With StockCrowd Pay you can turn on Donor Covers Fee (also known as the tip): an option that lets your donors cover StockCrowd's software fees when they donate, so more of their contribution reaches your organisation. In this article we explain what Donor Covers Fee is, how to turn it on in your campaign, how donors see it and how it affects donation certificates.
What is Donor Covers Fee and how does it help your organisation?
Donor Covers Fee (the tip) is a StockCrowd Pay option that lets donors cover the fees of your campaigns. If you have StockCrowd Pay activated in your campaign, you can enable it so donors can give extra help to your cause by covering StockCrowd's software fees that might be included in transactions, depending on the plan you have.
If donors choose to cover the fee, your organisation will receive more of the donor's original contribution.
❗️To see the fees that apply in your case, check the Account & Billing page of your StockCrowd account, where you'll find the conditions of your plan.
How to turn on Donor Covers Fee in your campaign
Turning on Donor Covers Fee in your campaign takes two steps: having StockCrowd Pay activated in your account, and ticking the Donor Covers Fee option in the campaign's payment settings.
Step 1 | Activate StockCrowd Pay in your account
StockCrowd Pay is the only payment gateway compatible with Donor Covers Fee, so make sure you have StockCrowd Pay activated in your account.
💡 If you don't know what StockCrowd Pay is, read our article to find out more.
❗️If you need help to activate StockCrowd Pay in your account, write to our Support team at [email protected].
Step 2 | Turn on Donor Covers Fee in your campaign's payment settings
Once you have StockCrowd Pay activated in your account, you can customise your campaign's payment methods (debit or credit card, SEPA debit, Wallet…) and decide whether to offer your donors the option to cover the fees on their donation. You do this from Settings → Payment methods. You'll find more details about payment methods in Activate StockCrowd Pay as the payment gateway in your campaign.
In the Stripe block you'll find the option to turn on Donor Covers Fee for that campaign.
Tick the Enable 'Donor Covers Fee' on this campaign box to turn it on in the campaign.
❗️Please note that campaigns created before 22 February 2023 have Donor Covers Fee ENABLED by default.
Campaigns created after that date have Donor Covers Fee DISABLED by default.
How donors see Donor Covers Fee
The Donor Covers Fee option is shown to the donor in the Donation box, just before they enter their payment method details. That is, after the donor has chosen the donation amount and filled in the required details, they will be asked whether they want to cover the service costs.
❗️Donor Covers Fee (the tip) is NOT included in donation certificate calculations.
Donor Covers Fee lets donors cover the organisation's service costs, but certificates are issued based on the donation amount chosen by the donor, excluding the service costs.
💡 For example, when calculating Gift Aid (the UK donation certificate), a £50 donation with a £1.50 tip makes a total payment of £51.50. However, StockCrowd only takes into account the donation amount without the tip, so Gift Aid is calculated as 25% of £50, that is, £12.50.
❓Frequently asked questions
Which payment gateways does Donor Covers Fee work with?
Donor Covers Fee only works with StockCrowd Pay: it's the only payment gateway compatible with this option.
What exactly does Donor Covers Fee cover?
Donor Covers Fee (the tip) covers StockCrowd's software fees that might be included in transactions, depending on the plan you have. It doesn't cover Stripe's fee. You can see the fees that apply in your case on the Account & Billing page of your StockCrowd account.
Is Donor Covers Fee enabled by default in my campaigns?
It depends on when the campaign was created: campaigns created before 22 February 2023 have Donor Covers Fee enabled by default, and those created afterwards have it disabled. You can change it with the Enable 'Donor Covers Fee' on this campaign box, in Settings → Payment methods.
When is the donor offered Donor Covers Fee?
Donor Covers Fee is offered to the donor in the Donation box, after they choose the amount and fill in their details, and just before they enter their payment method details.
Does Donor Covers Fee count towards donation certificates?
Donor Covers Fee (the tip) doesn't count towards donation certificates: they're issued only for the donation amount, without the tip. For example, with a £50 donation and a £1.50 tip, Gift Aid is calculated on £50 (25%, that is, £12.50), not on the £51.50 total payment.
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