For us at FAIRMED, it is a great concern that donations reach our projects as undiminished as possible. Unfortunately, there are a few factors over which we have only limited influence. Donations that we receive digitally fall into this category. In order to be able to accept online donations, we work together with the Swiss company RaiseNow on our website. RaiseNow is the leading provider of digital payment solutions in the non-profit sector, which gives them a monopoly-like market position. Or in other words, if you want to collect donations in the digital space, you currently have to do it with RaiseNow. RaiseNow thus has the ability to charge its NGO customers steep fees.
In the case of FAIRMED, this means in concrete terms: around 4.5 percent of a donation goes to RaiseNow, plus additional annual fees and the effective fees of the payment providers (banks, TWINT, Postfinance, PayPal, etc.). In our opinion, the fees charged are extremely high. But a complete abandonment of digital donations would jeopardize the future of our projects. The RaiseNow team deserves praise and fair compensation for their pioneering work in online donations. But their rates should reflect the fact that they process donations, not profits.
What we do about it
We are constantly on the lookout for vendors who can offer us fairer rates. In addition, we regularly seek dialogue with RaiseNow and appeal to their principle of wanting to create "a just world for all." And we try to get our colleagues in the larger development organizations to also be critical of the RaiseNow monopoly.
Here's how your online donation won't incur any fees
If you send us your donation via e-banking, no fees will be charged. Alternatively, if you donate via TWINT, you can agree to pay RaiseNow's fees. Either way, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your support!
