Free Fundraising

FreeFunder uses Stripe as our payment processor. When you create your campaign, you'll add a Stripe email address so that donations go directly to your account. You (or your Beneficiary) will add your personal details and banking information to your Stripe Account, which is separate from FreeFunder. Once your Stripe account is set up, any donations made to your campaign will go straight to your Stripe account, and then to your bank account. Stripe charges a fee of 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction - this goes to Stripe, FreeFunder does not take any part of that. Usually the first funds become available for transfer from your Stripe Account to your Bank Account 5 days after the first donation, and then every day after that on a rolling 2 day basis. To transfer funds, log into your FreeFunder account and click "Manage This Campaign" for your campaign. Click on the "Bank Transfers" tab and you'll find transfer details and options.

FreeFunder does not charge any fees, we rely on optional donations. Stripe, the payment processor, takes 2.9% + $0.30 for each transaction. All Online Payment Processors (Stripe, PayPal, others) take a fee like that, and Stripe's rate is the same as the industry standard. The difference between FreeFunder and other sites is that FreeFunder does not take a platform fee - most other crowdfunding sites will charge their own platform fee (usually 5%) PLUS there is the payment processor's fee, which is unavoidable.

When donations are made the funds are added to the Beneficiary's Stripe Account immediately, so even if you don't hit your goal you'll keep whatever you raise. This means that FreeFunder is intended for personal causes where "every dollar helps," rather than for projects which would require you to hit a specific goal in order for it to work.

The answer to this depends on your specific situation, so we recommend checking with your tax advisor. If you are the Campaign Owner, the bank account that is connected to your campaign is the one that may have tax implications. If you are raising money for someone else, you may want to have the money go directly to their bank account instead of to your own. In some cases you may be able to write off the amount you received because it was gifted to you rather than received as income, but again, you should check with your tax advisor to be sure. If you are a Contributor, you may be able write off some donations, depending on the situation. If this is important to you, make sure you consult with a tax advisor prior to donating.