The Right Way to Ask Donors to Cover Processing Fees

If you’ve been working in nonprofits for a while, then you know that providing an easy way for donors to give online is one of the most powerful tools in your fundraising toolbox.

It opens doors for more people to support the causes they care about, no matter where they are.

But there’s one small hiccup you often run into: credit card processing fees.

In this post, you’ll learn:

• Why asking donors for help with fees matters
• How to make the fee a part of the donation
• The do’s and dont’s of passing on fees to donors
• The right ways to ask for fees (with copy templates)
• How to keep more of every dollar you raise

While many fundraising platforms (especially free fundraising platforms) give you the option to ask your donors to cover these fees, it’s not always as simple as it sounds.

Some platforms can make it difficult to manage these costs in a way that’s both cost-effective for your nonprofit and comfortable for your donors.

So, let’s break down how you can ask donors to help cover credit card processing fees in a way that’s transparent, fair, and even beneficial to them—and your nonprofit.

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Why asking your donors to cover fees matters

You want donors to have as many ways to give as possible so that they can choose what’s convenient for them.

However, when non-profits do online digital giving and offer online transactions with debit cards, credit cards, PayPal, and other online payments there are payment processing issues. You can ask your donor to help cover them.

You just have to know how to ask your donors to cover the processing fee.

When donors give, they want their full donation amount to make a bigger impact.

But if your processing costs are 3–4% per donation, you’re losing that portion of every gift to donation processing. For a $100 gift, that’s $3 to $4 that never reaches your programs or services.

Over hundreds or thousands of online gifts, this loss becomes significant.

By offering a clear, respectful way for donors to cover transaction fees, you can recover a larger portion of each total donation—without increasing your fundraising expenses.

How to make the fee a part of the donation

A simple checkbox on your donation page can provide your donors with the option to add-on an additional gift to cover your processing fees.

This supports both donor engagement and donor retention. When setting up your online donation form, add this checkbox to give donors a choice to give more; as an organization, you can then use these ‘additional gifts’ as a way to cover your processing fees.

On 4aGoodCause, nonprofits can easily enable a checkbox on their donation forms that reads as follows:

Round up my gift to $X to help offset transaction expenses.

This checkbox provides additional money (4% rounded to the next whole dollar amount) for your nonprofit while educating donors on your costs.

It also gives donors another opportunity to go beyond to help your nonprofit. It makes them feel even better about their gift.

Do’s and don’ts of asking donors to cover processing fees

Before you adjust your donation forms to include an option for covering transaction fees, it’s important to strike the right balance between transparency, donor trust, and maximizing the impact of each gift.

Here are a few best practices to ensure you’re handling this option the right way.

Do’s of passing on the processing fees to donors:

1. Do make the donor opt-in optional
2. Do make it a reasonable percentage
3. Do calculate totals in real-time
4. Do make the whole amount the gift

Don’ts of passing on the processing fees to donors:

1. Don’t let your fundraising platform siphon the add-on donation offer for itself
2. Don’t choose a fundraising platform that charges platform fees
3. Don’t relegate these additional fee coverage options just to donations

DO make the donor opt-in optional

Make sure the checkbox is optional and not pre-checked.

When you program your form to pre-check the fee option it can come across as required.

People are much more likely to feel comfortable about making a small additional donation when they know they have control over their decision.

No one likes to be caught off guard by a charge they didn’t explicitly agree to. It’s all about building trust to turn a one-time donor into a recurring donor.

DO make it a reasonable percentage

If you’re asking for a percentage to cover the fees, 3-4% is a reasonable range to start with.

This closely aligns with most payment processing fees you’ll pay, so it feels fair to donors and is manageable for you.

Asking for too much could hurt your conversion rate or cause hesitation, especially for first-time online donors.

📚Learn more: VIDEO – Beyond the Card: The Best Payment Options for Your Donors (Q&A)

DO calculate totals in real-time

Make sure donors can see the full amount they’ll be paying, including the additional fee, so that the donors can see exactly what their total donation will be before they finalize their gift.

This ensures they understand exactly what they’re contributing to, and it builds trust.

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DO make the whole amount the gift

If you are adding an “add-on” to cover processing fees, it’s important to ensure that this extra contribution is still treated as a donation. (think “gift” + “add-on donation” when setting this up on your form).

That way, a larger percentage remains tax-deductible (this will depend on the type of gift, donation or event ticket purchase made online).

