Free for shelters. Here's the actual math.
Bloom doesn't charge shelters a dollar — not per feature, not per seat, not per donation. We're funded by donors who choose to tip Bloom at checkout. If they don't, we don't get paid. That's the whole model.
- Managed website$0.00
- Custom domain + SSL$0.00
- SEO optimization$0.00
- Email campaigns (unlimited sends)$0.00
- CRM seats (unlimited)$0.00
- Donation pages$0.00
- Fundraising campaigns$0.00
- AI writing & optimization$0.00
- Analytics & reporting$0.00
- Payment processing markup$0.00
- Onboarding & support$0.00
Every donation ends up in one of three places.
We don't take a platform fee. We don't mark up processing. We don't have tiered plans. Bloom earns only when a donor chooses to chip in at checkout — which means our incentives point the same direction as yours. Here's exactly what happens to every dollar.
Donor opts in to cover the card processing fee AND leaves a tip to Bloom. Your shelter gets 100% of the gift. Bloom stays running.
Donor covers the processing fee but sets the Bloom tip to zero. Your shelter still gets 100%. Bloom earns nothing on that donation. Totally fine.
Donor skips the option entirely. Your shelter receives the gift minus the standard card processing fee (~2.2% + 30¢ on nonprofit accounts) — the same rate you’d pay any processor directly. Bloom still earns nothing.
Translation: your shelter never pays Bloom a dollar. The only question is whether your donors cover the card processing fee and whether they tip the platform. We never mark up processing. We never take a cut of your donations. We are never a line item in your budget.
What a donor sees at checkout.
Click the box. Change the amount. Watch the math update in real time. This is the actual checkout a donor sees on your Bloom-powered site.
When donors cover the fee, the full $100.00 lands in your shelter's account. Bloom stays funded by the optional tip — and your shelter never pays a cent.
- No platform fee, ever
- No markup on processing
- No seat or per-donation fees
- No contract \u2014 leave any time
Everything. For every shelter.
There are no tiers, add-ons, or upgrade paths. Every shelter on Bloom gets every feature we ship.
- Managed website with custom domain
- SEO optimization and monitoring
- Google Ad Grants application and management
- Donation and payment processing
- Automated email campaigns and flows
- Fundraising campaigns and landing pages
- CRM and donor management
- Shelter management modules
- AI-powered tools throughout
Using our marketing powers for good.
We spent years building the growth stack for eCommerce brands — sites that convert, ads that compound, email that pays for itself. Along the way, we got pretty good at it.
Animal shelters are doing some of the most important work happening — fighting for animals the rest of the world gave up on. And almost none of them have access to the kind of growth engine the brands we worked with take for granted.
So we're giving it to them. If every shelter on Bloom raises more, they save more animals. That's enough for us.
— Jeff & Megan
Real questions, real answers.
Is Bloom actually free for shelters?
Yes. There are no platform fees, no seat fees, no per-donation fees, no setup fees, no contract, no premium tier. Every shelter on Bloom gets every feature we ship. Bloom is funded entirely by donors who voluntarily tip the platform at checkout — and we only get paid when they do.
What if my donors never leave tips?
Then your shelter uses Bloom for free and we run a deficit on you. That’s the deal. We’re betting enough donors across enough shelters will chip in that the math works platform-wide. We’d rather carry that risk than put it on shelters.
What are the actual processing rates?
Standard nonprofit rates from our payment processor — roughly 2.2% + 30¢ per card transaction for verified 501(c)(3)s, and 0.8% for ACH. These go directly to the card networks and the processor, not to Bloom. We never take a cut on top.
Are there any fees I should know about?
No platform fees. No per-seat fees. No per-donation fees. No setup fees. No contract. No premium tier. Every shelter gets every feature. Forever.
Is there a contract?
No. Use Bloom for as long as it works for your shelter. If you ever want to leave, we’ll help you export everything and pick where to go next.
Do I need technical skills?
No. Bloom is fully managed. We build, configure, and optimize everything — and the AI keeps iterating in the background. You approve what you want to approve; we handle the rest.
How do you plan to make money long-term?
One way: donor tips. Every donation we process is a chance for a donor to voluntarily support the platform. As we onboard more shelters, the math compounds. And because Bloom is built on AI — not a 200-person support org — our overhead stays tiny. That efficiency is what lets us offer every feature for free, and it’s why we, the founders, can stay personally hands-on with every shelter instead of routing you to an outsourced team in another country.
Your shelter. Your growth team. Free, forever.
20 minutes on a call. If Bloom is a fit, we set your shelter up ourselves this week. If it isn’t, we’ll tell you — and point you somewhere that is.
Have a question first? Email us. We read every message.