Donor fees may seem like a no-brainer for many nonprofits, but they may not be the best way to boost donations overall.
At a recent Nonprofit Innovation & Innovation Summit, Michael Baker, vice president of customer service at iDonate, decided to test the idea of asking donors to cover fees, NonProfit PRO reports.
He found two similar nonprofits with similar donor bases, and the results were: 40% more donations when donors weren't asked to cover the fees, and the exact same number of donations when the second nonprofit had the checkbox below the payment information on its donation form as the control.
"We finally have a test that doesn't show that [having no donor fees is an issue]," Baker says.
"So if there's no difference, that means the control made more money.
So maybe it's not as clear as some of us want it to be."
Baker found that 60% to 75% of donors at nonprofits with which he worked covered donation fees, until they gave $250 or more.
He then found a parent organization with two nonprofits that had similar donor bases, and the results were: 40% more donations when donors weren't asked to cover the fees, and the exact same number of donations when the second nonprofit had the checkbox below the
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