CanadaHelps vs. PayPal: Who Processes Donations Better?

In our era of ‘buying Canadian’, this patriotic philosophy should extend to your technology providers, too. CanadaHelps is a proudly Canadian organization. We’re built to serve the unique needs and requirements of Canadian charitable organizations. 

For better or worse, PayPal traces its roots back to some infamous political tycoons. As consider as you weigh the pros and cons of different providers for your organization, this may be something you want to consider.

Charities often view PayPal as a cost-effective donation management choice, and this is correct. But look further, and factor in CanadaHelps’ lack of hidden fees, and the many customizations and value-added features we offer that will save your organization both time and money. 

Let’s break down the pricing models of CanadaHelps and PayPal, as well as the specific features both companies offer. Read on, and discover why your charity should process donations with a CanadaHelps’ Custom Donation Form.

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CanadaHelps v. PayPal

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1. Enhanced donation offerings 🫰

PayPal can only accept and process single and monthly donations. As a system, it lacks advanced offerings and complex capabilities for accepting different types of donations, like tribute and securities donations, which CanadaHelps processes.

Fundraising best practices instruct charities to offer donors multiple streams of giving and different options for payment. The streams include offering monthly, tribute and securities donations. 

Additionally, PayPal only offers the opportunity to process payments via PayPal or credit card. With CanadaHelps, your charity can accept donations over credit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, gift card, and even via PayPal on our tools.

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2. No hidden fees🚫

PayPal offers a fairly low-cost base transaction fee of 1.99% + $0.49 per transaction for eligible charities. PayPal tacks on a percentage-based fee of 1.50% for international donations.

CanadaHelps charges a blanket transaction fee of 3.75% on our donation forms. We operate on a no-hidden-fee model. We offer donors the option to self-select to cover the transaction fee during their checkout flow.

Let’s break down what is included in both companies’ transaction fee models.

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3. Robust educational resources🎓

CanadaHelps provides charities with a full suite of educational resources that includes live webinars, training programs, and a robust content library designed to help charities improve and strengthen fundraising efforts. Our educational materials, such as The Giving Report, are based on the latest research into generosity in Canada.

PayPal does not offer charities educational resources such as webinars, training programs, ebooks or the latest research on charitable giving.

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4. Enhanced customer service and support🤳

PayPal only offers charity phone support that does not include chat or email components. By contrast, CanadaHelps offers enhanced support options for both charities and donors.

Charity support

CanadaHelps offers charities 24/7 customer service and support. Our support team offers bilingual client support over chat, email or by phone. Moreover, the CanadaHelps charity success team is also available to help charities optimize the use of our tools.

Donor support

CanadaHelps provides donor support to offload the burden on charities. Let’s say a donor accidentally donates twice, or encounters an issue with their donation and needs clarification. Instead of contacting your organization to reverse the charge or ask questions, the donor reaches out to CanadaHelps directly for support with their donation.

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5. Automatic funds transfer💸

CanadaHelps uses automatic funds transfer, also known as Electronic Funds Transfer or “EFT” to charities that use our products. After a charity sets up EFT, donations are deposited at a weekly cadence, directly into your charity’s bank account. CanadaHelps EFT helps charities get money rapidly, with no minimums, each week.

By contrast, when a donor gives through PayPal, the funds are deposited into your PayPal account. Thereafter, charities need to manually transfer the funds to your charity’s bank account. While there is no fee for this changeover, it is a cumbersome extra step that can be mitigated by using CanadaHelps.

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6. Branded donor experience🎨

CanadaHelps offers charities an enhanced suite of customizations for their donation form. Unlike PayPal, our forms offer important fundraising features like customizable suggested donation amounts and impact statements.

During the setup of their donation form, charities can choose from the following customizations:‍

• Brand colours
• Pre-set donation amounts (ex. $5, $10, $25, etc)
• Background photos. See this example from Edmonton Food Bank 
• Specific giving funds
• Donation dedication 
• Writing a custom message

Providing a seamless branded experience can reassure donors that they are donating to a verified charity. For more inspiration on creating your own branded donor experience, Check out 10 Best Uses of the CanadaHelps Donation Form.

7. Choose from multiple donation form types📃

While PayPal only offers a single donation form type, CanadaHelps offers charities the choice between four different types of Customizable Donation Forms to process online donations. 

Choose between the following donation form types:

1. Multistep donation form
2. Full donation form
3. Tribute-first donation form
4. Securities form
5. Bonus option: Pop-up donation form!

Read about the pros and cons of each donation form type, and how to choose the right donation form for your charity. 

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8. Full stack of charity tech tools🛠️

PayPal offers charities a fundraising solution for donations. CanadaHelps is a robust and comprehensive suite of fundraising solutions. In addition to our donation form, we have a full stack of fundraising tools. 

Discover CanadaHelps solutions for:

• Ticketed event management
• Running peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns
• Set up a charity profile page 
• Managing contacts and donations

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Next Steps 👇

While PayPal may appear to be a cost-effective fundraising option, CanadaHelps offers charities a more robust and enhanced fundraising experience. Charities benefit from the many fundraising features and the greater brand control that are included by working with CanadaHelps.

PayPal is a donation processor, CanadaHelps is an all-in-one fundraising platform tailored for Canadian charities, with robust customizations and additional features for donor relationship cultivation. 

CanadaHelps encourages all charities to take their due diligence and research whichever donation platform they wish to use. Choose a donation processor that is trustworthy, fits your needs, helps your fundraising succeed and aligns with your organization’s values.

Ready to take advantage of CanadaHelps' full suite of fundraising solutions? Login to your free CanadaHelps charity account to get started.