The Stripe nonprofit discount reduces processing fees for eligible organizations in six regions: the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Australia, and New Zealand. The US nonprofit rate is 2.2% + $0.30 per transaction, down from the standard 2.9%. To qualify, more than 80% of your payment volume on the account must be tax-deductible donations. The discount is not retroactive, so apply by emailing nonprofit@stripe.com before your first campaign goes live.
What is the Stripe nonprofit discount?
The Stripe nonprofit discount is a reduced processing fee available to organizations that primarily accept tax-deductible donations. Stripe lowers its standard percentage rate for approved nonprofits, which reduces the amount taken from each donation before it reaches the organization.
According to the Giving USA 2025 report by the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University, US charitable giving reached $592.5 billion in 2024, a 6.3% increase year over year. At that scale, even a fraction of a percentage point in processing fees represents significant dollars leaving the sector before they reach the mission.
The discount reduces the variable percentage component of the fee only. In the US, the rate drops from 2.9% to 2.2%. The fixed per-transaction fee of $0.30 stays the same. One important exception: American Express transactions are always charged at 3.5% even for approved nonprofits. The discount does not apply to Amex cards regardless of approval status.
According to Stripe, the platform processed more than $300 million in donations on GivingTuesday 2024 alone. GivingTuesday 2024 generated a record $3.6 billion in US donations overall, a 16% increase from 2023. The processing fee applied to that volume makes the nonprofit discount materially consequential for any organization running high-volume campaigns.
How much does the discount save you?
The savings depend on your annual donation volume and your region. Select your region below to see how the standard and nonprofit rates compare across five donation benchmarks.
Select your region
| Annual donations | Standard rate fees | Nonprofit rate fees | Annual savings |
|---|
Figures show the percentage-based component of fees only. Each transaction also carries a fixed fee (e.g. $0.30 in the US) that is identical on both the standard and nonprofit rates and does not affect the savings calculation.
Who qualifies for the Stripe nonprofit discount?
The core eligibility rule is straightforward: more than 80% of the total payment volume on the Stripe account must be tax-deductible donations. Stripe is explicit about which transaction types count toward this threshold and which do not.
Eligible transactions are free-will, tax-deductible donations from donors. Ineligible transaction types include membership fees, tuition payments, event ticket sales, registration fees, and auction payments. These cannot be counted toward the 80% requirement even if the organization collecting them holds full nonprofit status. The transaction type matters, not just the organization type.
This distinction matters most for membership-driven organizations. A professional association, alumni group, or scout organization that primarily collects annual dues will find that the bulk of its Stripe revenue does not qualify. If membership fees account for more than 20% of payment volume on an account, the account will not meet the threshold. According to Stripe's online giving research, more than 60% of donors now prefer to give online, which means most nonprofits are already running a meaningful share of their income through payment processors. Keeping donation and non-donation revenue clearly separated across accounts is the practical solution, covered in detail in the final section below and in our guide to collecting membership dues online.
Stripe also requires the organization to hold recognized nonprofit status, not just operate as a noncommercial entity. In the US, that means a current IRS 501(c)(3) designation. Each region has its own documentation requirement, described in the next section.
Rates and eligibility by region
The Stripe nonprofit discount is available in six regions. Rates, required documentation, and currency differ by region. All rates below are for domestic card transactions. Non-domestic card surcharges of 1.5% apply on top of the rates listed, and currency conversion adds a further 1% where applicable.
United States
Nonprofit rate: 2.2% + $0.30 per transaction (standard rate: 2.9% + $0.30).
Required documentation: EIN number, or the IRS letter confirming 501(c)(3) status.
The US program applies to organizations registered as tax-exempt public charities under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Private foundations and 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations do not qualify under the standard program.
European Union
Nonprofit rate: 1.2% + €0.25 per transaction (standard rate: 1.5% + €0.25).
Required documentation: A link to the organization's entry on its country's charity registry, or a scanned copy of the letter confirming nonprofit status.
