Comments on: Our Hero, The Rat

By: Brian

Brian — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 21:55:44 +0000

On a related note, here’s a really good atheist store I found. Well, primarily atheist and science stuff…

Maybe wearing an atheist T-shirt won’t change the world, but then again, maybe it could.

By: Lindsay

Lindsay — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 19:03:13 +0000

What a cool charity! And the rats are so cool too. For xmas I like to give in my siblings names to a charity…I think they would be thrilled to know the money went to these little guys!

By: Jeff Eyges

Jeff Eyges — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 10:59:22 +0000

PL, it varies with processing company. Believe it or not, one of the cheapest has been Bank of America. The fly-by-night processors who actively solicit business have a lot of hidden fees.

By: Parrotlover77

Parrotlover77 — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 20:46:16 +0000

* far lower

I should qualify that. They are far lower for those who do not process a large quantity of transactions. Of course it’s cheaper for Sears to have their own credit card processing account through whatever financial institution they use. But PayPal beats the pants off $200/mo, PLUS per-transaction fee, PLUS percentage.

By: Parrotlover77

Parrotlover77 — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 20:44:47 +0000

PayPal always took “way too much” but, in fairness, they are far lower than getting your own credit card processing account through a bank.

The reason PayPal looks as high as 9.4% is because of the flat fee per transaction. That is identical practice to every credit card processor on the planet. Not the exact amount, but the fact that there is a fixed fee for the transaction, plus a percentage that is a cut of the total amount of the transaction.

Every time you buy shoes, go to dinner, or donate with a credit card, you are giving the recipient some percentage less than the actual cost. That’s just how it works when you transmit money using any method other than cash.

It shouldn’t surprise anybody.

So cool HeroRat came by to say hi! I’m fanning that Facebook page right now. Very cool.

By: Jeff Eyges

Jeff Eyges — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 09:29:08 +0000

9.4% for PayPal is obscene

It starts out as 3.4%, but they then tack on .35 Euros. I ran some figures quickly; I might have overestimated. It’s a lower percentage for larger donations.

Yeah, PayPal takes out way too much and does little or nothing in return, but they’re owned by eBay now, and that’s their business model.

By: S.

S. — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 03:30:31 +0000

love it! what a great cause.the rat is a real cutie,too.

By: HeroRATs

HeroRATs — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 11:40:54 +0000

Greetings all,

Many thanks for your support via your blog post @Ron, and for raising awareness about our HeroRATs work sniffing out global problems like landmines & tuberculosis!

My apologies to those who have found our contribution/payment options difficult. We are working to improve this process at the moment but indeed, as a relatively small NGO without a US office, we are only able to offer tax-effective giving through our partner foundations.

If you decide to contribute via KBFUS, we ask that you please send us an email to herorats@herorat.org to let us know, so that we may thank you properly! You can also email us at the same address if you have any other questions regarding the adoption/donation process, or the HeroRATs in general.

Thanks again for your interest and support of our work…if you want to stay connected, please feel free to become a friend of HeroRAT on Facebook (www.facebook.com/people/Hero-Rat/654015955), or follow us on Twitter (@HeroRATs) for regular updates on the ground.

Warm regards from Tanzania,
The HeroRAT team
http://www.herorat.org

By: Ron Britton

Ron Britton — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 11:00:28 +0000

Wow. 9.4% for PayPal is obscene. They don’t do anything that deserves that much of a cut. Most credit card processors take somewhere around 3%. Global Giving is at least doing something to justify 15%.

By: Jeff Eyges

Jeff Eyges — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 10:33:40 +0000

You can also share the YouTube video on your Facebook page.

(I knew, if given enough time, I’d finally find something Facebook is good for.)

By: Jeff Eyges

Jeff Eyges — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 10:24:13 +0000

Okay, I sniffed around a bit (not unlike a Giant Pouched Rat). PayPal takes out around 9.4% for a typical donation (under 2,500 Euros). However, you can also donate through their US foundation partner, the King Baudouin Foundation (seriously), which processes its online donations through Network for Good, which only takes 3%, which is far more reasonable. Or you can just send a check. I don't know if KBF takes a percentage, they don't say. And it's tax-deductible. Fifteen percent is just too much.

By: dennis

dennis — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 01:26:41 +0000

Thanks for the interesting post.
I did donate to this worthy cause.

Other such sites are:
http://www.Kiva.org for micro lending

If you want to help diminish world hunger without contributing money and, at the same time, develop your vocabulary:
Freerice.com