If you’ve ever set up an online donation form, you’ve probably seen the toggle: “Would you like to cover the processing fee?” It feels like a win-win. Your organization gets the full donation, and the donor just adds a little extra to help. But like anything involving donor psychology, it’s more nuanced than it looks.

Used well, this feature can increase your net revenue without hurting donor satisfaction. Used poorly, it can make your supporters feel nickel-and-dimed—or worse, manipulated. So let’s unpack what actually works.

First, Where Do These Fees Come From?

Online donations run through payment processors (usually Stripe, PayPal, or similar). The standard fee is 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction. Platforms like Solafund use Stripe and then add their own margin transparently. In our case, it’s a flat 1.5%, for a total of 4.4% all-in. That means if someone donates $100, your nonprofit receives $95.60—unless the donor covers the fee.

Why the “Cover the Fee” Option Exists

Most donors want their full gift to reach the cause. Giving them a chance to add a small percentage—typically less than $5 on a $100 gift—feels reasonable to many supporters. But the key word here is *feels*.

This is where psychology kicks in. Donors are making an emotional decision. They’re not calculating credit card rates. They’re deciding whether they feel good about the process—and whether your organization respects their generosity.

The Risk: Donor Fatigue or Distrust

That little checkbox can backfire if it’s framed poorly. If it looks like a cash grab, people may abandon the form entirely. Or they may cover the fee but feel annoyed about it. Either way, you’ve damaged trust.

This is especially risky for first-time or low-trust donors. If your platform or branding looks unfamiliar, a fee-coverage ask can trigger skepticism. That’s why we recommend building your donation process for first-timers, not just repeat supporters.

How to Frame It Right

Assuming your platform gives you control over the language (ours does), here’s what works:

• Use soft, transparent language: Instead of “Cover our costs,” try “Help more of your gift go to the mission.”
• Explain it, don’t hide it: Use a tooltip or line of text to explain where the fee goes and why it matters.
• Make it optional and unobtrusive: It should feel like a thoughtful nudge, not a requirement.

Solafund lets you customize the phrasing to match your audience. We’ve found that even a subtle tweak can boost fee coverage rates without affecting form conversion.

Trends We’re Seeing Across Nonprofits

Our partners are increasingly thoughtful about how they use this toggle. Here’s what’s working for lean organizations:

• High-volume, low-dollar campaigns often include the fee option, because the impact of a few extra cents scales dramatically.
• Major donor forms sometimes skip it, to preserve the sense of exclusivity and trust.
• Recurring donation pages tend to benefit the most, since even small boosts are multiplied monthly. For more on this, see our post on smart recurring giving strategies.

Research shows that donors choose to cover the fees somewhere between 50% and 90% of the time. But the organizations doing best don’t just turn it on and hope—they treat it like a strategic design choice.

Is This Just Passing the Buck?

This is a fair question, especially in an era when every dollar is scrutinized. Should nonprofits be asking donors to fund basic operational costs like card fees?

Here’s the honest take: if it helps you raise more net revenue without hurting trust, then yes. That’s not shirking responsibility—it’s letting donors partner more fully in the mission. Most people aren’t offended by transparency. They’re offended by surprise fees or vague messaging.

Some organizations go a step further and say, “Our board covers all overhead so 100% of your donation goes to the mission.” That’s great if true—but dangerous if it ever breaks. If you’re going to promise fee-free giving, you better back it up with internal dollars and solid accounting.

Covering the Fee vs. Raising the Ask

Another option is to simply raise your suggested donation levels. If $100 is your target, consider showing a $105 default amount and making $100 the secondary choice. You’re still achieving the same result—but you’re anchoring expectations instead of adding a new cost mid-flow.

This method works especially well for newer donors. A study from NextAfter showed that suggested giving levels strongly influence final gift size. For existing donors, though, sudden increases may feel arbitrary. That’s where a soft fee toggle may work better.

The Solafund Approach

We built Solafund to put you in control. You can toggle this feature on or off, customize the language, and test it against different campaigns. No hard coding, no developer needed. Just smart, editable settings.

Compare this with platforms that hide their cut or bundle it in so you never see the real math. It’s one reason we hear this again and again: “Solafund is the first platform that made the numbers make sense.”

Bottom Line

Yes, letting donors cover the fee can be a smart move. But it’s not a magic trick. It only works if you think like a donor, not just a finance director. Show empathy. Explain the impact. And test what works for your audience, not someone else’s.

When you do that, you turn a potential friction point into a small but powerful act of generosity.