Clerestory — Payments & Donor Retention for Non-Profits

Revenue Optimization

Increase average gift size by 15–25% through sensible defaults and donor-friendly options.

The problem: Generic donation forms treat every gift the same. No strategic tier placement, no fee coverage, no flexibility. You leave money on the table with every transaction.

Our Solution:

Smart tier defaults (set "popular" and "greater gift" options to appear first)—donors give more when they see impact levels upfront
Fee coverage built-in (55–65% of donors choose to cover fees when asked, increasing net revenue instantly)
Flexible commitment options (auto-renewal, monthly/quarterly/annual recurring, and multi-year pledges with automated installments)
Events and sponsorships included (ticketing, inventory management, and sponsorships all in one place)

Membership Management

Set it and forget it. Your memberships run themselves.

The problem: Tracking membership dates in spreadsheets. Manually sending renewal reminders. Chasing lapsed members one by one. Staff spending 10 to 20 hours monthly on tasks that should be automatic.

Our Solution:

Flexible tier configuration (set pricing, duration, auto-renewal discounts, and member-only retail discounts—all managed in one place with drag-and-drop ordering)
Automated expiration tracking (15-day warning emails and expiration notifications sent automatically—no manual reminders, no members slipping through the cracks)
Gift membership support (supporters can purchase memberships for others, with automatic tracking of who gifted whom and separate renewal handling)
Self-service member lookup (donors verify their own status at checkout via email or phone, see their tier, expiration date, and any retail discounts—no staff intervention needed)

60%

of Donors
cover fees providing
instant revenue lift

Increase in
Member Retention
with auto-renewal

10+

more Hours/month
back to focus
on your mission

Donor Insights

Know every donor the moment they arrive—and personalize their experience automatically.

The problem: Most payment systems treat every donor like a stranger. Returning supporters re-enter their information, existing members see irrelevant options, and you have no visibility into who's at risk of lapsing or ready to give more.

Our Solution:

Smart donor recognition (email or phone lookup instantly retrieves profile, membership status, and giving history—auto-filling forms and surfacing relevant options)
Real-time lifetime value tracking (total donations, memberships, and retail purchases tracked per donor with first and last contribution dates)
Retention analytics dashboard (MRR, donor retention rate, median gift size, and auto-renewal counts—all updated in real time)
Membership-aware checkout (existing members see upgrade paths, expiration dates, and retail discounts automatically applied at point of sale)

Unified Giving

One platform for your website, your front desk, and your gift shop.

The Problem: Most non-profits cobble together separate tools for online donations, in-person payments, and retail sales. Data lives in silos. Members get asked for information you already have. Nothing talks to each other.

Our Solution:

Website-ready embeddable forms (drop donation, event, and membership forms onto your existing site in minutes—no developer required)
Tablet-optimised kiosk mode (accept donations, memberships, ticket sales, and gift shop purchases from a single in-person interface)
Built-in retail and gift shop (inventory tracking, automatic SKU generation, member discounts applied at checkout, and tax-deductible receipt calculations)
Unified donor experience (same donor recognition, same payment methods, same experience—whether they're on your website or standing at your front desk)

common questions

We’re here to answer your questions.

We know non-profits and we know payments. We're here to help you in any way that we can, anytime!

How does Clerestory use Stripe?

Clerestory is a Stripe Connect Platform application. When your non-profit onboards with Clerestory you become a Connect Express organization linked to Clerestory.

You are the merchant of record (MoR) for each transaction and, via the Stripe integration, your donor payment details can be saved for offline processing (e.g., pledges, recurring giving, renewals).

Clerestory hosts the infrastructure and handles payments and memberships.

Clerestory sets up the Stripe organization for you and handles all payments.

What does Clerestory cost?

Clerestory assesses a 3% platform fee on each transaction. No hidden fees, no per-seat pricing, and no fixed fee or "call a sales rep" pricing.

Stripe assesses a 2.2% + $0.30 fee per transaction to process the actual payment.

Put simply, this is ~$5.80 for every $100 processed.

Clerestory offers the option for donors to cover these fees—for memberships, donations, and retail sales.

Between 55%–65% of donors choose to cover processing fees—that's more money in your bank account with each payment.

Clerestory and CRMs

Clerestory is the payments brain for your non-profit and is standalone—working with or without a CRM.

Clerestory tracks and optimizes memberships for you eliminating the need to track membership payments and statuses in separate places (CRM, spreadsheet, etc). Typical tasks like “running a lapsed or up-for-renewal membership report” are fully automated, eliminating the need for additional manual tasks. This means you stay focused on your mission-driven campaigns while Clerestory handles recurring giving.

Want to update your CRM with donation and membership information? Clerestory makes it easy to take this data with you—and our roadmap includes integrations with many existing CRMs.

Clerestory and fundraising campaigns

Clerestory automates dunning, renewal, cart abandonment, and tax receipt campaigns.

You can, and should, continue to execute fundraising campaigns that help you achieve your mission. Clerestory's automation removes the burden of "chasing" donations. Should you desire, you can turn these automated campaigns off.

How do I get started?

Get started in minutes, not weeks. After creating your account and setting up your donation preferences, your online donation and membership form, and your in-person kiosk retail and donation forms, are ready!

We will guide you in completing the setup for your Stripe merchant account (typically completed within one hour or less) and, when approved, you're ready to accept donations!

Typically this is all done same-day.

How does the donation form get added to my website?

We make website integration easy. You can choose to embed the form directly onto your existing donations page or you can use our direct link unique for your organization.

Most organizations choose to embed the form directly onto their website.

Can I use Clerestory for some payments, but not all?

You can! While most non-profits use Clerestory for all payments, some non-profits enjoy using other platforms for specific purposes such as for event tickets and waitlists or live and online auctions.

With Clerestory you are always in control. Love your current online platform and just need a retail solution? Love your cash jar but want to increase website conversion? No matter your goals, Clerestory has you covered.

Does Clerestory support multiple currencies?

Absolutely! Clerestory accepts all major international currencies—and even crypto (where allowed).

When do I get billed?

You never see a bill with Clerestory. Our platform fee is assessed at the time of the payment (just like a payment or credit card fee)

Enterprise-Grade Donation Tools at Non-Profit Pricing.