Case Study

The Salvation Army Increases Revenue with Fee Coverage

How over 60% of donors opt to cover donation transaction fees

The Salvation Army Canada & Bermuda Territorial Director of Development Data & Innovation, Licia Donadonibus, and Digital Fundraising Manager, Elio Rea, speak about the success of implementing a previously unused feature to encourage donors to cover the transaction fee when donating.

Overview

As the largest non-government direct provider of social services in Canada, The Salvation Army supports vulnerable people in over 400 communities through meal programs, shelters, back-to school assistance, substance abuse recovery and mental health programs, and emergency disaster services.

Identifying an Opportunity to Increase Revenue Towards Mission

The organization implements a robust digital strategy to engage its vast network of supporters through email, social media, search ads, display, and banner ads. They use Engaging Networks for their email program, donation pages, and data reporting. To offset the cost of the transaction fees paid to third-party vendors, typically 3-5% per transaction, the team wanted to test using the checkbox feature to provide donors the option to cover these fees so more of their donation could support vital social services.

Transparent Donor Choice

The Salvation Army team was unsure how adding the option to cover the transaction fee would be received by their supporters. The digital team decided to leave the “cover transaction fee” box unchecked by default, giving donors a transparent choice to opt in and add the additional dollars to their donation. For example, if a donor gives $100, with a 3% transaction fee, their actual donation is $103, with $3 helping to cover the transaction fee. Donors receive a charitable tax receipt for the full donation amount, in this example, $103.

Salvation Army of Canada & Bermuda’s Donation Form Powered by Engaging Networks

Thoughtful & Inclusive Implementation

While there was general support and recognition that this was an opportunity, as a large organization, they had internal considerations and implementation logistics to navigate before the pilot. Turning on the checkbox feature was a very simple and immediate process, but there were questions about integration with other systems to consider.

They worked with internal teams to ensure alignment with systems, processes and create transparent language for donors.

"Now that we look at the results, we felt, 'Hey, why didn't we do this sooner?' It can take a large organization some time to properly implement such a change"

~Elio Rea

Digital Fundraising Manager

Positive Reception and Dollars for Mission

With all considerations settled, The Salvation Army unveiled the new checkbox, offering donors the option to cover the transaction fee on their donation page during a summer campaign. Out of the gate, they saw an incredible 54% opt-in rate across all donors electing to cover donation transaction fees. The data shows donors are eager to cover transaction fees, as the opt-in results have improved in subsequent campaigns since implementation.

Summer Campaign – 54%
Christmas Campaign – 60%
Back-to-School Campaign – 69%
Spring Campaign – 62%

To date, the organization has not received any complaints about the transaction fee because it’s completely optional. Carefully monitoring results to ensure that this option does not suppress donations, the organization has not seen any negative changes in giving habits. Overall, staff reports that adding the checkbox option to cover the transaction fee has been very well received and generates a consistent boost to revenue to support their mission.

"The interesting fact is, we have a fairly conservative and older demographic in our database. So for people to come online and actually choose to check that box, that says a lot about our donors really wanting to help"

~Licia Donadonibus

Territorial Director of Development Data andInnovation

Key Takeaways

The checkbox to cover the transaction fee is unchecked by default so that donors have a transparent choice to proactively opt-in to increase their support to the organization.
Approximately 60% of donors, on average, with a peak campaign rate of 69%, choose to cover transaction fees, demonstrating a deep affinity for supporting the organization’s mission.
When implementing complex features, consider internal alignments and engage stakeholders during the planning and implementation process for success.