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Seeking charity donation platform suggestions

Milly Lewis Operations at Wilfrid's House Posted 1 year ago

Hello, I was wondering whether anyone could recommend a payment platform that worked well for charities.

I was about to set up with Paypal as we need a link we can circulate to donors in emails and Paypal fits the brief but just thought I'd check whether anyone had any negative feedback about it or would recommend something else.

Thanks so much,

Milly

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Bob Snarey Staff PANEL

Director at writing.fund 1 year ago

Hi Milly,

Selecting a payment platform that caters to the unique needs of charities is crucial. PayPal is a widely used platform, and its 'PayPal Giving Fund' feature is designed specifically for charitable donations. However, there are other platforms you might want to consider. Here are some recommendations:

JustGiving: A well-regarded platform in the charity sector. It offers a simple way to collect donations and has a feature that allows donors to cover the transaction fees.
Virgin Money Giving: This is another popular choice amongst charities. It's a not-for-profit platform, ensuring that more of the money donated goes directly to your cause.
GoFundMe: Known for its ease of use and social sharing features, making it easy to circulate your donation link via email or social media.
Charity Checkout: Now known as Enthuse, this platform offers a range of fundraising tools, including a donation processing system.
CAF Donate: Provided by the Charities Aid Foundation, this platform offers various tools to help charities manage donations effectively.
Stripe: Stripe has a feature called Stripe Connect that’s tailored for non-profits. It's a robust payment processing platform that can be integrated into your website.
Square: Known for its straightforward fee structure and ease of use, it's another option to process donations.

Each platform has its own set of fees, features, and ease of use, so it's worth taking the time to review which one aligns with your charity's needs. It would also be beneficial to read reviews or reach out to other charities to get firsthand feedback on their experiences with these platforms.

As for PayPal, it’s a trusted platform with a broad user base, which can be a plus in gaining the trust of potential donors. However, do review its fee structure for charities, and perhaps look for any feedback specifically from charitable organisations regarding their experience using PayPal for donations.

Best wishes with your charity work and setting up the donation system!

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Lawrance Titterton Staff PANEL

CEO at NGO Business Services 1 year ago

Bob has provided a few good options, two others to consider are Stripe and Ninja Forms. Ninja forms is good if you have a WordPress Website because it will allow you to set up a whole range of donation types and other forms. We use it for general and regular donations, signing up for sponsorship as well as general 'get in touch' and newsletter sign up forms. We take payments via Stripe and PayPal using this, as well as linking to our CRM.

The Stripe option comes out of the box with a Stripe account.Hope that's helpful

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Harrison Brown Staff PANEL

Nonprofit Technology Consultant at Suru Partners 1 year ago

Hi Milly. Paypal would be fine but its fees are towards the top-end for basic payment processors. Personally I'd look at Stripe for a basic payment link that you can pass around by email — we've had success creating nice simple branded donation pages on Stripe and tend to look nicer than Paypal.

Enthuse is gaining a lot of traction for a more advanced donation page, as is Fundraise Up. They'll have higer fees but have more bells and whistles and the donor experience is nicer. I have some contacts I can introduce at Fundraise Up if you're interested.

The other thing to think about is where the donation information goes. Do you have a CRM? If so, you'll want to think about which donation systems can easily integrate into your existing systems (rather than adding another data silo).

I consult in this area so happy to jump on a quick Zoom call and show you want you can do quickly in Stripe for a donation page and discuss the options generally if that's useful to you. Just send me a direct message here or on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/harrisonjbrown)

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Paul Swindell Staff PANEL

Founder & Chair at Sudden Cardiac Arrest UK 1 year ago

I agree with the low friction comment. We're a young charity and so just working this stuff through, but we signed up for PayPal, just giving and CAF. We've had donations through all three.

We started life as a Facebook group and setup their nonprofit fundraising feature and that proved surprisingly popular. However, they have recently changed their payment process and it all comes through PayPal now, so it's just as well to have an a/c with them if you think you may use FB.

We also had some (sizeable) donations come in through much-loved, so I would suggest getting on there. It doesn't cost anything for the basic a/c.

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Kim Mullard Staff PANEL

Director of Finance & Operations at Action on Postpartum Psychosis 1 year ago

Looking at Bob's list below and your original question:

JustGiving is easy to use, but gets expensive if you raise more than £15k in a year.
Virgin Money Giving no longer exists.
Go Fund Me is a nightmare for reporting - only one person can access (with 2FA) and you can only download all data, not filter for a specific period or other criteria
Enthuse is ok - their gift aid reporting/processing is really clear
CAF donate - useful to have, especially for direct debits and donors who have CAF accounts. Reporting and back end is clunky.
PayPal Giving Fund - useful to have as it's the route for Facebook donations, eBay for Charity etc.

I haven't used Stripe directly or Square. But it's worth looking at Give as You Live - as well as online shopping they do have a fundraising function too.

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Jimmy James Staff PANEL

Principal at Minerva Fundraising Consultancy 1 year ago

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Hi Milly,

I agree with Bob's list.

I have used JustGiving and GoFundMe, and find both are fine. I have probably a slight preference for JustGiving.

From personal experience I'd avoid PayPal at all costs - but clearly others writing in have had positive experiences of them.

Good luck with whichever platform you choose.

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Edward Hibbert Staff PANEL

Founder and CTO at Freegle 1 year ago

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Don't think about fees. Think about donation friction.

PayPal is a great choice because so many people already have an account and can donate easily. If people have to register on a new platform or dig out the debit card, fewer of them will complete a donation.

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James McQueen Staff PANEL

Chair and Founder at Al-Jarryah Foundation 1 year ago

I'm in the same situation and will be happy to share the feedback with you

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