Overview
When donors give online, a small portion of each donation goes to the payment gateway as a processing fee.
The "Exclude payment gateway charges from goal" setting lets you choose whether your fundraising thermometer, donor leaderboards, and other public displays reflect the gross amount donated or the net amount your institution actually received.
This is a display-only setting — it does not affect donor receipts, donation records, or any amounts charged to donors.
When Should You Turn This On?
Turn this on if:
You want your public fundraising total to match what actually lands in your account
Your finance team reports on net (post-fee) amounts and you want consistency
You'd rather donors and staff see a number that reflects true funds received
Leave it off (the default) if:
You want to show the full generosity of your donors, regardless of fees
You use gross amounts as your reporting standard
How It Works
Here's what the thermometer and other public totals display in each state:
Toggle state | Donor covered the fee | Donor did not cover the fee |
OFF (default) | The total charged to the donor — donation + covered fee | The donation amount |
ON | The donation amount — since the donor covered the fee, your institution received the full donation | The donation amount minus the gateway fee (net received) |
In short:
Toggle OFF shows the amount the donor paid.(Gross)
Toggle ON shows the amount your institution received.(Net)
Example:
Your page has a $10,000 goal. Two donations come in:
Donor | Donated | Covered fee? | ~ Gateway fee | Total charged to donor | Your institution received |
Maria | $100 | Yes | $3 | $103 | $100 |
Jamie | $100 | No | $3 | $100 | $97 |
Toggle OFF (default): Thermometer shows $203 raised — Maria's $3 covered fee is included in the displayed total because it's part of what she paid
Toggle ON: Thermometer shows $197 raised — Jamie's $3 fee is excluded; Maria's full $100 still counts because Maria covered it
How This Interacts With Donor-Covered Charges
If your page has "Allow donor to cover charges" turned on, some donors may choose to cover the processing fee on top of their donation. When that happens, the total charged to their card is slightly higher than the donation amount.
This matters because the "Exclude payment gateway charges from goal" toggle controls which number appears on your thermometer — and neither toggle state separates "just the donation" from "the donation plus covered fee" on a per-gift basis.
Here's a quick example. Say Priya donates $50 and covers the $1.85 processing fee. She's charged $51.85 total.
Toggle state | Thermometer shows for Priya's gift |
OFF (default) | $51.85 — the full amount she paid |
ON | $50.00 — the net amount your institution received |
If you turn the toggle ON to fix Priya's display, keep in mind it also subtracts fees from every other gift where the donor did not cover charges — so those gifts will display slightly lower than the donated amount.
What If a Donor Covered Charges and Your Thermometer Looks Inflated?
This is the most common version of this question: you had "Allow donor to cover charges" turned on (or it was briefly turned on by accident), a donor made a gift and covered the fee, and now your thermometer total includes cents that shouldn't be there.
For example, your thermometer shows $376.85 instead of $375 because one donor's $50 gift is displaying as $51.85.
Why it happens: With the toggle OFF (default), the thermometer shows the amount the donor paid — and since they chose to cover the $1.85 fee, the total charged to their card was $51.85.
Your options:
Turn the "Exclude payment gateway charges from goal" toggle ON. This will show the net received amount for all gifts on the page — so the $51.85 becomes $50.00. But it also subtracts gateway fees from gifts where donors did not cover charges, which may lower your overall displayed total slightly.
Remove the charges added for donors to cover charges in your Payment Gateway settings. This makes the donated amount and the charged amount always the same across every page, so your thermometer will only ever show the donation amount.
The trade-off: donors won't be able to cover charges on any page until you re-enable it.
To prevent this in the future: On pages where you want the thermometer to show exact donation amounts with no extra cents, keep the "Allow donor to cover charges" option turned OFF for that page. Donors won't be asked to cover charges, so the amount they pay always equals the amount they donated — and that's exactly what the thermometer displays. You can still allow donor coverage on other pages where you want it.
Where This Affects Displays
When the toggle is on, the net amount is reflected across:
Fundraising thermometer and "amount raised"
Recent gifts feed and gift ticker
Leaderboards totals
Campaign totals
What Exports Show
Your donation export always includes two amount columns for every donation, regardless of whether the donor chose to cover the gateway fee:
Column | What it shows |
Gross Amount | The total amount charged to the donor's card |
Net Amount (Amount Without Charges) | The amount your institution received after gateway fees |
How these relate to the donor's intent depends on their choice:
If the donor covered the fee — the net amount equals their intended donation. The gross amount is the slightly higher total they were charged.
If the donor did not cover the fee — the net amount is their donation minus the gateway fee, which will be slightly lower than what they gave.
Important: When the "Exclude payment gateway charges from goal" toggle is off, your giving page displays the gross amount — which may be higher than the net amount shown in your export for the same donation. If you want the page display and your export's net column to match, turn the toggle on.
Where to Find This Setting
On your giving page settings, look for "Exclude payment gateway charges from goal" under the Campaign Settings section.
FAQs
Does this work for all payment gateways?
Yes — it applies to all payment gateways supported on the platform.
Do I need the "Allow donor to cover charges" option enabled for this to work?
No. The toggle works independently of whether that option is turned on.
Will my thermometer show a lower number after I turn this on?
Possibly. For any donation where the donor did not cover the fee, the gateway fee will be subtracted from the displayed total. This is expected — it now reflects what your institution actually received.
Does it apply retroactively to past donations?
Yes. As soon as you turn the toggle on, all past and future donations on that page are recalculated to show net amounts.
Can I switch it back off?
Yes, at any time. Turning it off reverts all displays to gross donation amounts.
Does this change donor receipts or donation records?
No. Receipts, records, exports, and amounts charged to donors are completely unaffected. This setting only changes public-facing display numbers.
A donor covered charges and now my thermometer shows cents (e.g., $51.85 instead of $50). How do I fix this?
This happens because the thermometer (with the "Exclude payment gateway charges from goal" toggle OFF) shows the total charged to the donor's card, which includes the fee they chose to cover. See "What If a Donor Covered Charges and Your Thermometer Looks Inflated?" above for step-by-step options to resolve this.
Can I remove the donor-covered fee from the thermometer for just one gift without affecting other gifts?
No. The toggle applies to all gifts on the page — there's no per-gift override. If turning the toggle ON isn't ideal (because it also subtracts fees from other gifts), the alternative is to
Remove the "Allow donor to cover charges" option from your Payment Gateway settings. See the troubleshooting section above for details. OR
Remove the charges added for donors to cover charges in your Payment Gateway settings. This makes the donated amount and the charged amount always the same across every page, so your thermometer will only ever show the donation amount.