Payment processing is an important part of fundraising for nonprofits, especially if you’re doing so online. There are a number of payment processing tools available, such as Paypal and Donorbox, but which one you select for your organization depends greatly on the features it offers and how well that is suited to your organization.
PayPal is one of the most popular payment processors out there, but it isn’t optimized for nonprofit use in ways that other payment processors are.
Paypal vs. Donorbox vs. Givingloop
Recurring Donations
Contributions made through Paypal are limited to one-time and monthly donations. There may be any number of reasons for this, but donations made through Paypal can usually only be made once, and this could result in someone opting to donate only once.
With Donorbox, since the platform is made to cater to nonprofits, the need for flexibility is understood, and recurring donations are emphasized. That is why nonprofits can opt to use Donorbox so that donors can make donations once or at recurring intervals that they set for themselves. Donorbox allows donors to get their own login credentials and manage and plan their own donations. With this planning, they can choose to pause, cancel, delay, and resume donations whenever they like. They can also edit their card information if they want to use another card and even change the amount and date of donations.
Similarly, Givingloop also allows nonprofits to receive donations through their website, where donors can choose to make recurring contributions. With Givingloop, nonprofits don’t need their own Paypal account, and the donations they receive will be transferred into their bank accounts regularly.
Payment Processors
Paypal only allows you to make and receive donations through Paypal accounts. Donorbox and Givingloop use multiple payment processors to accept donations, for example, Stripe and Paypal. Some also use other forms of payment, such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, and ACH.
Ask Donors to Cover Processing Fee
With Paypal, donors can either leave the fee to the nonprofit or pay for it themselves at their own discretion. With Donorbox, nonprofits can request their donors to pay the card processing fee, allowing them to maximize their fundraising efforts. Some platforms allow nonprofits a processing fee discount if they are registered.
Suggest Donation Amounts
Donorbox’s checkout page allows nonprofits to help their donors save as much time as possible. While Paypal requires donors to input donation values themselves, platforms, such as Donorbox and Givingloop offer pre-set donation levels to encourage donors to donate certain amounts. On Donorbox, the donation levels also allow donors to gauge how much of an impact they can make by donating a certain amount.
Reporting and Emails
Paypal provides a donation platform, but Donorbox and Givingloop allow for further support after donations have been made. For example, email acknowledgments for donations are automated on platforms that cater specifically to nonprofits, and Givingloop also sends out monthly reports to donors for transparency.
While there are many options that nonprofits can use to receive donations, the experience of using a platform that is geared specifically towards nonprofits can be a gamechanger.
Ashraf Samhouri
Sally Nasr