Frequently Asked Questions (Charity)

Do we need a website to participate in the program?
No, but it makes it more difficult to take online donations without one. You can print your donation page link in your publications and marketing materials to allow your donors to donate online. If you need a website, we recommend that you use Aplonis Webhosting. Tell them that you were referred by Star Donor and you will receive a special discounted rate for nonprofit organizations.

Can we do the setup ourselves or must we hire a web designer?
If you have a basic understanding of HTML and do your own website content, there is no need to hire a web designer to setup this program on your website. We provide you with the code to copy and paste into your webpage where you would like the Donate Now button or link to appear. If you need assistance with this, we would be happy to provide it.

How transparent is your process? Does the transaction appear to take place entirely on the nonprofit's site?
Once a donor clicks on your Donate Now button or donation link on your website, a new window is opened so that they can complete the donation process on your personal donation page. Your donor does not leave your website.

Do you have a demo page?
Yes, you can click here to see the demo page.

What are the participation fees?
There is a $10.00 setup fee which is due upon approval of your account. The setup fee may be paid when the supporting paperwork is submitted or we can deduct it from your first transaction statement. Rates vary depending upon the plan you choose. For example, the Basic plan has a 5.5% credit card processing fee with a $0.45 per transaction fee. There is no monthly minimum, monthly statement fee or monthly gateway fee.

For those who may be dissuaded from using the service due to the "seemingly" high transaction fee, please know that this is an expensive program to provide and we are doing everything in our power to keep the costs at a minimum and yet provide this much-needed service. Paying particular attention to the fact that there are no monthly fees, the program is actually quite reasonable. Also the processing fee covers all card types, including qualified and non-qualified, which can carry considerably higher discount rates. Additionally, the Basic Plan is a managed account which means that you don't have to worry about fraud scanning or verifications. That is completely done for you under the management program. Furthermore, by using this service, participating charities are contributing to the community of helping other nonprofit organizations.

When do we get paid?
Disbursement checks minus transaction fees are issued monthly. Donations made with non-U.S. funds are subject to a conversion rate. Donations made within the last 10 days of the end of the month will be held until they have cleared before being scheduled for disbursement. For all accounts with less than $25.00 in donations at the end of the month, those funds will roll over into the next payment period. To keep overhead costs at a minimum for everyone, checks will not be issued for less than $20.00.

Explain the various possibilities for customizing the donation option.
We provide you with a pre-designed html code that you place into your webpage where you would like the Donate Now button or link to appear. If you would like to use other graphics to better suit your website design and color scheme, you may do so. We encourage you to place a donation link with your code in the footer of every page. That way it is available whenever and wherever your visitors are on your website so that they can make a donation when the desire hits.

Must we use your service exclusively?
No. You may use other services if you desire. However, you should be aware that the more services that you use, the more confusing to your website visitors it becomes.

How long is the contract period?
There is no limitation regarding contract length.

What kind of customer support do you provide? During what hours?
We provide email and telephone customer support Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM (Central Time).

Will the donor see advertising or banners during the transaction?
ABSOLUTELY NOT! We are not providing this program to further any marketing plan. This program purpose is to only provide an easy and secure online donation engine to allow you to take donations from your website.

How is the information collected from the donor used? Who owns it?
We have the highest respect for privacy. Your donors are yours. All donor contact information is forwarded to you when a donation is made. We will only contact them to correct a donation problem should one arise. We will never contact them or use their contact information for any other purpose whatsoever.

What kind of donation reports and notifications are offered?
You receive an email donation notification as soon as the donation is logged. The report provides all of the contact information of the donor so that you can immediately send out a thank you note and proceed to add them to your member database and contact lists.

Tell us about receipts and acknowledgements to the donor.
Your donor will receive an email receipt when they make a donation to your organization. The email receipt is personalized to show that the donation was made to your organization. There is no advertising on any email message.

Whose name is on the donor's credit card statement?
The donor's credit card statement will state: Star Donor.

How can we get a Click to Donate button in the Worldwide Shelter Directory?
When your paperwork and setup fee have been received, we will give your listing a Click to Donate button. This is a bonus to animal welfare organizations who participate in the Star Donor program.

What other services does your company provide?
Currently, we offer the Basic donation processing service and the Advantage plan for advanced merchant services through our Star Donor program. We have plans for other services which we will announce as they become available.