How are Credit Card and CGDS Fees Calculated?
There are two kinds of deducted fees for CGDS gifts:
- CGDS Fees – These are the fees (2.97% for U.S. / 3.47% for Canada / 5% for non-U.S. & non-Canada International Credit Card and Matching) associated with the services provided for payment of gifts, vetting, and other CyberGrants processes. These fees can be covered/paid by the client or deducted at the time of payment to the charity. The election of fee CGDS fee coverage can be configured at the program level. Example: A client can cover fees for grants but have fees removed when payment is made for employee giving.
- Credit Card Fees – For clients with credit card programs, there is an additional fee deducted (3.31%, 4.21% for AMEX). This is a standard Merchant Fee. These fees can be covered/paid by the client or deducted at the time of payment to the charity.
- NOTE: Credit Card donations to CAF America-verified organizations may, also, be affected by international exchange rates given their conversion to USD. Foreign transaction fee coverage is determined by the donor's bank. If applicable, the percentage applied is at the discretion of the credit card processor and is not displayed in our system. Donors can direct any questions related to foreign exchange fees to their associated bank as the product configuration does not capture a record of this information. For more information on international credit card disbursements, visit CGDS International Credit Card Giving and Matching Disbursements Overview.
NOTE: Regardless of Credit Card or CGDS Fees, the donor will receive a tax receipt for the amount they donated.
When are the Credit Card and CGDS Fees Deducted?
- For Credit Card Donations - The 3.31% merchant fee is deducted from the donation first. Then during the payment batching process, the CGDS fee is deducted from each donation.
- 2.97% CGDS fee for U.S.
- 3.47% CGDS fee for Canada
- 5% for non-U.S. & non-Canada international credit cards and matching
- For all other Employee Programs and Grants - During the payment batching process, a 2.97% CGDS fee is deducted from each U.S. gift/grant and a 3.47% CGDS fee is deducted for each Canada gift/grant.
NOTE: There is a cap of $250 per individual transaction/gift for U.S. and Canadian payments. This cap is for CGDS fees only. There is no cap for International CGDS fees (5%).
Covering Fees
If you have elected to cover one or both of these fees, they will be included in your CGDS Invoices along with their respective donations.
Note: We cannot separate the fees from the invoices as they are directly connected to the gifts and are reliant on our ability to pay the organizations in full.
The Fees will be listed as a separate line item in the invoices, should you need to fund them from a specific bank account.
Below you will find a diagram with an example of how the fee coverage and deductions will affect a given donation:
If a $100 donation is made and the client does not cover the credit card fee the donation drops down to $96.69. From the $96.69 if the client does not cover the CGDS fee the donation drops down to $93.82.
If a $100 donation is made and the client does cover the credit card fee the donation stays at $100. From the $100 if the client chooses to cover the CGDS fee it will remain $100, if they do not cover the fee from the $100 it will drop down to $97.03.
Back to Credit Memos
Back to Homepage
