The donor tip on Pledgix Go campaigns

Free Pledgix Go campaigns pay no platform fee at all — 0%. Instead, checkout invites each donor to add a small optional tip to Pledgix on top of their donation. The tip is how the free tier stays free; this article explains exactly how it behaves.

What the donor sees

On a Go campaign, the checkout summary shows the tip as a clear line item:

• Your donation — the amount the donor chose
• Tip to keep Pledgix free — a suggested percentage, with buttons for other percentages and a custom-amount option
• Total to charge — donation plus tip, the one number the card is charged

A suggested tip is pre-selected, but the donor is always in control: they can pick a different percentage, type any amount, or use the "Don't add a tip" link to decline entirely. A declined tip never blocks the donation.

What gets charged

The donor's card is charged once, for the total — donation plus tip together. There is no second charge and no surprise: the total is displayed before the donor confirms.

What the tip does not touch

The tip is platform revenue, not campaign money. Pledgix strips it out server-side before anything is credited to you:

• Campaign totals — your raised amount, progress bar, and public feed reflect only the donation itself.
• Receipts — the donor's tax receipt shows the donation amount, not the tip.
• Payouts — your payout balance is built from donation amounts only; tips never appear in your payout math or on your account statement.

A donor cannot inflate your campaign total by declaring a large tip — the server clamps the tip to the actual charge and always keeps the donated portion positive.

Can I turn the tip off?

No. The tip prompt is part of the Go model: 0% platform fee, funded by voluntary donor tips. The donor can always decline it, but the campaign owner can't remove the prompt.

What happens after an upgrade to Pledgix One

If you upgrade your campaign from Go to Pledgix One, the tip prompt stops automatically — One campaigns never ask donors for a tip. From that point the campaign pays the current Pledgix One rate (shown in your dashboard during the upgrade and on the pricing page), which applies retroactively to the whole campaign, including donations received while it was on Go.

Tip: If a donor asks why their card statement shows more than their donation, the difference is the tip they chose at checkout. It went to Pledgix, not to your campaign, and their receipt correctly shows the donation only.