I don't have an issue with Blackbaud requesting a tip from our supporters to help offset credit card fees. But major tweaks are needed for transparency. A donor brought to our attention when we sent end of year statements that she was charged $495 when we only had a record of a $450 charge. Blackbaud charged her a 10% tip.
1) Make the language on the checkbox clear that it is going to Blackbaud and not our organization.
2) (Already in another idea entry, but don't automatically check the box.)
3) The percentage is too high. What donor is going to offer 9 or 10% to Blackbaud unless they don't realize it's happening or think it's going to the organization they are supporting.
4) Blackbaud is bundling this tip into a single charge with whatever amount is going to my organization. The donor’s credit card statement just lists our organization name. However, this is not accurate as the tip is going to Blackbaud and the charge does not match the receipt the donor gets from us. We don’t have access to the record of the full transaction.
Solution A): The receipt we send should be able to list that tip and that it is not tax deductible. We should be able to see those transactions so that we can address questions about them.
Solution B): If Blackbaud doesn't want us to have access to this information, then Blackbaud charges its tip as a separate transaction and sends a separate receipt/acknowledgement.
Lindsey Nova
The wording on the checkbox is very ambiguous whether or not the additional amount is truly optional. And I also have a big problem with the full amount showing on our donor's credit card as a single charge from our organization and not being broken down into the amount going to us and the amount going to Blackbaud.