EU interchange fees are regulated under European law, which is why the base rates are lower than in the US or Canada. Stripe's documentation requirement is flexible across EU member states: it accepts official registration documents from any member state's nonprofit registration system without requiring a specific registry format.
United Kingdom
Nonprofit rate: 1.2% + £0.20 per transaction (standard rate: 1.5% + £0.20).
Required documentation: Registered charity name and number from the Charity Commission for England and Wales, the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR), or the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland (CCNI).
Canada
Nonprofit rate: 2.2% + CA$0.30 per transaction (standard rate: 2.9% + CA$0.30).
Required documentation: A link to or screenshot of the organization's page on the Canada Revenue Agency website, or a letter confirming registered charity status.
Australia
Nonprofit rate: 1.4% + AU$0.30 per transaction (standard rate: 1.75% + AU$0.30).
Required documentation: A link to the organization's entry in the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) register, or an equivalent document confirming charitable status.
New Zealand
Nonprofit rate: 2.5% + NZ$0.30 per transaction (standard rate: 2.9% + NZ$0.30).
Required documentation: Registered charity number from the New Zealand Charities Registry.
New Zealand has approximately 29,000 registered charities governed under the Charities Act 2005. Organizations operating as incorporated societies should ensure their registration reflects current status, as re-registration under the Incorporated Societies Act 2022 was required before April 2026.
How to apply for the Stripe nonprofit discount
The application goes through email, not through the Stripe dashboard. Stripe reviews applications once per week, and approval takes up to five to ten business days. Apply before you start collecting donations, because the discount is not retroactive and cannot be applied to transactions already processed at the standard rate.
Send an email to nonprofit@stripe.com with three items. First, include the primary email address associated with the Stripe account. This is how Stripe identifies which account to apply the discount to. Second, attach or link your proof of nonprofit status in the format appropriate for your region, as described above. Third, include a written confirmation that more than 80% of projected payment volume on the account will be tax-deductible donations.
Template email — copy and customize
Hello,
I am writing to request the nonprofit processing rate for our Stripe account.
Account email: [primary email address on the Stripe account]
Organization name: [full legal name]
Nonprofit registration: [EIN / charity number / registry link for your region]
We confirm that more than 80% of the payment volume processed through this account is tax-deductible donations from donors.
Please let us know if you need any additional documentation.
Thank you,
[Your name and title]
[Organization name]
Replace all items in [brackets] with your details. Send to nonprofit@stripe.com from the email address associated with your Stripe account when possible.
After submission, Stripe will review the materials and notify the organization of the outcome by email. Additional documentation may be requested to verify status. Once approved, the discounted rate takes effect automatically from the date of approval — no dashboard configuration is required. To confirm the rate is active, process a small test transaction and verify the fee charged in the Stripe dashboard matches the nonprofit rate for your region.
One common mistake is launching a fundraising campaign or donation form before applying. Every transaction processed before approval is charged at the full standard rate. The cost of waiting to apply compounds quickly across a campaign launch: a $50,000 campaign processed at 2.9% instead of 2.2% costs an extra $350 that cannot be recovered.
How to reduce your Stripe fees even further
Two strategies reduce processing costs beyond what the nonprofit discount alone provides, and both can be layered on top of an approved account.
Bank debit is the more impactful option for organizations with recurring major donors. In the US, ACH Direct Debit is priced at 0.8% per transaction, capped at $5, compared to 2.2% + $0.30 for nonprofit-rate card payments. On a $500 recurring monthly gift, ACH costs $4.00 while a card payment costs $11.30. That is an $88.40 annual difference on a single donor. Stripe's research also shows that bank debit donors stay 20% longer on average and give 55% more over their lifetime than card donors, making the switch strategically valuable beyond the fee reduction.
ACH Direct Debit is available for US-based accounts only. Other regions have local equivalents supported natively through Stripe: SEPA Direct Debit for the European Union, Bacs Direct Debit for the United Kingdom, Pre-authorized debits (PADs) for Canada, and BECS Direct Debit for Australia. Unlike ACH in the US, these methods are not reduced further by the Stripe nonprofit discount — but their standard rates are already substantially lower than card rates, so the practical fee advantage over cards is comparable. Donors authorize the organization to pull funds directly from their bank account on a recurring or one-time basis.
