You want to give local schools and charities specific items they have asked for, with full HMRC compliance through the donation certificate, and records ready for your accountant and your bids
If you're a small business or a contractor who wants real local relationships and evidence for public sector bids, CommuniTie is built for you.
Written by
Bryn Powell
Co-founder, CommuniTie · Trustee and General Manager, Miricyl