Personalised and branded fundraising technology provider CharityCheckout has dropped its 5% platform fee on donations, resulting in reduced costs and millions of pounds in potential savings for charities.

The move follows CharityCheckout’s research into market trends and a survey of 1,448 of its charity clients in June to identify how they felt about platform fees. The results revealed support for a range of fee models with the most popular being a voluntary tipping approach, as it gives supporters the most flexibility in how they interact with their cause.

In response, CharityCheckout is removing its 5% platform fee and instead asking donors if they wish to contribute a voluntary tip.

Introducing the new changes, Founder and CEO Chester Mojay-Sinclare said:

“We’re excited to announce that CharityCheckout is dropping its platform fee, which will result in huge savings for our charity clients. Instead of charities paying a platform fee, donors will now be given the option to leave a voluntary tip. These funds will enable us to continuously improve and innovate, ensuring that donors enjoy a positive giving experience and our charities see the benefit of superior fundraising technology.”

CharityCheckout partner, The Big Give, is also dropping the platform fee for its Christmas Challenge 2019, resulting in expected savings of around £150,000 for almost 600 participating charities over the course of this year’s campaign, which runs 3rd – 10th December.

Simon Franklin from charity Dig Deep, who leverage CharityCheckout for their online fundraising said “Saving 5% on every donation is very important to Dig Deep. We anticipate annual savings of £25,000 which will contribute significantly to improving access to clean water and sanitation in rural Kenya.”

A third (35%) of charities would still prefer to pay a platform fee

CharityCheckout’s client survey showed that although the majority of charities would opt for a 0% platform fee (with donors being asked to leave a voluntary tip), 35% prefer the standard 5% fee model. CharityCheckout’s charity-branded technology is customised to each charity’s preferences, and now allows the charity to choose their preferred fee model. As with other fundraising platforms, payment processing fees still apply.

Commenting further, Chester explains:

“Our mission is to empower charities with relationship-driven technology bringing them closer to their supporters. We recognise that it’s not a case of one-size-fits-all for charities who need to engage with their supporters on their own terms. That is why we have decided to offer clients a choice of fee models. We recognise that while the tipping model is the preferred approach for the sector, it’s not the first choice for every charity.”