The credit card processing company charges us 2.9%+$.30 for EVERY transaction. We need to have a built in way to cover these costs because the giving for each party is so unpredictable. A single party could have 20, 30 or even 50 single donations for various amounts and the Fees would total more than the 10% we make.  We have found that charging a $1.50 no matter how much the transaction fee (sometimes its more, sometimes its less) keeps us at a break even. So, this model allows us to keep doing what we do... not pass costs on to the charities and provide an awesome alternative to birthday party gift management. ALSO... Since the  party guests pay this fee, they actually end up saving money becausethey don't have  the cost of gift wrap, cards or gas to and from the store to buy the gift, not to mention the value of their time.