The platform fee is a small percentage charged by GiveNow to organisations to cover the cost of operating the platform, including staff, technology, and security. It is the only fee GiveNow charges. A separate transaction fee is also charged by GiveNow's payment partner to cover the cost of processing credit card or direct debit payments — this is passed on at cost with no mark-up.
Platform fee rates
The rate depends on the organisation's GiveNow plan:
- Starter plan: 1.5%
- Basic plan: 2.7%
- Pro plan: 3.5%
Organisations are not charged any set-up, subscription, or ongoing fees beyond the platform fee and transaction fee. For a full breakdown of all costs, see What does it cost to use GiveNow?
The "Cover platform costs" option
During the donation process, donors can choose to cover the platform fee on behalf of the organisation. This option is controlled by a Cover platform costs toggle on the payment page and is on by default.
- When the option is on, the platform fee is added to the donor's total, so the organisation receives more of the donation.
- When the option is off, the platform fee is deducted from the donation before it reaches the organisation.
Example
If you donate $100 to an organisation on the Starter plan using a Visa or Mastercard:
- With Cover platform costs on: The organisation receives $99.74. The only deduction is the small transaction fee charged by the payment partner.
- With Cover platform costs off: The organisation receives $98.24. Both the platform fee (1.5%) and the transaction fee are deducted from the donation.
Note: Organisations can enable or disable the Cover platform costs option for each cause in the donation form settings.