Online Donor Forms and New Fees

Amber Salvage · May 20

Just want to share this write up from AFP: Nonprofit-First: Considerations for Platforms Enabling Charitable Donations

Consideration 1 — Fee Transparency

For donors: Donors are entitled to clear, specific, and plain-language disclosure of all fees associated with their transaction. Fee disclosures should be conspicuous and accessible, not buried in footnotes or obscured by complex language. When donors agree to terms of service, those terms should clearly identify who receives each fee and for what purpose, so that donors can make informed decisions before completing their gift.

For nonprofits: Where a nonprofit accesses or uses a platform, the same principles of transparency apply. Fee disclosures should be clear, specific, and in plain language, covering all applicable fees, including those the platform controls and, where known, those set by third parties such as payment processors.

Consideration 5 — Resolution and Accountability

Nonprofits deserve fair treatment, clear communication, and a genuine opportunity to be heard when problems arise. Platforms should maintain accessible support channels, provide clear explanations when campaigns are flagged or suspended, and offer nonprofits a meaningful appeals process. Platforms should provide adequate notice of material changes to policies, fees, or operations.

Jennifer Lee · May 21

If Blackbaud can just add a new fee for online forms which is already part of a contract, what is to stop them from adding other fees whenever they want. A fee for attachments that is based on usage, each relationship record created, each integration…

Petra Hall · May 22

https://community.blackbaud.com/discussion/comment/313963#Comment_313963

This is a good point.

Tamara Jamerson · May 22

We are also customers of GiveCampus and they have reached out to us directly to notify us of this change and to see how they can assist us. Too bad Blackbaud didn't reach out to us first with this news and also endeavor to learn from us what this impact would be and how they might assist. If Blackbaud could get its customer relations practices mastered, they would be a more powerful entity in this space. It seems GiveCampus is eating their lunch.

Erin Hunt · May 22

https://community.blackbaud.com/discussion/comment/314015#Comment_314015

What they should have said in the article is we didn't make the profits we were expecting last year and we are committed to finding new ways of revenue regardless of impact to our clients and their donors.

The product is very basic and doesn't offer much other than a very simplistic donor page. They want us to pay for a premium product that isn't even close to that yet.

Keith Wilson · May 22

Grrrr…..just did the math on this for our Org. 😡

1. Our Budget is based on Calendar Year. For the remainder of 2026, this fee will cost us approximately $20,000 that is NOT in the budget! (Based on $1.3M in online gifts from 7/1/25-12/31/25.)

2. We participated in Complete Cover from the EAP to 4/9/2026. Yep, we just stopped using Complete Cover last month because one too many donors complained about the 10% Additional Tip to Blackbaud to cover processing. It's extremely unlikely we'd start using Donor Cover instead.

Miriam Cai · May 26

Given how Complete Cover is designed, it’s difficult for us to see it as a viable option. It feels misaligned with what we think a donor-focused experience should be.

https://community.blackbaud.com/discussion/comment/314128#Comment_314128

Melissa Stewart · May 26

Our contract is up for renewal this year and we are seriously looking at alternatives because of this new fee. We too have sent emails regarding these changes and their impact on our organization.

Complete Cover did not work for us as we had way too much push back from donors, and the Donor Cover is not as clear as it should be from the donor perspective. We are still using Donor Cover, but have had a few complaints about it as well.

At this point I suggest to our donors to send checks to avoid the fees whenever possible.

Jack Wagner · May 26

I've seen that some of you have estimated the new fee expense for your organizations. How did you calculate that? I have our total online form and Online Express gifts, but they include pledge and recurring gift payments. Since the new platform fee only applies to initial pledge payments and recurring gift payments, how are you taking that into consideration?

Evan Webb · May 27

https://community.blackbaud.com/discussion/comment/313963#Comment_313963

That's a great point. I was trying to understand how they could justify this fee, but I think you're correct as it's a platform fee for use of the form not a payment processing fee.

Jason Weaver · May 27

@Kyle Tiney Have you heard anything from BB regarding the new forms fee?

Jack Wagner · May 27

@Jason Weaver - We haven't heard anything new from Blackbaud. We scheduled a call with our customer success representative for June 4, 2026, and they're bringing a Managing Director to the meeting. We're going to ask questions, let them know of our displeasure, and see what they say. I don't know if expressing our displeasure will do any good.

Karen Diener · May 28

https://community.blackbaud.com/discussion/comment/313983#Comment_313983

Thanks - that provides more clarity. Saying the fee cannot be passed along is very different from your organization choosing not to pass the cost along to donors. It is still the donor's choice, but I certainly respect your policy. I'm never given the option when I shop at businesses - it is an automatic fee!

Laura Moretti · June 3

Has anyone heard back from Blackbaud regarding this concern? In writing? Or are they just going to continue being silent and impose new fees even in the middle of an existing contract. Can't shake the bulldozed impression this leaves. In one brief one-on-one call, we were told "it was a business decision, it's happening, won't stop".

Jack Wagner · June 3

@Laura Moretti We have a meeting with our Blackbaud Customer Success Rep and a Program Manager tomorrow. We'll see what they say. Per a discussion with our Customer Success Rep, she said that we are her only customer that is complaining about the new platform fee. I have no idea how many other clients she supports, but they are all Archdioceses. I can't believe that we're the only Archdiocese that's asked for a conversation on this subject.

Online Donor Forms and New Fees

Answers

Consideration 5 — Resolution and Accountability

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