Suggestions simple, secure e-payment for non-profit web site...

[Jem]

Have a non-profit client that would like to accept "donations" of support through their website... which essentially means credit card payments.

I've talked with them about whether or not it needs to be real-time processing and they say, "no."

They do not currently have a SSL certificate, so for this simple set-up it would be nice to simply use a third-party provider of secure connection and/or credit card processing.

Anyone try anything similar and find a satisfactory solution that isn't too expensive or complicated to set-up and/or manage, yet is reliable/trustworthy?

I guess I was envisioning a 3rd party fulfillment company that would handle the transactions for $10-20/month. Any suggestions for things that have been tried and work well would be appreciated. Thanks!

~Jem

P.S. Would like to avoid PayPal if possible because it adds and extra layer of complexity beyond a simple "credit card" transaction. Thanks!

[pinion]

I know you say you want to avoid paypal but paypal works great for that type of thing. You can even set up the colors and stuff to match your website and the process does not distract to much from your main site. If memory serves and the process is the same it will shoot you back to a page on your site that will thank them for the donation or whatever and sicne its on your site you can have it set up any way you like.. I guess I just want to suggest that you look into that option further before throwing it out completly.

[mattkime]

a fried of mine just set up a site with a merchant account and was very happy with what network solutions had to offer. Their transaction charge was significantly lower than other services.

[Jem]

Thanks guys!

I came across this site and it looks interesting. Anyone tried them?

http://www.acceptiva.com/index.html

There were also some suggestions over at TechSoup.org in this somewhat dated article... still some good leads.

http://www.techsoup.org/learningcenter/f...ge5223.cfm

And pinion, I will look into PayPal a little further, I'm just a little annoyed by their somewhat pushy way of doing business, and lack of helpfullness when dealing with disputes, etc. I don't like the fact that it sometimes takes them WEEKS to process a chargeback or credit. Their business model REWARDS holding on to your money as long as they can, and then they charge you a fee on top of that. If I'm going to pay a fee anyway I'd rather it not take so long or be such a hassle :}

[pinion]

Well let me know what you end up with. You never know when I might want to try to get money out of people.

[ka jowct]

Anyone try anything similar and find a satisfactory solution that isn't too expensive or complicated to set-up and/or manage, yet is reliable/trustworthy?

I guess I was envisioning a 3rd party fulfillment company that would handle the transactions for $10-20/month. Any suggestions for things that have been tried and work well would be appreciated.

Take a look at Network for Good.

I work with two non-profits. Both signed up with Network for Good to handle online donations and so far it's worked out well. This is over a period of 2-4 years, possibly longer in the case of one organization (I can't remember exactly when we signed up). For a small group with limited IT resources, it seems much safer to me than assuming the security risks and and potential liabilities involved with handling credit-card processing in-house.

[Jem]

[quote ka jowct][For a small group with limited IT resources, it seems much safer to me than assuming the security risks and and potential liabilities involved with handling credit-card processing in-house.
That's my thought exactly. I had stumbled across Network for Good and bookmarked it, but knew nothing further. I'll look at that one closer since you seem to have had good success with it so far. Thanks again!

Cheers,

Jem

[The UnDoug]

I recently set up a non-profit with paypal for donations and sales of tickets to an upcoming auction. I would have preferred a non-paypal solution, but for the amount of money coming in via the website, the cost of a non-paypal solution killed the deal. They need as much of the donation as possible.

[ka jowct]

One of the reasons we didn't use Paypal is that we'd have probably needed to set up a second bank account to handle the funds coming from Paypal. As far as I can remember, setting up our organization's bank account involved two signatures (from two members of the organization) and was more involved than opening a personal account, so no one had the time or energy to set up another one for Paypal or even for funds coming from Network for Good. Network for Good can transfer funds into an account, or send a check each month. We opted for the check. I suppose we could have had Paypal send a check, but I remember that process being expensive and slow.

Network for Good's fees went up in the past year or so; we're not happy about it, but we don't need the headaches of handling credit card transactions ourselves.