Colorado Gives Foundation believes in transparency around the cost of fundraising. That's why we call attention to the processing fee on donations; it’s why we give donors a choice when asking them to add a little extra to their gifts to cover the fee; and it’s the reason we share exactly why the fee is necessary.
ColoradoGives.org is FREE for nonprofits to join. We don't charge a membership fee to nonprofits because we strive to be accessible and inclusive to all eligible nonprofits serving Colorado communities.
In order to deliver an excellent year-round giving platform on ColoradoGives.org and sustain the efforts around Colorado Gives Day, an optional transaction fee of 3.99% is presented on every donation. In 2022, 93% of donors went the extra mile to cover the cost on behalf of their favorite causes.
The 3.99% Fee Breakdown:
- 2.05%: Used for payment processing fees charged by credit card companies and banks.
- 1.94%: Used to cover the cost of maintaining and enhancing the ColoradoGives.org website with our software provider, Mightycause. It is also used to support the administration of the Colorado Gives Day event and year-round giving through ColoradoGives.org.
Covering the fee is optional.
When you make a donation on ColoradoGives.org, you may cover the 3.99% fee on behalf of your chosen organization(s), ensuring that 100% of your donation goes directly to your favorite cause(s)!
How does it work?
During the checkout process, you are asked if you want to cover the fee for your chosen organization. If you select yes, 3.99% is added to your total.
When using a credit card, bank account, or select types of Giving Cards for ColoradoGives.org, your entire contribution amount is tax deductible including the processing fee! In other words, if you donate $100 to your favorite nonprofit and choose to cover the 3.99% transaction fee, the nonprofit receives the full $100 and the total charge of $103.99 is tax deductible.
Because we want to make the platform as affordable as possible to the nonprofits in our community, we never deduct more than the 2.05% payment processing fee from any donation. We only deduct that amount because that is what the credit card companies and banks charge us for online transactions. Fundraising is hard work, and we want nonprofits to receive as much of the donation as possible to fulfill their mission.
That’s why if donors choose not to cover the fee, ONLY THE 2.05% payment processing fee is deducted from the donation before it is disbursed to the nonprofit. When donors do not cover the fee, the 1.94% in platform fee is not applied. In other words, if you donate $100 to your favorite nonprofit and choose not to cover the fee, the nonprofit will receive $97.95 ($100 minus 2.05%) and the total charge of $100 is tax deductible.
Why should I cover the fee?
When you cover the fee, 100% of your intended donation goes directly to the organizations you care about and you are helping to provide nonprofits with a FREE year-round fundraising platform. We love the work we do and couldn’t do it without the help from our community. It takes resources to run a year round giving website and host a major giving event. When you choose to cover the fee, you are helping to raise millions of dollars for our nonprofit community! All the funds are reinvested back into the platform to make the experience better for donors and nonprofits.
View this information as a webpage here!