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There are many organizations in need of financial support to fight against police violence and racial injustice. We've compiled a list of suggested causes, and you’ve likely seen donation requests from various groups on your social media. After selecting a deserving charity, there’s an additional way to help them more: skip PayPal.
Numerous charities offer PayPal as a payment option because of its ease of use. It integrates smoothly into their websites, is widely known for online transactions, and allows donors to contribute with a few simple clicks, bypassing the need to input credit card information.
However, this means that over 2% of your donation ends up going to PayPal. While private businesses face a 2.9% fee plus transaction costs, PayPal takes 2.2% plus transaction fees from registered nonprofits.
Sure, organizations that accept online donations incur fees, and if they don’t use PayPal, they’ll have to pay swipe fees to another provider. That’s why you often see charities asking if you’d like to increase your donation to help cover processing costs.
One of PayPal’s original founders is Peter Thiel, the conservative billionaire who secretly funded a lawsuit that ultimately led to the bankruptcy of Gawker Media, the former parent company of this website. (Peter Thiel sold the company to eBay in 2012.)
Just as you carefully choose organizations to support, be sure your processing fees aren't going to fund this controversial billionaire’s empire, okay?
Aside from personal grievances, PayPal has a questionable track record when it comes to helping nonprofits access donations. Mytour has been wary of PayPal since 2011, due to their shady handling of customers’ funds. More recently, a class-action lawsuit filed in 2017 alleged that PayPal’s Giving Fund platform failed to contact charities that had received donations but were not registered with PayPal.
The lawsuit claims donations could linger in PayPal’s system for up to six months before being redirected to other charities. A settlement was reached in January 2020, with PayPal agreeing to provide clearer disclosures to inform donors on how the platform operates.
If you're donating through a social media campaign or the organization's official website, check out all available payment methods, as there are likely multiple options. Though pulling out your credit card may take a little longer, let's be honest – you're not shy about using it when you're shopping online.
Want to help your chosen charity avoid any extra fees? Consider sending a traditional check in the mail. It might take longer for the donation to reach its destination and be processed, but the nonprofits you're supporting will likely still need these funds long after the current situation has passed.
If you donate via credit card or any other payment method offered by the organization, you may be prompted to round up your donation to cover transaction fees. Ultimately, the decision is yours. (For details on what other platforms charge for processing nonprofit donations, Charity Navigator offers a breakdown here.)
By taking a little extra time to contribute as directly as possible to your favorite charity, you can help them put more of your donation toward the crucial work they do.
This post was updated on 6/8/2020 to clarify the fees PayPal charges nonprofits when accepting donations through its platform. It also corrects the information that Peter Thiel has not been affiliated with PayPal for some time.
