Blackbaud’s 2010 Online Giving Report came out with the statistic that 7.6% of all charitable giving occurs online, and growing (up 40% from 2009). With this influx of donations occurring online, many new platforms sprung up to serve as gateways for donors to give to their respective charities. Some of these sites include: CauseVox, Razoo, Network for Good, and GlobalGiving.
These sites also offer additional services such as website design and campaign promotions for charities. However, there is always a cost. The sites charge transaction fees that range from 2.9% to 15% and up…this adds up to millions of dollars for larger charities. Comparatively, these services are cheaper than the conventional overhead costs of direct mailers and telemarketers (which can be up to 35% to 40%). Even 15% processing fees are still better than pre-internet days.
The main focus for charities and supporters is to scope out what sites are charing. eBay’s PayPal charges non profits 2.2% plus 30 cents per transaction. FirstGiving charge 7.5% including credit-card transaction fees. There are other sites, such as Crowdrise, which offers more than just your typical donation platform. It hosts contests, and incentives for donating, and is able to seamlessly integrate with Twitter and Facebook. The fees for this site range from 5% plus $1 for donations less than $25 and 4.95%plus $2.50 for donations greater than $25, as well as a $499 annual fee. One of the sites that charges one of the highest fees (15%), is GlobalGiving. This site makes sense for non profits looking for donations abroad.
For non profits looking to expand its horizon, as well as provide a user friend online platform…there are so many websites to choose from, a little foresight and shopping around can ensure a support system that suits any organization’s needs.
