$25 donation
- Gift amount$25
- 5% platform fee$1.25
- Card processing~$1.04
- Org receives$25.00
Donor-Paid Fee Model
Your organization keeps 100% of every donation
Many fundraising platforms deduct a meaningful share of your donations before payout. HometownLift flips that: the donor covers a 5% platform fee plus card processing at checkout, and your organization receives the full gift amount.
How the math works
What donors see at checkout
Every fee is shown as a separate line item at checkout. Nothing is hidden or deducted from the gift.
$50 donation
- Gift amount$50
- 5% platform fee$2.50
- Card processing~$1.82
- Org receives$50.00
$100 donation
- Gift amount$100
- 5% platform fee$5.00
- Card processing~$3.53
- Org receives$100.00
$500 donation
- Gift amount$500
- 5% platform fee$25.00
- Card processing~$17.15
- Org receives$500.00
Processing estimates based on standard Stripe card rates. Actual amounts vary slightly by card type.
Fee model comparison
How different platforms handle fees
The difference is not just the percentage. It is who pays it.
Donor-paid
HometownLift
Org keeps 100%
5% platform fee + card processing added to donor's total. Organization receives the full donation amount.
Org-deducted
Percentage-based platforms
Org keeps ~80-85%
Many traditional fundraising platforms deduct 15-20% from each gift before payout. The organization receives a reduced amount.
Built into price
Product-sale fundraisers
Org keeps ~50%
Product-based fundraisers (popcorn, cookie dough, etc.) typically pass roughly half of the sale price to the organization.
Why donor-paid works
Simple for your organization, transparent for donors
Donors choose to cover fees
At checkout, donors see the platform fee and card processing as separate line items added to their total. The gift amount goes to your organization in full.
No surprises in your payout
What you raise is what you get. No deductions, no reconciliation confusion, no awkward conversation about where the money went.
Transparent to everyone
Donors see exactly what they are paying. Your organization sees exactly what it receives. Trust goes up, questions go down.
Everything included
No upsells. No hidden tiers.
✓ Campaign pages with team goals
✓ Personal athlete fundraising pages
✓ Pledge fundraiser support
✓ Event-day store for tickets, snacks, merch
✓ QR-based cashless checkout
✓ Volunteer order fulfillment tools
✓ Accounting exports (Excel + CSV)
✓ Full and partial refund management
Learn more
Stop losing money to platform deductions
Keep 100% of what your community raises.
Donors cover the fees. Your organization keeps every dollar.