When fundraising, it’s important to know what it costs you to raise those funds and determine effective rates. 

Different online fundraising platforms have varying costs, monthly subscriptions, platform fees, and credit card fees. When you add to that the asterisks and small print, it can be hard to decipher what the actual cost of your fundraising efforts will be.

At GiveGab, we believe strongly in transparency, which is why the hard maximum costs you may incur fundraising with us are posted clearly on our pricing page.

But what does GiveGab actually cost to real nonprofits who are using us right now? Let’s explore!

Campaign Example #1

Planned Parenthood of the Southern Fingerlakes’ Share the Love campaign reached 59% of their intended goal (as of 2/15/17), having raised $4,442. Of that, 74% of the donors chose to cover the fees so that PPSFL could retain the full intended donation.

Based on this, rather than paying the 5% platform fee and 2.2% + $.30 for Visa, MasterCard, and Discover or 3.5% + $.30 for American Express, PPSFL actually only paid 1.2% of dollars raised to utilize the platform.

More plainly, they raised $4,442 at a cost of only $51.94! It can seem daunting to see fees that can be as high as 8.5% + $.30, but as shown here, the actual cost is much lower.

Let’s Check the Math…

Donors intended to give a total of $4,442, and because they covered a total of $218.86 in fees, all of the $179.60 in platform fees were covered and a good chunk of the $105.70 in credit card fees was also covered.

Intended Donations: $4,442.00

Plus: Fees Covered by Donors $218.86

Total Charged to Donors: $4,675.36

GiveGab fees: $179.60

Credit Card fees: $105.70

Realized by Nonprofit: $4,375.56 | 98.5% Realization of Intended Donations!

GiveGab fees: $179.60 | 4.04%

Credit Card fees: $105.70 | 2.38%

Total fees: $285.30 | 6.42%

Less: Paid by donors $218.86 | 4.93%

Cost to Nonprofit: $66.44 | 1.49%

This means it costs PPSFL $1.49 for each $100 they raised in this campaign.

See how their campaign is currently doing:

Campaign Example #2

Cider Mill Playhouse just launched a campaign to support their 2017-2018 season and are 5% of the way to their goal with 38 donors (as of 2/15/17).

Intended Donations: $2,730.67

Plus: Fees Covered by Donors $156.95

Total Charged to Donors: $2,887.62

GiveGab Fees: $131.54

Credit Card Fees: $78.84

Realized by Nonprofit: $2,677.24 | 98.04% Realization of Intended Donations!

GiveGab fees: $131.54 | 4.82%

Credit Card fees: $78.84 | 2.89%

Total fees: $210.38 | 7.7%

Less: Paid by donors $156.95 | 5.75%

Cost to Nonprofit: $53.43 | 1.96%

This means is cost Cider Mill Playhouse $1.96 for each $100 they raised in this campaign.

See how their campaign is currently doing: 

Campaign Example #3

Ithaca public Education Initiative has a Spelling Bee fundraising event coming up, and as of 2/15/17, had raised $7,191, which is 22% of their goal with 58 donors.

Intended Donations: $7,190.65

Plus: Fees Covered by Donors $303.67

Total Charged to Donors: $7,494.32

GiveGab fees: $344.53

Credit Card fees: $194.09

Realized by Nonprofit: $6,955.70 | 98.97% Realization of Intended Donations!

GiveGab fees: $344.53 | 4.79%

Credit Card fees: $194.09 | 2.7%

Total fees: $538.62 | 7.49%

Less: Paid by donors $303.67 | 4.22%

Cost to Nonprofit: $234.95 | 3.27%

This means it cost IPEI $3.27 for each $100 they raised in this campaign.

See how their campaign is doing now: 

Where else do you see that kind of return on investment? Certainly not in phone banks or direct mailers!

How much is your nonprofit paying to fundraise online?  Schedule some time to talk and learn how you can reach this level of fundraising efficiency: