Fundraising platform comparison

Big Nest vs Vertical Raise

Compare Big Nest fee handling with published Vertical Raise service-fee examples and your own agreement percentage.

Your fundraiser

How much do you expect to collect online?

Average donation

$111.73

Starting values are based on one anonymized school fundraiser. They’re a real-world example, not a universal average.

Side-by-side fundraiser result

Compare the same online donations

Big Nest

Verified pricing

Service fee · Service fee:

Vertical Raise

Agreement-specific · public district example

20% – Published Spokane example

Online donations

$20,000

$20,000

Your group receives

$20,288.52

$16,000

Your group receives before payment processing

Your group pays

$0

At least $4,000; other fees not estimated

Donors pay extra

$799.84

$0

$4,288.52 difference in group receipts.

$799.84 difference in estimated donor-paid additions.

Big Nest fee structure

2.2% + $0.30 per donation

How should processing costs be handled?

A configurable fee is added to donations and goes to your group.

Customizable service fee
%

Added to each donation and paid by the donor.

Vertical Raise fee structure

20% of online donations + additional payment processing

Service fee

Uses Spokane Public Schools guidance listing a 20% online-donation program fee plus additional payment processing.

View detailed calculations

Big Nest

How pricing works

Card processing

2.2% + $0.30 per donation

Paid by your group

Momentum annual plan

$399 per year

Paid by your group

Detailed calculation

179 online transactions averaging $111.73.

Transaction count and gift sizes are estimated from one anonymized real school fundraiser's card donation pattern.

Donor-paid service charges
$799.84
Card processing: 2.2%
$457.62
Card processing: $0.30 per donation
$53.70

Donor-paid amounts

Donors pay $799.84 beyond their intended donations.

Annual costs

Annual platform cost shown separately: $399

Pricing scope

United States, eligible nonprofit domestic online cards

  • This estimate uses Stripe's US nonprofit rate for eligible domestic online-card donations. Stripe requires approved nonprofit status and at least 80% of payment volume from tax-deductible donations; membership, tuition, ticket, registration, and auction payments do not count toward that threshold.
  • The Momentum annual plan is shown separately and is not deducted from one fundraiser.

Verified pricing: Uses Big Nest's published plan information and the Stripe nonprofit card rate modeled for qualifying parent groups.

Pricing sources

  • Big Nest fundraising · Checked 2026-08-30Big Nest fundraising fee handling, use of the group's connected payment account, and the nonprofit processing rate modeled for qualifying groups.
  • Big Nest pricing · Checked 2026-08-28Momentum annual plan price.
  • Stripe nonprofit discount · Checked 2026-08-30Stripe nonprofit-discount availability and eligibility requirements. Big Nest publishes the 2.2% plus $0.30 domestic online-card rate modeled for qualifying parent groups.

Vertical Raise

How pricing works

Service fee

20%

Paid by your group

Published district example Uses Spokane Public Schools guidance listing a 20% program fee for online donations.

Payment processing

Vertical Raise's universal payment-processing rate is not publicly disclosed. Check your agreement for the applicable rate.

Paid by your group

Detailed calculation

179 online transactions averaging $111.73.

Transaction count and gift sizes are estimated from one anonymized real school fundraiser's card donation pattern.

Service fee: 20%
$4,000

Payment processing: Vertical Raise's universal payment-processing rate is not publicly disclosed. Check your agreement for the applicable rate.

Donor-paid amounts

Donors pay $0 beyond their intended donations.

Vertical Raise's universal payment-processing rate is not publicly disclosed. Check your agreement for the applicable rate.

No universal flat fundraiser fee

Official pricing explanation

Vertical Raise says its service fee varies by fundraiser type, service level, and prize program.

Organizations receive 85% of online donations

Published Pinellas example

The 2025–26 Pinellas County Schools approved vendor list documents a 15% provider share for online donations, illustrating that public arrangements differ.

Pricing scope

Published Spokane Public Schools online-donation terms

  • Vertical Raise does not publish one standard fee for every fundraiser. Pricing varies by fundraiser type, service level, prize program, and agreement.
  • The default 20% service fee comes from Spokane Public Schools guidance and is not presented as a universal Vertical Raise rate.
  • Payment-processing fees are additional under the Spokane terms but are not estimated because a universal current rate could not be verified.
  • The calculator compares the same gross fundraiser across providers. It does not estimate fundraising performance or assign a dollar value to campaign support or organizer time.
  • No annual subscription or base fee is modeled. Review your agreement for any terms not represented here.
  • Vertical Raise provides campaign assistance and fundraising technology in addition to payment collection; this estimate does not value those services separately.

Agreement-specific · public district example: Uses Spokane Public Schools guidance listing a 20% online-donation program fee plus additional payment-processing fees. It is a public district example, not universal Vertical Raise pricing.

Pricing sources

View Big Nest pricing View Vertical Raise pricing Compare all fundraising platforms

Service-model comparison

These platforms solve different problems

Big Nest supports a parent group's year-round work, while Vertical Raise combines fundraising technology with campaign assistance from a representative. The calculator applies each model to the same intended online donations without treating the services as equivalent.

The Vertical Raise percentage is agreement-specific

The default uses a 20% service fee documented by Spokane Public Schools. The 15% option comes from a Pinellas County Schools vendor list, and the Custom option accepts the percentage in your agreement.

Processing remains separate and unknown

Spokane's guidance says payment-processing fees are additional. The calculator does not invent a rate, so every Vertical Raise amount is labeled as before payment processing until agreement-specific terms are entered in a future supported model.

Compare the work as well as the cost

Vertical Raise provides coach assistance, participant pages, sharing tools, tracking, collection, and payout management. Ask whether that support produces enough additional donations or saves enough organizer time to justify the portion of proceeds Vertical Raise retains.

Review both pricing pages

See the Big Nest pricing page and the Vertical Raise pricing examples for each platform's assumptions, sources, and qualifications.

Related comparisons

Questions about this comparison

No. The default uses published Spokane Public Schools terms. You can also select the published 15% Pinellas example or enter the percentage in your agreement.

No. The Spokane guidance says processing is additional, but a universal current rate could not be verified. Vertical Raise results are labeled as before payment processing.

No. It applies the selected financial terms to the same fundraiser. Your group should separately evaluate the campaign assistance, outreach support, and organizer time included in its agreement.

No. Big Nest is a year-round parent-group platform. Vertical Raise is a rep-assisted fundraising provider. The shared calculator makes the financial difference visible without treating the services as equivalent.

Put both models on the same fundraiser.

Compare published service-fee examples without assigning a dollar value to campaign support.

Compare all fundraising platforms Create your Big Nest