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Weighing Your Options for Processing Donations Online
Sumac Research. October, 2011.
Want a quick way to collect donations on your website? A “donate now” button from a third party processor may be the perfect solution. The button can be up on your website in just a few minutes and you can be collecting funds for your cause. Here is a comparison of the most choices:
Least Expensive, But Not Seamless
If you are looking for an inexpensive way to process donations online, you may want to consider one of the option from this first group. They are easy to set up and some even allow you to customize the donation page with your logo, colors and special fields. The drawback is that there is a disconnect in the donation process; When someone clicks “donate now” on your website, there is no question that they have left your website and are dealing with a third-party.
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Fees |
Set Up |
Per Transaction |
Monthly |
Yearly |
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1.9% - 2.9% + $0.30 |
-- |
-- |
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1.9% - 2.2% + $0.30 |
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-- |
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1.9% - 2.9% + $0.30 |
-- |
-- |
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Min 5.0% passed onto donors |
-- |
-- |
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3.0% |
-- |
-- |
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3.9% |
-- |
-- |
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2.9% |
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Features |
Recurring Donation |
Add custom Fields |
Customize Look |
Donor’s experience |
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See how it works here |
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See how it works here |
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See how it works here |
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See how it works here |
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See example here |
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 Add your logo |
See example
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More Expensive, But Seamless
If you want donors to never know they have left your website and don’t mind paying a little bit more, you might want to consider one of the options from this second group. Donation usability research done by Jakob Nielsen shows that creating a seamless user experience, where donors don’t know they are dealing with a third-party actually raises more money. So, paying a little extra to make the process seamless may be worthwhile!
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Fees |
Set Up |
Per Transaction |
Monthly |
Yearly |
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$199.00 |
3.0% (which you can ask donors to cover) |
$49.95 |
-- |
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-- |
4.5% + $0.35 |
$5.00 |
-- |
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-- |
7.5% |
-- |
$300.00 |
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$250 |
$3.8% + $0.25 (which you can ask donors to cover) |
$25 |
-- |
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Features |
Recurring
Donation
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Add custom Fields |
Customize Look |
Donor’s experience |
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See how it works here |
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b) Design a custom page and embed it on your website. See examples here |
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See how it works here |
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Matches CSS style of website. See example here |
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Extra Benefits Offered by Seamless Options
Network for Good: DonateNow comes with instant access to EventsNow powered by givezooks! Learn more
Click & Pledge: Includes free online fundraising/donor management software, a payment gateway and over 30 fundraising features. Learn more
Firstgiving: Offers integration with Facebook by allowing users to display their current supported cause and a button to donate
Another Option: An Integrated Merchant Account
If you process a lot of donations each year, you may want to consider setting up your own “donate now” button and payment page on your website. This way you can bypass the third party processor, and save about 2% per transaction. While this may not seem like a lot, it is when you consider hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations over a period of many years. Sumac software allows you to do this. It also connects the payment page on your website directly to your in-house database, so you also save time on importing data. It’s all done automatically.
Sumac is a complete software solution for nonprofits that includes online payment processing that is connected to your database.
Online giving is growing. Being able to accept donations online, therefore, is critical to any size organization. For large non-profits this is rarely an issue, since they can afford expensive database software that enables an integrated merchant account. But what options are available for small and mid-sized non-profits?
Third Party Processors
If you are a small or mid-sized nonprofit looking for a simple and immediate solution for accepting credit cards online, you are probably looking at using what is called a “third part processor.” Third party processors collect donations for you and then pay you at the end of each month. It is fast and convenient since you don’t have to set up a payment page on your website. Instead the processor gives you a “donate now” link to add to your website. In a few minutes, your donation page is up and running.
Some third party processors will also allow you to customize the look and feel of the donation page so that donors are not even aware they have left your website. But they generally charge more per transaction. Here is a comparison of the most popular third party processors:
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