What We Learned from Our Donor Survey: Stretching Every Dollar

For nonprofits, every dollar matters. We wanted to know how donors think about giving, fees, and the platforms they use—so we asked them directly.

Most donors give more than once a year
41.5% of donors give “a few times per year,” 19.5% give multiple times a month, and 17.1% give monthly. Just 12.2% give rarely, and 9.8% say they don’t give during certain seasons. That means a lot of opportunities for support—but also a responsibility to make each gift go as far as possible.

Donors aren’t locked into one platform
53.7% use two or three giving platforms in a typical year, and only 14.6% use just one. Another 26.8% don’t even know how many they use. Donors will give where they feel their money is best used—and that includes platforms that keep more of their gift for the mission.

They notice fees—and want to minimize them
Nearly 70% said they’ve seen a “tip the platform” request and don’t like it. When asked if they’d rather cover a small processing fee or tip the platform, 81% preferred covering the fee because it ensures more money goes to the nonprofit’s work. No one said they wanted to tip.

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And a note about fee cover vs. tips:

When asked if they ever noticed being asked to tip a platform, almost 70% of donors responded "Yes. And I don't like it!". Nearly 20% said they did notice but didn't mind, while the rest hadn't ever noticed being asked.

But, when asked if they prefer covering the fee over tipping? A whopping 81% stated their preference to cover the fee over leave a tip. Why? Because it makes their dollars go further.

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The takeaway: Donors value impact and stewardship. They’ll give through whichever platform helps their contribution go further, and they appreciate organizations that make cost-effective choices.

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