It’s no secret that cash apps like ACH (bank transfers) and Venmo dominate our transactions. It’s sort of a no-brainer. Why would I take the time to pull out a credit card when I can tap an app on my phone—the phone which is usually in my hand?
Yes, phones make emailing, working, and paying bills super convenient now. But what about donating, you ask? Yes, especially donating.
There’s been a huge influx of donors paying with ACH and Venmo for a few reasons: it’s fast, easy, and secure for donors, that’s why nonprofits using these payment methods are seeing higher average donation sizes.
Maybe your organization is trying to navigate the new cash app terrain. We’re here to help!
We’ve added ACH and Venmo to our enhanced donation form. Now donors can pay with their preferred payment methods to help you secure more donors.
What are ACH and Venmo payments?
Let’s take a look at these different payment types:
What is ACH?
ACH is a payment method that allows donors to connect a bank account to process donations. There’s no cash, check or wire transfer required, making it a dream come true for donors processing large donations quickly and securely.
What is Venmo?
Venmo is a mobile payment service that allows donors to send money through their phone app which is connected to their credit/debit card or bank account. There’s also no cash, check or wire transfer required.
Keep more of your donations with lower fees
One of the most significant advantages for your nonprofit is that there are substantially lower transaction fees associated with ACH and Venmo versus credit card.
That means you’re able to put more toward your bottom line. Donors are more inclined to give higher amounts when they know you keep more of the donation.
- ACH processing fees are 0.8% with a $5 cap (vs the standard 2.2% + $0.30/donation with Stripe or PayPal).
- Venmo has NO processing fees for sending money using a debit card, bank balance or Venmo balance (vs the standard 2.2% + $0.30/donation with Stripe or PayPal) and has a 3% fee for any credit card transactions.
Let’s say you’re paying 2.3% in credit card fees. If you make $200k in one year, that’s $4,600 in credit card fees. That number only exponentially increases the more you make.
Since the goal is to put funds into nonprofit operations, you can see how over several years you can significantly increase savings by using ACH and Venmo payments.
Increase donation size with ACH
High-level donors trust the security of bank transfers for higher average donations greater than $200 and upwards of $100k per transaction. This is fantastic for cultivating major donors who trust the security of direct payment transfers.
Similarly, donors who donate frequently enjoy the benefit of direct transfers to automate their billing. ACH is perfect for your loyal donor base and will help you increase and retain more recurring and pledge donors for reliable streams of income year-round.
Acquire more donors with Venmo
As mentioned, cash apps like Venmo are increasingly popular among Gen Zers and younger donors. There were 41.5 million active Venmo users in 2019. In 2020, that number rose to over 66 million—a 50.8% increase. In 2022 there were about 70 million users. This number is expected to increase by 9.5% in 2023.
What’s the point? More and more people are getting on the Venmo train. If your donation form is not up-to-date with the most popular payment methods, you could risk leaving some donations on the table.
By adding Venmo to your donation form you remove the barrier of inconvenience. It’s fast, easy and allows your donors to donate anywhere, anytime. You can reach a whole new audience and invite the next generation on mission at the same time.
How do ACH and Venmo payments work?
ACH and Venmo are automatic payment options on the CauseVox donation form. ACH is a payment method available when using Stripe as a payment processor, while Venmo is a payment method available when using PayPal as your payment processor.
If you don’t already have a Stripe or PayPal account you can create one and then quickly connect it to CauseVox by signing in through the CauseVox Admin interface.
Once connected, your CauseVox donation form will automatically display Venmo for donors to process one-time donations, and ACH bank transfer will automatically display to process all donation types including one-time, monthly recurring and pledge donations.
Through your CauseVox Admin interface you can customize the automated donation receipts and write them up to tax deductible standards. These receipts are automatically sent to donors upon each transaction.
Drive more donations and spend less time on admin with CauseVox’s automated and real-time reporting. Use the Management and Reporting tools to manage and update donations, export data and see overall cumulative donation totals.
Get started on CauseVox
Looking to modernize your donation form to increase donors and average donation size? CauseVox helps you do that by replacing outdated forms giving donors the an easy, seamless experience to secure more donors year-round.
To learn more about switching to Causevox, check out our pre-recorded demo or book a live 1-1 demo.
Questions? Contact us at support@causevox.com.
