How Fees Work on Chimp

It takes money to move money. That’s why, every time money moves from one place to another (whether online, at the ATM, at the cashier or via mail), processing costs are incurred. And in many cases, where there is a need for human time to administer the money, admin costs are also incurred.

Ever since we launched Chimp, we have proudly maintained the lowest fees in Canada on charitable donations.

We believe that, in most cases, giving through Chimp is more cost effective than giving direct, and we’ve done everything we can to make sure the largest possible portion of every donation goes to the charity it’s intended for.

That means, negotiating with credit card processors to ensure low rates (and rates that continue to decrease as our donation volumes increase), giving donors more options for how to donate (credit card, cheque, securities…with more choices to come). And whenever possible, we’ve partnered with generous sponsors to cover the fees so charities receive 100% of the donations made through Chimp.

The specifics around fees can be complicated though, and we get a lot of questions about exactly how they work on Chimp. Here are some of the most common questions, along with our answers.

What fees are deducted from donations?

There’s only one fee we deduct from donations:

Third-party processing fees: These are fees charged to us by banks and credit card companies that we recover. Because we’re able to take advantage of cost efficiencies based on volume of transactions, our recovery fees are lower than those of most Canadian charities — and likely lower than what your charity pays in processing fees. Our fees page breaks down the respective costs for these transactions.

What is a fee sponsor?

Sometimes we have a fee sponsor in place. It means fees are covered (up to a maximum determined by the sponsor) so that charities receive 100% of every donation intended for them. Fee coverage applies to a maximum of $500 in fees per account. The limit applies to a personal Chimp Charitable Impact Account, Giving Group or campaign. Fees in excess of $500 will not be covered by the fee sponsor.

When there is no fee-covering sponsorship in place, donors are invited to cover fees themselves, which charities have told us they really appreciate. Our system takes care of the fee math, so it’s easy to add on to your donation. And you’ll never be asked to contribute to Chimp — only to your chosen charities by adding the appropriate percentage onto the donation. Donors must have registered for a personal Charitable Impact Account in order to take advantage of this option.

When are fees deducted?

Fees are deducted when the donor, Giving Group or campaign sends the gift to the charity. In other words, when an individual adds money to their Charitable Impact Account, or gives money to a Giving Group or campaign, fees are not deducted at that time. They are only deducted when those gifts are sent from Chimp to the charity, as illustrated above.