56% of people choose to cover transaction fees when donating through iKnow

The pandemic affected our lives in so many different ways as we all had to adapt to changing and challenging circumstances.   This had an impact for many charity finances as some people were unable to give or gave less due to a change in their financial circumstances.   60% of charities reported a decline in donations representing a massive hit at a time when charities were often trying to do more.   Now, with the cost of living crisis putting a strain on everyone's finances, donations to charities are once again squeezed as charities also struggle under the rising bills whilst also trying to do more to support their community. 

During the pandemic there was a big increase in online donations as in-person donations were paused. With online donations there is little or no admin for donations as there are no cheques to pay in, cash to count, bank statements to upload or card details to enter - the donor can do this themselves safely and securely online.   However with an online donation there is the added consideration of the processing and platform fees involved with transaction rates from some providers at up to 5% per donation.

Recent research from iKnow shows that over 56% of people choose to cover the transaction fee when given the option.  By covering the transaction fee the donor chooses to pay a little bit extra meaning that the charity will get 100% of the donation value and it will cost the charity nothing to process it.  The transaction rate from iKnow is already one of the lowest, but by covering donation fees it makes it even better value.

With Gift Aid tools built into iKnow it means that the charity could claim an extra 25% on eligible donations in just a few clicks

Whilst one-off donations are always welcome, having someone set up a regular donation helps charities being able to budget better knowing that there will be a frequent source of income coming in. iKnow has recently released an update where donors can choose to give a recurring donation every week, month or quarter and choose to have it automatically increase after a certain number of donations. This not only helps with regular donations but also means that the giving can increase over time. These regular donations have the option for the donor to cover the fees as well. 

Find out more about iKnow for Churches and Charities