Give Fee Recovery

Adding 3% does not cover a 3% fee

If your gateway charges 3% plus 30 cents, it seems logical to ask someone giving $100 for $103.30. But the gateway does not charge on $100: it charges on the total it receives, including that $3.30. With that total, your organization is still 10 cents short on every $100 gift.

Fee Recovery solves exactly that. It works out the amount so that the net, after the fee, equals what the donor chose. In that example, the total is $103.40. The formula is:

( T + B ) / ( 1 - ( P / 100 ) ) = G

T is the chosen amount, B the flat fee, P the percentage and G the gross amount sent to the gateway. The difference is small on each donation, and it is what separates covering the fee from almost covering it.

How the donor is asked

• By choice: a checkbox with your message, which the donor ticks to take on the fee.
• Forced: the fee is always added and the donor sees a message below the amount.
• Live amount: the {fee_amount} tag shows the fee inside the message, and it updates when the amount or gateway changes.
• Optional breakdown: text below the final total separates the donation from the fee, before the donate button is clicked.
• Placement: you decide where the checkbox and message appear.

Write the checkbox message in the donor's voice, so it is clear they are choosing to give that extra amount.

Three levels of settings: global, gateway and form

Global. You define a percentage and a flat amount, either of which can be 0, plus an optional cap. The cap limits the fee, which may encourage someone making a large donation.

Per gateway. Each active gateway can have its own percentage and amount, and you can turn Fee Recovery off on those without fees, such as offline donations.

Per form. Each form inherits the global settings, uses its own, or disables Fee Recovery. In the Visual Donation Form Builder, it is added with the Fee Recovery block, which also takes global or custom settings.

What the add-on does not change

It does not reduce what your gateway charges. The fee is paid in full; what the donor gives offsets it.

It does not distinguish by card type. If your processor charges differently by card, Fee Recovery cannot reflect that. The way out is to get a report of the last three months from the gateway, work out the average fee and use that figure, reviewing it every 6 or 12 months. Since it is an average, some donations will land above it and others below.

It does not process payments either. It is a Give add-on: the gateway and forms must already be working.

Turning it on, because it will not turn itself on

Installing it changes nothing on your forms: it comes disabled, and without the global settings it does not work. You need Give.

1. Install and activate Fee Recovery.
2. Go to Give, Settings, Fee Recovery, and enable it.
3. Choose one fee for all gateways or one per gateway, using your processor's figures.
4. Decide whether the donor chooses or the fee is forced, and write the message.
5. Adjust or disable the forms that need different treatment.
6. Make a test donation and compare the net amount with what the donor chose.

Give add-ons that fit around it

Fee Recovery starts from GiveWP, the donation plugin it runs on. To turn one-time gifts into regular ones, there is Recurring Donations, and if your supporters raise funds for you with their own campaigns and leaderboards, Give Peer-to-Peer.

What the donor sees and what you control

Why is the total not the donation plus the fee?

Because the gateway also charges on what is added. The calculation aims for the net to equal the chosen amount.

Can I apply it to just one campaign?

Yes, if that campaign has its own form: use the Customize option there and set Disable on others if needed.

Does the donor see how much extra they pay?

Yes. They can see it in the message with {fee_amount}, and in the breakdown if you enable it.

Can I set only a percentage, with no flat amount?

Yes. Enter 0 in the additional amount. It also works the other way around.

Can I exclude offline donations?

Yes. Fee Recovery is turned off per gateway.

How do I cap the fee?

With Maximum Fee Amount. At zero, there is no cap.