Fees and payouts

For every donation processed through Fund500:

• Platform fee: 0%. Fund500 takes nothing on top of the donation. We're tip-funded, not fee-funded.
• Processing fee: 2.9% + $0.30, charged by Stripe. Covers card processing, fraud detection, and chargeback handling. This is a real cost, not a Fund500 charge - Stripe collects it directly.

On a $100 donation: the campaign receives roughly $96.80 by default (Stripe processing comes off the top), or the full $100 if the donor opts to cover the processing fee at checkout. Fund500's cut is $0 either way.

Donors can opt to cover processing fees at checkout. With cover-fees on, the donor pays the donation amount plus the Stripe fee so the campaign receives 100% of the intended donation.

Fund500 has no platform fee. Tips are how we keep the lights on. The tip slider on checkout starts at $0 and stays there unless the donor moves it. Tips are never required, never pre-selected, and never tied to whether your donation is processed.

Funds are held in Stripe until the organizer's payout account is verified. After verification, payouts run on a 7-day rolling schedule (the standard Stripe Connect schedule). The organizer's dashboard shows the next payout date and amount.

If a chargeback occurs after a payout has been released, Stripe pulls the chargeback amount from the organizer's next payout. Fund500 helps with the dispute process; final liability sits with the organizer per Stripe's Connect terms.

Fund500 is not a registered charity. Personal-cause contributions made through Fund500 are not tax-deductible charitable donations. Receipts state this explicitly. If you need tax-deductible giving, donate to a registered 501(c)(3) instead.

We will not bury fees in the fine print, charge surprise platform-engagement fees, change the rate without notice, or push fee structures that donors cannot see at the moment of giving. Live fee breakdown is the checkout default and stays the default.