Going Through a Third Party vs Directly Through AFSP.org

I contacted AFSP.org a few days ago to let them know I was interested in raising money for them, and to get information and assistance if needed. I learned that AFSP.org has a very simple campaign creator- you make an "about" page and they provide the donations page automatically. I saw that going direct would also change how the donations were used: half would go to the national branch, half would go to the local branch of my choosing. It would also get around that pesky third party cut. It allows donors to choose whether they wanted to pay through Paypal or credit card, though the site doesn't state directly the payment processing fees from those third party handlers.

It's not a bad setup for it, to be honest, and I was seriously considering using it for the above very good reasons.

Tiltify.com on the other hand has much more in depth campaign creator and is made with streamers in mind. It's easy to create incentive tiers, donation amount goals, a schedule, and to edit everything as the stream is rolling. It can embed your stream, and offers a small bar for your layout to track donations and progress.

On the downside, 5% is taken out of each donation, though it is used to maintain the website. They are upfront about payment methods removing a cut as well for processing.  Through Paypal, 2.9% + 30 cents are taken from the donation for processing. Through First Giving Credit Card Processing, 4.5% is taken out, which is higher, but might be available to more people.

Both options have very good points and a couple downsides. They are very valid venues, and I think they serve different purposes.

AFSP.org's simple process is great for a simple campaign. No bells, no whistles. Here is my page, please donate. Tiltify.com is great for a production and a group effort. If I was doing a low-key campaign, it would have been perfect to go through AFSP, and I think for future campaigns I will. However, with a bunch of giveaways, donation tiers, and a virtual marathon of stream time, with things bound to change over the course of the weekend, Tiltify.com seems the best route.

I will still use Tiltify as originally planned for this campaign. There will be a lot going on, and I expect the easier it is to edit things, the better. Expect a maximum of 10% removed from the donation for processing and site maintenance, and a minimum of 8%. About $90 - $92 of every $100 will go to AFSP directely.

I do recommend checking out AFSP.org's campaign creation page should anyone wish to do a much quieter stream campaign, or fund raising in general. It will allow for a higher percentage of donations to go to them, plus you can direct half the raised funds to your local chapter, which is awesome.

On another note, I have been working out a tentative schedule, which I will talk about next update. Just working out some kinks.