Credit card fees for donations are like a pebble in your shoe: small, but it can really hold your attention and made you miserable.
Some fundraisers look for ways to make donors pay the 2-3%.
Bad idea, according to the Bloomerang Blog, at How Do We Tell Donors Paying By Credit Card To Pay The Associated Fees?
It’s not donor or customer-centered anymore than a retailer is when they tell potential customers they’ll have to pay extra if they pay with credit cards. No one likes to be forced to pay a fee.
Bloomerang suggests two possible ways to deal with the fees:
- Consider fees a cost of doing business. It's not a way you “lose money” -- it's a way you get more donations.
- Include a fee “opt-in” box at checkout. Give donors the option to add 3% to their donation to cover credit card fees. (Make sure it's "opt in to pay," not "opt out not to pay.") Given the option, some donors will take it. But make it their choice.
As a fundraiser, your job is to help donors feel good about what they're doing. Decreasing that good feeling by forcing an extra 3% from them is a very expensive way to save a very small amount of money!
