You know what they say – nothing in life is truly free. When it comes to building better relationships with your donors, there are some key reasons why you should be skeptical of any fundraising platforms that claim to charge zero fees, like Zeffy. In this article, we’ll show you how “fee-free” platforms can damage donor trust and offer some Zeffy alternatives that will make your life – and your fundraising – easier.
These days, you can’t afford to miss out on online fundraising. 63% of donors prefer to give online, after all, and that number is only going up as more Gen Z donors step into the scene. As you try to reign in your overhead costs, you might be interested in a fundraising platform like Zeffy that claims to charge zero fees. But Zeffy’s lack of transparency and unclear interface could cost you way more. Especially when it comes to building donor trust and gaining repeat donors. Read on to discover great Zeffy alternatives, common complaints, and why looking for an alternative might be the best move for your organization.
Zeffy promises zero fees for nonprofits – always. However, the funds that fuel their platform ultimately have to come from somewhere.
Zeffy recoups fees through donor tipping. Donors are asked to “tip” the platform either a percentage of their total donation or a preset amount.
Take a look at the prompt below that Zeffy donors see:
The requested tip is based on the donation amount. For donations over $25, the default percentage is 15% and donors can choose to increase their tip amount if they wish. For donations $25 and under, the tipping percentage starts at either 17% or $5.
While this may not seem too problematic, Zeffy applies the tip to a donor’s total without being fully clear about the extra expense. This can lead to donors completing a transaction, thinking they paid $100 to support your mission – only to find out when they see their bank statement that they were charged $114.95.
Here’s how it looks on a Zeffy donation form:
However, when the donor reaches the final donate page, the actual total isn’t listed – which is best practice on all transaction forms.
This makes it easy for donors to miss the added fee on their donation, leading to confusion, frustration, and negative feelings about the giving experience.
There are several reasons why going with a transparent fundraising platform like Donorbox will better serve you in the future.
It’s simple – hidden fees harm donor trust. A donor goes out of their way to support your organization only to feel duped when they see an additional charge on their bank account.
Without a solid foundation of trust, building an ongoing relationship with your donors will be difficult, if not impossible. Transparency is crucial for keeping donors in your court and ready to support your mission.
Donorbox is committed to empowering nonprofits – and their donors – with transparent pricing and straightforward fundraising tools. Plus, Donorbox allows you to give donors the freedom to add, remove, or change any recurring payment plans on their own through the Donor Portal. This builds stronger donor relationships.
Consumers are being asked to tip everywhere these days, and it’s wearing them out. 48% of Americans report feeling tired of being asked to tip.
“Tipping” a high percentage to a fundraising platform is bound to make your donors feel worn out. Plus, it can be unclear to donors how that tip helps support your organization.
Alternatively, Donorbox gives you the option of allowing your donors to cover your transaction fees – which are a much lower amount. Instead of a “tip” of an arbitrary amount, donors can choose to increase their donation slightly so their whole donation goes toward your cause.
For example, here’s what it looks like when you cover the transaction fees on a $10 donation with Donorbox:
Donorbox is transparent about fees every step of the way and charges the following:
Standard payment processing fees:
Platform fees:
Learn more about our pricing here.
For example, if someone gives $100 to your Donorbox campaign and you use Stripe as your payment processor with a Standard account, donors can choose to cover the transaction fee of $4.25 – only 4% of their donation amount.
Donors will feel good directly helping your organization and the significantly lower amount will remove tipping fatigue from the giving equation.
When that misguided donor sees the additional charge on their bank statement, they will associate the negative feelings of that surprise with your organization.
Your brand is an important asset both for getting more donations and for doing more good in your community. And once a donor has a negative association with your brand, it can be almost impossible to undo that damage.
Donorbox protects your brand with transparency and tons of customization options so you can create a donation form that reflects your values and brand identity. Add context for each donation amount to encourage more giving and showcase how donated funds will be used to make a difference. You can also add badges such as your Charity Navigator ranking to boost donor trust.
