What is GiveButter, and why do we accept GiveButter & PayPal payments?

GiveButter is a fundraising platform for non-profits like Sweetpea Friends of Rutland Animals. While everyone knows and loves PayPal, we use GiveButter in parallel with PayPal because:

• GiveButter accepts payment methods that PayPal doesn’t, or that PayPal doesn’t easily accept. Venmo, Apple Pay, Google Pay, checking account transfers, and Donor Advised Funds are all available through GiveButter.
• GiveButter has backend integrations that make it easier for us to use with our website and social media platforms.
• It has modules that make it easier for us to run fundraising events, with modules for auctions, event ticket sales, and more.

Both PayPal and GiveButter charge us the standard credit card transaction fees, but give you, the donor, the option to cover those for us when you check out. There are formulas for how that’s calculated, but on a $100 donation both PayPal and GiveButter pass through charges of a couple dollars, so we might see $97 after they take out the credit card fees.

To pay for their other functionality, GiveButter also proposes an optional “tip” when you check out. You can always set that tip amount to $0 or lower than their suggested tip amount. If enough donors tip, then Sweetpea receives the full amount of your donation, minus the credit card fees. They have a formula for figuring out what we should be contributing to support their platform, and if we fall below a tipping threshold they take a little more to cover their costs.

This arrangement has worked very well for us. At our size – and with the generosity of our supporters – we have been able to take advantage of all the features in the GiveButter platform at little to no out-of-pocket cost to us.

We’re very happy with both PayPal and GiveButter as payment processing platforms, so that’s why you see us offering both.

You will also see us offering something called PayPal Giving Fund (PGF). PGF is a 501(c)3 non-profit that collects donations and then makes donations to non-profits like Sweetpea with that money. Instead of passing the money through to us right away like normal PayPal, PGF sits on the money and makes 1 donation per month. Your tax receipt will come from PayPal Giving Fund and we may not have access to your transaction details, but they don’t withhold credit card processing fees.

In summary:

• PayPal = the normal PayPal you’re used to. Your donation comes to us immediately but transaction fees are withheld. If you don’t cover the transaction fees, they are deducted from the payment we receive.
• PayPal Giving Fund – you are not asked to cover the fees, but they hold the money until the next transfer date. We may not actually receive your donation for up to a month.
• GiveButter – very similar to PayPal, but accepts alternate payment methods like Apple Pay, Google Pay, DAF Pay, and more. We can typically access your donation within 24 hours.

We invite you to make a donation through the platform of your choice, or to browse all the ways you can support Sweetpea Friends of Rutland Animals on our Donate page.

Donate through PayPal	Donate through GiveButter