Give generously: Major fundraising websites are capitalizing on kindness by automatically adding “tips” for themselves
Major fundraising websites are taking advantage of kindness by automatically adding “tips” on top of charitable donations, up to 20 percent.
Three years ago, Just Giving charged 15 percent on donations as an automatic voluntary tip, GoFundMe added 12.5 percent and Crowdfunder 15 percent. This has now shot up to 17, 18 and 20 per cent respectively as websites have increased the percentage they add, Wealth & Personal Finance can reveal.
Fundraising websites act as an intermediary between charities or fundraisers and donors, making donations to good causes quick and easy.
Donors can change or cancel these tips, which go directly to the platforms, but only if they spot them and figure out how to reduce the amount to £0.
The tip that JustGiving adds to the donation is based on a sliding scale, which is pre-set at 17 percent.
There are two higher options at 19 and 20 percent and two lower ones at 12.5 and 10 percent.
There is no option to tip less than 10 percent on the scale. Instead, donors must click on a small line below that says “enter custom amount.” A box on the website says these tips help keep the platform free for charities.
Generous donors who have been inadvertently charged for tips by JustGiving have understandably left dozens of unhappy comments on review website Trustpilot.
One says: ‘You might think this extra money goes to the charity you’re supporting, but it doesn’t. It’s easy to miss and they don’t make it exactly clear how to remove this charge.
GoFundMe automatically charges an additional 18 percent on donations.
But it’s easier to reduce the donation amount to £0 on the GoFundMe website. The sliding scale has the option to donate up to 30 per cent or up to 0 per cent without having to manually enter a £0 tip.
Its website states that the money is used to offer “powerful and reliable fundraising tools, customer support and a global team of trust and security experts.”
The crowdfunder is the worst of the three, as by default it increases the donation by 20 percent. Its sliding scale goes up to 30 percent and down to 10 percent. Like JustGiving, users must click “enter custom amount” to change this.
Crowdfunder says it is used to cover platform costs and ensure “ongoing functionality.”
The tipping system means that websites do not charge a platform fee for donations to charities or personal fundraising events. But instead, some generous users of the platform are being hit by automatic charges.
Crowdfunder, JustGiving and GoFundMe all state on their websites that you can request a tip refund if you didn’t intend to leave it.
Companies also charge card processing fees for donations.
GoFundMe charges 2.9 per cent plus 25p on each donation for personal fundraisers as a “transaction fee”, while 1.9 per cent plus 20p per donation is charged for charities.
Crowdfunding fees vary, but for charity fundraisers the transaction fee is 1.9 per cent plus 20p per contribution plus VAT on UK and EU cards.
At JustGiving, donations to fundraising charities have a 1.9 per cent payment processing fee plus 30p for almost all payment methods. TO
A fee of up to 5 per cent of the Gift Aid amount claimed on a donation is deducted, unless charities also opt out. For Crowdfunder donations, the fee is 2.9 per cent plus 35p.
But these sneaky techniques aren’t the only way to run fundraising websites.
Wonderful.org, which launched in 2016, is a free fundraising website run through corporate sponsorship. It uses account-to-account payment technology that saves the corporate sponsor 90 percent of a typical donation.
It also does not accept donation money, Gift Aid or ask for tips from donors.
The Fundraising Regulator says platforms are not charities themselves, plus they need to invest in their security and future services.
A spokesman for the watchdog says: “While the fundraising regulator does not take a position on the scale of voluntary fees, it is important that these voluntary fees or ‘tips’ are clear and that the mechanisms for changing or removing them are clear. are accessible.
JustGiving says: ‘Anyone using our platform has the option to leave a voluntary contribution to support the running of JustGiving, and this is not mandatory. “When people choose to add a voluntary contribution, this goes towards investing in the technology that helps our site continue to raise funds safely.”
A GoFundMe spokesperson says: ‘GoFundMe is the only platform that allows donors to move the voluntary contribution slider to 0 percent with a single click.
“If people have left a contribution on GoFundMe by mistake, they can contact us and get a refund.”
Crowdfunder has been contacted for comment.