The key is to make sure that the entire amount of the gift is going to your nonprofit.

DON’T let your fundraising platform siphon the add-on donation offer for itself

Choose a platform that allows you to keep 100% of those extra contributions.

If the platform takes a cut of the tips or adds extra charges for handling this option, it could negate the benefit for your nonprofit.

📚Read more: Full Cost Analysis: The Real Cost of Free Fundraising Software

DON’T choose a fundraising platform that charges platform fees

It’s crucial that you’re transparent about any additional platform fees your donors might face.

Some fundraising software platforms add an additional “platform transaction fee” for themselves.

These platforms can ask donors to “tip” to help offset that fee, as well as the normal 2-3% payment processing fee.

If your fundraising platform charges high fees to donors (especially ones that charge massive tipping percentages to cover processing fees between 5 and 20 percent), it can be a poor donor experience.

Donors will see high percentages as exorbitant and may wonder how fiscally responsible your organization is.

Platforms like 4aGoodCause ensure that 100% of donor-covered fees and tips go back to your organization—not ours.

DON’T relegate these additional fee coverage options just to donations

Don’t limit this option to just general giving.

Add the donor-covered fee checkbox to fundraising events, ticket sales, and registration pages too.

Whether someone is donating $50 or registering for a $200 gala, they can be given the option to go the extra mile and ensure their full contribution supports your mission.

And, as suggested above with real-time calculations, if you use it on event registrations, create a line item on the receipt to show that extra amount as a donation.

By setting up your donation form to offer an option of an additional gift and communicating to donors that the ‘addition’ is one that you’ll be using to help to cover processing fees, donors can feel good about making an added difference and you can keep a larger portion of the funds processed through your website.

It’s a win-win for everyone!

Donor ask templates for payment processing fees

If you’re not a 4aGC client, to get you started, I’ve created these templates that can help you personalize gentle language for the “processing fees ask,” language with your donor’s experience in mind.

Feel free to take these and make them your own!

However, an important note here: On the 4aGC platform, we have these best practices already built-in, so no need to worry about getting the ask just right. Optional donor tipping within 4aGC allows donors to opt-in to cover 4% rounded to the next whole dollar amount (if they like!). And all those tips? They go straight to your nonprofit. Not us.

Checkbox copy templates

This is the copy we use in the 4aGC platform, and it automatically calculates the rounded amount based on your donor’s gift:

Round up my gift to $X to help offset transaction expenses.

Below, here’s some wording you can use if your not a 4aGC client:

• Yes, I’d like to cover the [___]% processing fee so my full donation goes to [CAUSE/ORG NAME].
• Round up my gift to $[___] to help offset donation processing costs.
• Add $[___] to help cover the cost of processing this transaction.
• Make my total gift $[___] so [ORG NAME] receives the full amount I intended.
• I’d like to help by covering the transaction fee of $[___].

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Inline message templates for your donation page

If you don’t have an “opt-in checkbox” option at checkout, here are a few other messaging suggestions:

• Processing fees take a small percentage out of every online gift. If you’d like to help us receive your full intended donation, you can add a little extra to cover those fees. Thank you for going the extra mile!
• Adding just $[___] more to your donation helps cover the processing cost and ensures 100% of your gift supports [MISSION/PROGRAM NAME].
• Want to make an even bigger impact? Covering the [___]% fee helps [ORG NAME] keep every dollar of your generosity.
• Your gift of $[DONATION AMOUNT] is powerful. You can help us keep every penny by covering the small processing cost of $[FEE AMOUNT].
• We pay small transaction fees to process online gifts. You can help us reduce this cost by adding a small extra amount to your total donation.

Asking donors to help cover processing fees may feel small, but when done well, it’s a powerful tool in your nonprofit fundraising strategy.

It helps you keep more of what you raise and provides a more transparent giving experience.

With a few small changes to your donation page and a respectful message, you’ll empower your supporters to go the extra mile… and create a bigger impact with every gift.

How can your nonprofit keep more of every dollar raised?

Start by choosing fundraising software that prioritizes your mission and your donors.

With 4aGoodCause, you get flexible payment processing options designed to fit your needs. And your organization gets to keep 100% of those optional donor tips to help you cover payment processing fees.

Ready to raise more with less stress?

We’d love to show you all that 4aGC can offer to your organization. Check out all the easy-to-use features or schedule your demo today.