Use GiftAssist to give donors the option to help offset processing costs.

GiftAssist does not replace processing fees. It is a small, additional donation that donors can add to their transactions so the final amount you receive is closer to the donor’s original gift.

GiftAssist is tax deductible for your donors.

Currently, GiftAssist is available for the following transactions:

If you set up GiftAssist as a percentage, the calculation applies to the entire transaction total. For registrations, this total includes:

GiftAssist is enabled by default for new forms.

To enable GiftAssist:

Donors will see the GiftAssist checkbox near the payment information area, just before the submit button. For kiosks, they'll be taken to a screen containing a breakdown of the GiftAssist fee, where they can decide if they want to add the amount to their transaction.

Once a donation amount has been entered, the additional amount will automatically be calculated and displayed.

When a donor is viewing the online Bloomerang Fundraising donation confirmation page, the GiftAssist amount will be listed as Covered Costs in the Billed Transaction Details section.

On the online confirmation page for peer-to-peer, the GiftAssist amount will be listed as shown below:

In a donor’s peer-to-peer email receipt, the following will be displayed:

You can also include a special thank-you message in your receipts for donors who opt in to GiftAssist by using conditional content.

Donors can also opt in to GiftAssist when they set up a recurring donation. If enabled, GiftAssist will be applied to each occurrence of their recurring payment.

They can also opt out of GiftAssist by logging in to their donor account and unchecking the checkbox while they’re editing the recurring payment.

If a donor sets up a recurring payment without a donor account and would like to stop using GiftAssist, admins who have system permission to access recurring payments can go in and opt out donors.

To opt a donor out of GiftAssist, select the Recurring Payments option located in the Donors area of the control panel, and then click the recurring ID of the payment you’d like to edit. You’ll land on the Recurring Details screen, where you’ll click the Edit button in the Amount section.

Uncheck the GiftAssist box, and then click Save Amount Information.

If you’re looking for a GiftAssist amount in your Transactions report, you’ll see it appear as a line item, as shown below.

In other reports, you’ll see GiftAssist displayed in its own column, as shown below.

If you use a payment processor other than Bloomerang Payments, you can refund the GiftAssist amount separately from the rest of the transaction if needed. From your dashboard, locate the transaction for which you’d like to refund processing costs. Click the transaction ID in the table, and then click the Refund Options button on the resulting screen.

You’ll be presented with the options shown below. You can enter a full or partial refund for the main donation amount in the Donations section. If you have multi-restriction giving enabled, you'll see a field for each restriction. Check the box to refund the full GiftAssist Amount — partial refunds for GiftAssist aren't an option.

The total amount to be refunded will automatically update based on your actions.

When you’re finished entering refund amounts, click the Issue Refund button. The refund will be issued within 24 hours.

You’ll receive a confirmation message and the option to view the refund(s).

If you click View Refunds, you’ll see the Refund History table, which lists all refund actions related to the transaction.