1. Who owns your donor data
Your donor list is the most valuable thing your nonprofit will ever build. On some platforms, that list effectively lives on their system. Exports are limited, or your donors get folded into a platform-wide giving network. Before you sign up anywhere, ask two things: can we export every donor and every transaction whenever we want, and will anyone else ever market to our donors? If the answer takes more than a sentence, keep looking.
2. Will your donors get asked to tip the platform
A lot of “free” platforms pay for themselves with a tip prompt at checkout. Your donor gives $50, then gets nudged to add a percentage on top for the platform. Some donors find it confusing, some find it annoying, and either way it’s a distraction at the exact moment someone is trying to give to you. Make a test donation on any platform you’re considering and watch what your donors will actually see.
3. Whose brand is on the giving page
Donors trust pages that look like you: your logo, your colors, ideally your domain. If the giving experience looks like the platform’s website with your name typed in, that’s a small trust leak on every single gift.
4. What the fees add up to at your volume
Flat monthly, percentage per donation, processing rates, all of it. Percentage-based platform fees feel painless at first and get expensive as you grow. Ask how processing is priced too. A flat blended rate is simple, but interchange-plus usually costs less over time. And one more question worth asking: can donors cover the fees? On platforms that offer it, a lot of donors do, and the gift arrives whole.
5. Can you leave without losing your recurring donors
This is the quiet lock-in nobody mentions. Recurring gifts are tied to the platform’s payment setup, so switching platforms can mean asking every monthly donor to re-enter their card. Ask any platform what happens to your recurring donations if you ever move. The good ones have a real answer.
6. Does it handle giving beyond the donate button
Recurring gifts, receipts, year-end statements, reporting, and in-person moments like events and game days. If you fundraise anywhere besides your website, ask how the platform handles a card or a phone tap in person, and whether that money shows up in the same reporting as everything else.
Where CoreCause lands on all this
CoreCause was built around these exact questions. Your donor data is yours, full stop. There are no tip prompts at checkout. The giving page carries your brand, not ours. Donors can choose to cover the fees, so the gift they meant to give is what you receive. And for events, it pairs with CoreMobile so you can take gifts in person with a phone tap and see it all in one place.
If you’re comparing platforms right now, take a look at CoreCause or set up a quick demo. Bring these questions with you. We’re happy to answer all six.
The six questions, in one place
- Can we export all our donor data anytime, and will anyone else market to our donors?
- Do donors see a tip prompt at checkout?
- Whose brand is on the giving page?
- What do fees total at our volume, and can donors cover them?
- What happens to our recurring donors if we switch platforms?
- How does in-person giving work, and does it land in the same reports?
Print it and ask every platform you’re considering. Including us.