Give Lively doesn’t charge nonprofits for the unlimited use of our powerful and practical technology, but we do use independent services to securely manage the financial transaction process, from donation to disbursement. These third-party services add small fees to every transaction. See these charts for details.

Why am I asked if I wish to cover the fee?

To help nonprofits maximize donor generosity, we make it possible for donors to cover the third-party fees in most cases. By covering the fee, you increase your donation by that amount and spare the nonprofit from having to pay it instead (see the example below). It’s a one-time increase for you, but the aggregated savings to nonprofits can be significant when many donors cover the fee. 

Can I cover the fee using all payment methods?

At present, you can cover the fee (as an additional tax-deductible gift) when you pay by:

• bank/ACH transfer
• credit/debit card
• PayPal (except on Event Ticketing pages)
• Venmo (except on Event Ticketing pages) 
• Google Pay
• Apple Pay

Also note that fee coverage does not apply to the currency conversion part of an international transaction, so there will be a slight difference between the fee-covered donation and the total amount received by the nonprofit.

How does covering the fee affect my donation?

Covering the fee increases the amount of your donation. Not covering the fee reduces the amount received by nonprofits. 

For example, if you make a $100 donation and pay by Visa card, then the transaction fee is $2.50 ($100 x 2.2% plus $0.30). The $2.50 fee gets added to your $100 donation for a total donation of $102.50. The nonprofit receives your full $100 donation, while the payment processor receives the $2.50 fee.

If you choose not to cover the fee, then the $2.50 is subtracted from your donation and the nonprofit receives $97.50.

Why does the transaction fee change when a tip is added?

Give Lively accepts tips (not tax-deductible) from donors, but you are not asked to cover transaction fees on these voluntary contributions; Give Lively takes responsibility for the fees attached to tips.

Because giving a tip splits responsibility for some fees between the nonprofit (which can be covered by you) and Give Lively, a tip to Give Lively may reduce the transaction fee by a small amount – approximately $0.15 for card payments and a variable amount for bank/ACH payments (donation plus tip) of $625 or more. Read more detail about this and see some examples.