Voluntary contribution: how to talk to your donors about it
What is the voluntary contribution model?
Be proud to tell your supporters that you choose to fundraise with Zeffy so that 100% of their donation can go to your mission, not towards paying fees. Not only that, but their contribution to our platform also helps the thousands of nonprofits in North America to raise more and make high quality technology accessible to all.
Nonprofits collectively paid 3 billion dollars in transaction fees last year. That doesn't even include how much they spent on fundraising technology. Zeffy is committed to ending that.
Zeffy is entirely funded by optional contributions to provide nonprofits with powerful fundraising technology at 0 cost and cover all their transaction fees.
The suggested contribution amount can always be changed by the supporter. We understand it isn't everyone who can contribute, hence the voluntary nature of our contribution model. When those who can contribute do contribute, it allows us to pursue our mission to free nonprofits from fees and ensure that 100% of the funds raised go towards making a difference in their communities.
Below are some tips and resources to help you address any questions you might receive from your supporters about Zeffy.
Share our explainer video
Add information directly on your form
While we explain our model in two different places on our forms, if you feel perhaps your donors need more information, you can add the suggested text.
In your form description
Here is the suggested wording for a form description:
We use Zeffy, a free platform for nonprofits that ensures 100% of raised funds go towards our mission. Zeffy is funded solely by contributions from donors like you. Please consider supporting them at the end of your transaction, so they can continue to provide free software to us and thousands of other charities. You can select a different contribution amount by clicking "Other" in the dropdown. Thank you for supporting free fundraising for all nonprofits!
As a checkbox custom question
If you'd like to include a required checkbox question for your donors to acknowledge on your form, you can include something like the following:
I understand that, thanks to Zeffy, 100% of my payment goes to [NONPROFIT NAME], and I can choose to support Zeffy’s free tools with an optional contribution at checkout.
Share about us on your social media
We've designed and pre-written this social media post for you to share how you are making the most of each dollar raised with Zeffy.
Follow this link to access the template and share it with your supporters!
Visit our website
Our 100% free webpage has an animation illustrating how to navigate the contribution section. We also have a brief explanation about our voluntary contribution model for donors.
Additional resources are found on our blog
Our blog contains lots of information about our model and why Zeffy chooses to provide 100% free fundraising. Here are some helpful articles that can be shared with donors:
Why is a donor's charge higher than the payment in my dashboard?
At this time, the amount contributed to Zeffy by donors is not visible in your account. This is intentional for a few reasons – it helps simplify your bookkeeping by avoiding any confusion about how much goes to your organization versus to Zeffy. It also ensures your donors’ decision to contribute (or not) remains completely anonymous. Most importantly, we want you to enjoy using the platform without having to worry about how we’re funded. Rest assured, 100% of the donation intended for your organization always goes directly to you.
While contributions are not currently visible in your account, the details of a contribution are however always visible to the person who made the payment on their payment receipt (sent automatically via email after the payment). If a donor is unsure of the contribution they added, they can check their confirmation email and view the amount on the payment receipt included at the very bottom.
Can I see how many donors contributed to Zeffy, or the total they gave?
At this time, contributions made to Zeffy by donors are not visible in your organization's account. This is intentional for a few reasons.
First, it helps keep your bookkeeping simple by avoiding any confusion between the amounts raised for your organization and those contributed to Zeffy. It also ensures that each donor's decision to contribute (or not) remains completely private.
Most importantly, we want you to enjoy using Zeffy without having to worry about how we're funded. Regardless of whether a donor chooses to contribute to Zeffy, your organization always receives 100% of the donation intended for you.
While these contributions aren't visible in your dashboard, donors can always see the exact amount they contributed to Zeffy on their payment receipt, which is automatically sent to them by email after checkout.
Can our organization pay Zeffy directly instead of donors being offered a contribution?
We appreciate your willingness to support Zeffy directly!
At this time, we don't offer the option for organizations to pay Zeffy in place of the voluntary contribution presented to donors.
Our model is designed so that nonprofits never have to pay to use Zeffy, regardless of their size or the amount they raise. Instead, we give donors the option to leave a completely voluntary contribution at checkout, which helps us cover payment processing costs and keep the platform 100% free for nonprofits.
Donors are always free to contribute as much or as little as they'd like, including nothing at all. Their decision has no impact on the amount your organization receives.
This approach allows us to offer the same free fundraising tools to every nonprofit, without requiring organizations to set aside any of the funds they raise to cover platform fees.