Donor fee coverage is a simpler option that many organizations underuse. Giving donors the option to add the processing fee to their gift amount reduces the net cost to zero for the organization. According to ColoradoGives.org, 92% of donors opted to cover transaction fees when given the choice in 2024. Coverage opt-in rates vary by donor segment and campaign context, but for most organizations it is worth testing as a default option.
Stripe vs PayPal Giving Fund for nonprofits
PayPal's nonprofit rate for domestic US transactions is 1.99% + $0.49, compared to Stripe's 2.2% + $0.30. Which processor is cheaper depends entirely on the average donation amount.
For donations under approximately $134, Stripe is cheaper. The lower fixed fee ($0.30 vs $0.49) outweighs the higher percentage rate. On a $50 donation, Stripe charges $1.40 and PayPal charges $1.49. For donations above $134, PayPal is cheaper. The lower percentage rate begins to dominate once the donation size is large enough. On a $200 donation, Stripe charges $4.70 and PayPal charges $4.47.
For organizations where the typical online donation is $50 to $100, Stripe wins on cost. For organizations running major donor programs where the average gift is several hundred dollars or more, PayPal may reduce fees on those transactions.
Beyond pricing, the two platforms differ in integration depth. Stripe offers broader developer flexibility, supports recurring billing natively, and integrates with a wider range of nonprofit and membership management platforms. PayPal Giving Fund has the advantage of donor familiarity and a separate charity verification program. The right choice depends on your average donation size and what the rest of your fundraising tech stack requires.
Managing donation and membership payment flows
Nonprofits that collect both donations and membership dues face a structural challenge with the Stripe nonprofit discount: mixing payment types on a single Stripe account can break the 80% eligibility threshold. A membership association that processes $60,000 in donations and $50,000 in dues through the same account would have only 54% of its volume in eligible donations, well below the required 80%.
The cleanest solution is to separate the two revenue streams across different Stripe accounts. Donation campaigns run through an account that maintains the 80% threshold and qualifies for the discount. Membership dues processing runs through a standard-rate account. Both accounts can feed into consolidated financial reporting without requiring manual reconciliation between them.
Orgo's payment processing architecture supports this structure directly. Each chapter or revenue type can connect a separate Stripe integration, allowing organizations to ring-fence donation income from membership dues while tracking both streams independently in one platform. Orgo supports both one-time and recurring donation campaigns alongside membership billing, with Stripe-powered payment processing across all revenue types. For organizations managing 80+ chapters where chapter dues and national donation campaigns run simultaneously, this separation keeps the discount-eligible account clean without creating administrative overhead. To see how the architecture works in practice, review our pricing or request a demo.
Frequently asked questions about the Stripe nonprofit discount
Can the Stripe nonprofit discount be revoked?
Yes. Stripe can revoke the discount if the organization no longer meets eligibility criteria, most commonly if the share of tax-deductible donations drops below 80% of total payment volume, or if the organization's nonprofit status lapses. Organizations should notify Stripe if their payment mix changes significantly after approval.
Does the Stripe nonprofit discount apply to recurring subscription billing?
Yes. The discounted rate applies to all eligible card transactions processed through the approved account, including recurring charges set up through Stripe Billing. The rate is applied at the transaction level, so all card payments on the account benefit from the reduced percentage automatically.
Can an existing Stripe account apply for the nonprofit discount, or only new accounts?
Both new and existing Stripe accounts can apply. The discount is applied to the existing account from the date of approval forward. There is no requirement to open a new account. Because the discount is not retroactive, organizations should apply before launching any donation campaigns.
Does the nonprofit discount cover fees for international donors giving to a US nonprofit?
Partially. The nonprofit rate of 2.2% applies to the base processing fee, but Stripe adds a 1.5% surcharge for non-domestic cards and an additional 1% if currency conversion is involved. A US nonprofit processing a donation from a European card would pay approximately 3.7% plus $0.30 on that transaction.