Greetings!
What's new in online donation processing? If you are looking for an alternative to services that require use of other pricey services, charge transaction fees as high as 10% or fixed monthly service fees (or both!), check out the options outlined below.
New Options for Federal Candidates
If you are running for US House of Representative or the Senate, there are two new services available for processing donations. You can use either as your sole processor, or offer them as alternatives to allow donors to complete the transaction according to their preference.
- Google Checkout While somewhat similar to PayPal, Google's main attraction is a low fee structure: 2% plus $.20 per transaction. The downside is that contributors will have to have a Google account (or create one) and sign into that account to make a contribution. With PayPal, users can either sign into their PayPal account or pay via credit card without an account. Google also offers a variety of buttons that can be placed on social networking websites or supporters' websites to extend a candidate's fundraising ability.
- Slatecard Slatecard was established in 2007 as an independent, federally registered political action committee (PAC). It's the Republican version of ActBlue, a Democrat PAC established in 2004 as a clearinghouse for contributions to Democrat candidates. While they plan to open their services to more candidates, for now, Slatecard is available only for federal candidates. They offer a competitive transaction cost of 4.5% with no set-up or other fees. They provide a unique platform that combines fundraising with social networking.
For All Candidates and Organizations
We have long recommended Click and Pledge.com* to our clients as a good approach to collecting online donations. Its primary benefits have been a low transaction fee (4.75%), a nominal start-up fee ($25) and a flexible, customizable check-out process that enables the sale of event tickets and campaign merchandise, in addition to accepting donations. While most of these benefits are still in place, some changes were recently announced by the company.
What's New at Click and Pledge.
Click and Pledge has restructured their transaction fees: 4.5% plus $.35 per transaction. They will send accumulated donations once or twice a month (depending on the account balance) and charge a $2.50 fee for each check cut. The sign-up fee has increased to $50.
Additionally, Click and Pledge now offers the option of establishing a proprietary merchant account. The transaction fee goes down to 3.95%, but the initial set-up fees are $150 and there is an ongoing monthly fee of $25. The main advantage to this account is that donations are settled daily and are deposited into your account in 48 hours. Campaigns and organizations will benefit from better cash flow. Click and Pledge also offer some additional online applications that some organizations will find useful.
There are many considerations to make when selecting the right option for online contributions. One of the many services we provide to our clients is to objectively analyze their needs and recommend the best solution based on our experience and knowledge.
*Note: Red State New Media has no financial interest in Click and Pledge.
