Industries Hub
Last updated: October 8, 2026
Quick Answer
Choose nonprofit payment processing around what you collect: tax-deductible donations, event tickets, membership fees, merchandise, or a combination. Nonprofit status alone does not establish discounted-rate eligibility. Stripe publishes donation-specific eligibility conditions; Dharma publishes nonprofit interchange-plus pricing. Compare total costs and fundraising integrations, and verify the terms for your actual payment mix before applying.
Nonprofits accept payments across several channels: online donation forms on their website, in-person at events and galas, through recurring monthly giving programs, and for merchandise or program fees. Each channel has different payment processing requirements.
First separate donations from ticket sales, membership fees, and merchandise: provider discount conditions may treat them differently. A donation or fundraising platform manages donor forms and campaigns; a processor handles payment acceptance; a gateway connects payment software to a merchant account. An integrated solution may combine these roles. Confirm which parts your organization still needs.
If you need recurring donations, ACH, or event hardware, check those workflows alongside your CRM integration and fund-accounting reconciliation. Ask how gross receipts, fees, refunds, and deposits reach your records, and verify rate eligibility, total platform and processing costs, compatibility, and any restrictions on your activities.
Nonprofits have several specific requirements that distinguish their payment processing needs from for-profit businesses.
Note: Confirm expense classification, donation acknowledgments, and any tax treatment with qualified accounting advisers. Optional donor fee coverage is a fundraising choice, not a guaranteed source of recovered costs.
Compare the total cost of collecting funds, not just a headline card rate: platform charges, processing fees, monthly or gateway fees, recurring-payment charges, hardware, refunds, and bank-payment returns can affect net receipts.
Stripe's official nonprofit-discount policy requires registered nonprofit status, an eligible region, and at least 80% of Stripe payment volume from tax-deductible donations. Membership fees, tuition, tickets, registration fees, and auction payments do not count toward that threshold; the account must be used primarily for donations, not products or tickets. Request the discount and confirm treatment of mixed receipts with Stripe.
Square's published U.S. pricing describes standard rates by plan and payment channel, plus eligibility for custom pricing. The official pricing reviewed here does not establish a nonprofit-specific discounted rate. A written custom offer is not the same as an automatic nonprofit discount.
Beyond pricing, nonprofits should evaluate how well a processor integrates into their donor management and fundraising operations.
Use the linked provider cards below as research starting points, not a ranking. Ask your fundraising platform which processor or gateway it supports, what it charges on top of processing, and whether donor records and fund allocations can be reconciled without manual re-entry.
Authorize.net is a payment gateway: its Gateway Only plan connects to an existing merchant account, while its All-in-One offering includes a merchant account. Its eCheck service supports ACH, but availability, enrollment, fees, and your fundraising software's integration must be checked separately.
Note: Official sources reviewed: Stripe's Fee discount for nonprofit organizations; Square's U.S. Payments fees; Dharma's Nonprofit Rates; Helcim's Pricing; and Authorize.net's Pricing and eCheck documentation. Published terms do not establish your organization's eligibility or compatibility; request written confirmation before committing.
Dharma Merchant Services
Publishes nonprofit interchange-plus pricing and no long-term agreements. Compare monthly, closure, gateway, and hardware charges against your donation volume.
Stripe
Publishes a nonprofit discount for eligible regions and registered organizations with at least 80% tax-deductible donation volume. Confirm eligibility and your donation platform's support for Stripe.
Square
Evaluate for in-person event collection using published plan and payment-channel rates. Nonprofit-specific discounted pricing was not established by the official pricing reviewed; verify any custom offer separately.
Helcim
Publishes interchange-plus card pricing, no account monthly fee, and ACH pricing. Compare recurring-payment charges and verify your fundraising and accounting integrations.
Authorize.net
Gateway Only connects to an existing merchant account; All-in-One includes one. Evaluate eCheck/ACH separately, and confirm support in your chosen fundraising or CRM software.
Fit signals are based on publicly available information. Verify current rates and terms directly with each provider before applying.
Some publish nonprofit programs, but eligibility is not automatic. Stripe requires registered nonprofit status, an eligible region, and at least 80% of Stripe payment volume from tax-deductible donations; ticket sales, memberships, tuition, registration, and auctions do not count toward that threshold. Dharma publishes nonprofit interchange-plus pricing with separate monthly and other fees. Square's reviewed U.S. pricing describes standard and custom pricing, not a documented nonprofit-specific discount. Obtain the applicable terms in writing.
There is no universal best provider. Start with your donation platform or custom form requirements, then compare supported processors, total fees, recurring giving, and CRM exports. Stripe's discount is conditional on donation-based eligibility; Dharma publishes nonprofit interchange-plus pricing. Neither a discount nor a pricing model establishes that a provider supports your complete fundraising workflow.
Choose a fundraising platform or payment setup that supports scheduled donations, then verify how it stores payment credentials, retries failed charges, handles expired cards, and lets donors update or cancel their giving. Confirm which features are included, which carry extra charges, and how donation records stay synchronized with your CRM. A recurring-payment feature alone does not establish that every donor-management workflow is supported.
ACH may be an option if your provider and donation platform support bank payments. Helcim publishes ACH pricing, and Authorize.net offers eCheck through the ACH network. Check enrollment, donor authorization, transaction limits, settlement timing, and return fees. Compare the actual total with card processing for your gift amounts; a generic ACH fee range does not establish your costs.
Optional fee contributions may offset some processing costs, but donor participation is uncertain. Keep the choice clearly optional, explain the added amount, and make declining it straightforward. Verify how your platform calculates and records the contribution, including any fees on that extra amount. Ask qualified accounting or legal advisers about receipt wording, tax treatment, and disclosure requirements for your organization and locations.
For in-person events, compare mobile readers, connectivity, staffing, and how ticket, auction, and donation receipts reach your records. Research Square's event-payment setup and the Stripe Terminal or Clover options linked from their provider profiles, then verify availability, hardware costs, and integration requirements. Test the actual devices and checkout workflow before the event; do not assume approval or setup will be immediate.
Ask for sample exports showing gross receipts, fees, refunds, and net deposits, then test reconciliation with your CRM or fund-accounting system. Confirm whether fund and program allocations are stored in the payment platform or maintained elsewhere. Your accounting advisers should verify that the resulting records meet the requirements of your specific grants; an integration alone does not establish compliance.
Run a Fit Check
Identify providers that may deserve closer research based on your nonprofit's payment channels and selected needs.
Cost Calculator
Model your donation processing costs and compare effective rates.
Stripe vs Square
Compare Stripe and Square payment workflows, then verify donation-rate eligibility and applicable fees separately.
Recurring Billing — Glossary
How recurring billing infrastructure works for sustainer programs.
ACH Payment — Glossary
Understand bank payments before comparing provider fees and return handling for major gifts.
Analyze your payment needs to build a guided research path around providers, comparisons, pricing concepts, tools, and verification points that may matter to your business.