Your Nonprofit Can Become Its Own Zeffy—and Own Everything Around the Gift

Zeffy proved something important: nonprofits should not surrender part of every gift to a fundraising-platform fee. CauseWorkHub agrees—and takes the idea much further.

Zeffy is a vendor-hosted fundraising platform funded by optional contributions that donors make to Zeffy. CauseWorkHub’s committed donation system uses a different ownership model: the nonprofit publishes its own forms and campaign pages, connects its own merchant account, receives funds through that account and keeps the donor relationship inside its own operating system.

CauseWorkHub is the whole donation system.

A gift should not end as a payment confirmation and a donor row. CauseWorkHub connects the public giving experience to the people, restrictions, approvals, accounting references, program work, receipts, communications and mission evidence that give the transaction meaning.

First-party donation forms →Create branded one-time, recurring, campaign, memorial, event and designated-fund experiences without adding another required form product.

One governed supporter record →Connect the gift to the relationship, preferences, conversations, acknowledgments, participation and complete engagement history.

Funding accountability →Carry designation, restriction, campaign, appeal and accounting references forward instead of reconstructing purpose later.

Mission connection →Show how contributed resources support programs, services, outputs and outcomes without exposing private client information.

Nonprofit-controlled infrastructure →Keep the Hub on the nonprofit’s secured subdomain and let the payment processor—not WordPress—handle card data.

Governed decisions →Preserve approvals, campaign authority, refund decisions, exceptions and board-visible accountability.

Zeffy’s model is free—but the donor contribution supports Zeffy

Zeffy states that it charges nonprofits no platform, transaction, credit-card, subscription or setup fees. Its model is funded entirely through optional contributions donors may add at checkout. Those contributions allow Zeffy to cover payment-processing costs and operate its platform.

That is a legitimate and useful model. But it still makes Zeffy the fundraising platform, payment environment and recipient of the donor’s optional platform-support contribution.

CauseWorkHub lets the nonprofit support its own infrastructure

CauseWorkHub will let an organization place a clear, optional contribution on its own donation form to help cover merchant-processing and fundraising-technology costs. The language, percentage or fixed amount, default behavior and disclosure belong to the nonprofit and must be transparent before the donor authorizes payment.

The economic difference is simple.

With Zeffy, the donor may voluntarily support Zeffy so Zeffy can cover the fees. With CauseWorkHub, the donor may voluntarily support the nonprofit’s own cost of accepting and governing the gift.

Yes, the contribution can cover more than merchant fees

CauseWorkHub costs $300 per year and takes no percentage of donations. At sufficient online-giving volume, a modest donor-selected contribution can cover merchant processing and the annual CauseWorkHub license.

Illustrative example

Assume $25,000 in online gifts across 100 transactions and an illustrative merchant rate of 2.9% + $0.30. Base processing would be approximately $755. The $300 CauseWorkHub license brings combined annual cost to approximately $1,055. If every donor voluntarily added 4.5%, the organization would receive $1,125 in additional gross support—enough in this illustration to cover the combined cost, including processing on the additional amount.

Illustration only. Processor rates, transaction sizes, donor participation, refunds and chargebacks vary. Organizations must configure clear disclosures and should obtain appropriate accounting and legal guidance.

The organization does not need to hide a fee, inflate the stated gift or imitate a tip screen. It can plainly ask:

Would you like to add 4.5% to help us cover the cost of securely accepting, recording and stewarding this gift?

If some donors decline, the nonprofit absorbs the remaining cost. If donors participate at a meaningful rate, the organization can substantially reduce or eliminate its net fundraising-technology expense.

The form is only the front door

CauseWorkHub’s advantage is not another attractive payment form. It is what happens after the donor clicks submit:

The payment processor handles sensitive card data.
The nonprofit’s own merchant account receives the funds.
The donor and organization records update inside the Hub.
The gift carries its campaign, appeal, fund designation and restrictions.
Acknowledgment and receipt activity become part of the relationship history.
Tasks, follow-up and stewardship can be assigned.
Finance receives the accounting reference and supporting evidence.
Leadership can connect resources to program delivery and mission outcomes.
Refunds, disputes and exceptions remain governed work with a visible history.

Pages, embeds and campaigns stay under the nonprofit’s brand

The committed system includes hosted campaign pages on the nonprofit’s own secured Hub subdomain plus lightweight embeds for its main website. Organizations will be able to create focused giving pages, suggested amounts, recurring options, fund designations, impact explanations, donor-covered-cost choices, acknowledgments and campaign progress without turning their operating record over to a separate fundraising ecosystem.

CauseWork product direction

Own the gift. Own the relationship. Prove the impact.

Available foundationsPeople and organizations, CRM relationships, forms, finance and funding context, files, conversations, assignments, activity history and nonprofit-controlled hosting.

Production configurationThe nonprofit’s secured Hub subdomain, merchant account, bank destination, receipt identity, campaign language, fund structure, permissions and accounting connection.

Committed donation workspaceDonation forms and pages, recurring gifts, designated funds, transparent donor-covered-cost options, automated acknowledgments, campaign dashboards, refunds, disputes and connected stewardship.

A Zeffy alternative should solve more than Zeffy

Zeffy focuses on fundraising and donor management. CauseWorkHub is the nonprofit operating system around the gift: CRM, cases, programs, grants, governance, HR, files, forms, projects, meetings, communications, community and funding accountability around QuickBooks.

The goal is not merely to make fundraising “free.” It is to let the nonprofit own the entire chain—from the public ask to the governed use of the money and the mission result it helped produce.

Your nonprofit can become its own Zeffy.