Covering the processing fee
A small extra charge so 100% of your pledge actually reaches the school.
Card transactions cost a small fee — about 2.8% + 30¢ on a Canadian online donation. If you tick the "cover the fee" box at checkout, you pay that extra dollar or so and the school gets your full pledged amount. If you don't, the school still gets your donation, just with that fee taken off the top.
For example: a $50 donation with the fee covered means you pay $51.43, and the school gets the full $50. Without the fee covered, you pay $50 and the school gets about $48.57.
Most donors leave it checked
About 80% do — the extra dollar or two feels small compared to the donation, and it lands cleanly. But either way is fine. The school appreciates you no matter what you pick.
That fee goes to Square (the company that processes the card), not to PagePledge. We charge schools a flat fee per campaign — we never take a cut of donations.