When it comes time to check out, donors will clearly see the option to cover fees and can do so at their discretion.
Plus, Donorbox’s industry-leading security standards keep your donors’ data safe and sound.
A smooth, transparent, and easy giving process is crucial for getting donors to give not just once, but again and again.
Donors who feel like they’ve been duped by paying more than they planned, are less willing to return to your donation form and give again.
Donorbox donation forms are optimized for easy, transparent giving – and donors can give again in just one click with QuickDonate™. This helps you build a better giving experience for your donors and ensures they keep coming back to support you!
If you’re ready to look for an alternative to Zeffy, you’ve come to the right place. In this section, we’ll detail the differences between Zeffy and Donorbox to see which comes out on top.
| Zeffy | Donorbox |
| No platform fee | No monthly cost with 1.75% platform fee |
| High-percentage donor tips | Donors can choose to cover low fees |
| Limited customization donation forms | Highly customizable donation forms |
| Event ticketing | Event ticketing |
| Memberships | Memberships |
| Peer-to-Peer fundraising | Peer-to-Peer fundraising |
| E-commerce | X |
| Auction support | X |
| Some donor management functionality | Built-in CRM |
| Donor log-in | Donor Portal with one-click giving |
| Tap to pay | Donorbox Live™ Kiosk |
| Blog | Blog, newsletters, podcasts, webinars, and more! |
| X | DonationDriver AI |
| 1,000 integrations with Zapier | 5,000+ integrations with Zapier |
| X | Text-to-Give |
| X | Crowdfunding |
| X | 24/7 customer support |
| X | Robust security |
With Donorbox, you get so much more value for a transparent, upfront fee. Organizations who want to scale their fundraising and grow their mission choose to partner with Donorbox’s powerful tools and stellar reputation.
Don’t just take our word for it. Take a look at these real customer complaints from G2:
“The only thing I dislike about Zeffy is the way they solicit donations from users. Any time anyone makes a donation or buys a ticket on Zeffy, the form automatically adds on a donation to Zeffy, and it is not immediately apparent that the user can choose to reduce or omit the donation. This seems sneaky and like a hidden fee. I would feel much more comfortable if it were an optional add-on, rather than something you need to figure out how to subract. I’m sure this generates a lot of revenue for Zeffy, which they obviously need to function, but I wonder if being more overt about their fundraising could also be effective, while not seeming so sleezy.”
“Heavily branded with Zeffy colors and text. High default ‘voluntary’ contributions by our purchasers and donors, which causes pushback against us.”
Zeffy users receive pushback from their donors for the steep tipping and lack of transparency. Can you afford to damage relationships with your donors?
Now that we’ve looked at a Zeffy alternative, let’s look at Zeffy’s pros and cons to see which fundraising platform is the best choice for your organization.
Pros:
Cons:
Free isn’t always free. Investing in your organization and your donors’ trust will create lasting value for your cause. Fiscal health starts with responsible donor interactions – and you should partner with a fundraising platform that supports you with no hidden fees or donor confusion.
Over 80,000 organizations have trusted Donorbox to help them raise a collective $2 billion with responsive, donor-centric tools that protect you every step of the way. With transparent pricing (always!), powerful and user-friendly tools, and comprehensive resources, we’re here to help you help others.
Sign up today and start fundraising in less than fifteen minutes.
For more fundraising tips, check out the rest of our Nonprofit Blog. Subscribe to our newsletter to receive the best of the blog in your inbox every month.
Lindsey spent years wearing many hats in the nonprofit world. Whether she was helping arts nonprofits with their messaging and content, planning a fundraising gala, writing an NEA grant proposal, or running a membership program with over 400 members, she learned how to navigate – and appreciate! – the fast-paced world of fundraising. Now, she loves sharing those hard-earned lessons with the Donorbox community.
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Lindsey Baker Bower