How can a non-profit organization contact Shopify customer support?

[mrdurfee]

Hi, I've been trying to find a way to get a hold of Shopify. We are a non-profit thinking of using Shopify for our store online. We had some questions, but if for some reason I have not been able to find a way to get a hold of Shopify customer support. If anybody can help me figure out how to contact them that would be greatly appreciated.

[Olivia]

Hi, @mrdurfee!

Welcome to Shopify Community.

Thank you for reaching out and sharing your question with our network. We appreciate the good work non-profit organizations do and we absolutely want to support.

Shopify offers special non-profit pricing as a goodwill gesture upon request for review. Please note each case is evaluated individually and the registered charity or non-profit organization must meet all requirements or qualifications. 

Please take the following information with a grain of salt as all pricing and terms are subject to change. As of this time, the following pricing options apply: 

There are two plans for non-profit organizations: NPO Lite and NPO Full. 

NPO Lite with an online store costs $29 per month
NPO Full with an online store costs $99 per month 

The NPO Lite plan offers additional features to the Basic Plan that are not normally available on that plan.  These features are: 

* 1% transaction fees if using a 3rd party payment provider 
* Lower Shopify Payments credit card rates 
* Accept donations through Shopify Payments if a registered charity in US/Canada.
* Unlimited Staff Accounts 
* Real-time Carrier Shipping 

The NPO Full plan is similar to the Shopify plan, but comes with more robust features. These features are: 

* 0% transaction fees if the merchant is using a 3rd party payment provider
* Lower Shopify Payments credit card rates  
* Unlimited Staff Accounts 
* Accept donations through Shopify Payments if a registered charity in US/Canada.
* Real-time Carrier Shipping 

For those stores that do not require an online store, reduced fees are available. Furthermore, annual discounts apply when signing up for the year. 

I trust that helps! To compare these options against our generalized pricing, make sure to review our Pricing Page. 

If you are looking to set any of these up on your store, please connect with our Support team directly and we would be glad to advise next steps. 

Warm regards,

[inclusionpr]

@Olivia so I moved the nonprofit I work for from WP to Shopify for the ease of a no-code platform and collecting donations. I did my due diligence prior to moving us over as I want to cut down on costs for my company, as well. In all my research I was told the benefit to an NPO account is lower credit card fees and the ability to collect donations through Shopify Payments.

However, we are still paying 2.7% credit card fees - not a discount. And since joining, I've learned we can NOT collect donations without the help of a third-party app. The information you shared above is very misleading. I also spoke with Shopify support prior to signing up to verify this information was true.

As I've started setting up the site and looking for the option to add a donate button to product pages and other pages, I've now learned we can't do this without a third-party app.

I'd love to know your thoughts on this. Shopify should be CLEAR that while you receive a discount on the subscription, it's negated when you have to pay big bucks for an app to help you collect donations. On top of that, I've yet to find an app that is affordable for a nonprofit and also allows us to collect donations for us. They all seem to be upsell donation apps designed to collect donations on behalf of other NPO's. We ARE the NPO and need to collect donations. 

Thanks for your help. Please check out ontreeplanted as an example. Are they using an expensive app? Did they hire a developer to build it into their website? It would be amazing if Shopify didn't leave NPO's hanging. 

[Olivia]

Thanks for reaching out, @inclusionpr!

I appreciate your concerns and would be happy to address them. Everything I have shared in this thread is accurate and is in accordance with the 2.7% rate you are enjoying. The rate available on Basic Plans which you would otherwise be subject to is 2.9% in addition to the monthly fee differences. 

Furthermore, we do not encourage or discourage our users from using third-party apps. The functionality offered by third-party apps are supported by a community of developers. Some apps are free, some apps are paid - it all really depends on the complexity of the app and the developer's skill and effort required to maintain the app. 

We are very clear about this and leave it up to our users to build their stores the way they like. If our basic system does not meet their needs, then there are add-ons available either through apps, custom code or working with an independent developer. 

There's always workarounds like creating a product, name it "donation" and have pre-set denominations to meet your needs. I recommend opening a new thread for feedback from other NPOs as to what they are doing to keep all topics organized. 

Warm regards,

[X-Speed]

Hello

We are a non profit registered in Canada.  We have an existing website, what is the best monthly plan for a small not for  profit

Thank you

[Greta]

Hi, @X-Speed!

Thanks for reaching out. If you're interested in the NPO plan that Olivia mentioned, you can contact our live support team through the Help Center. We'd be happy to answer any questions and start the application process. Simply enter the details of your question into the chat assistant and click "I still need help" to be connected with a Support Advisor. 

Please let me know if you have any other questions!