This agreement is between Common Light LLC ("Witness", "we") and each church, nonprofit, or organization ("you") that receives gifts through Witness. By enabling giving on your page, connecting a payout account, or accepting a gift, you accept it. It sits alongside the Terms of Use; where the two conflict on fees, this agreement controls.
1. Givers always give the full amount
A giver is charged — and receipted for — the full amount they choose to give. The Witness fee is never shown to the giver, never added to their charge, and never taken out of their gift. Your organization receipts the giver for the full gift.
2. The Witness fee — 2%, collected at the time of each gift
Witness charges your organization 2% of the total of each gift you receive through the app. That is the whole platform fee. It is the same whether the giver pays by card or by bank transfer, and it is collected automatically at the moment each transaction settles — the industry-standard way platform fees work — through the payout account your organization connects. It never appears to the giver and does not reduce what givers give or what they are receipted for.
Example: on a $100.00 gift, the giver is charged $100.00 and receipted for $100.00; $2.00 is collected as the Witness fee when the gift settles.
3. Payment processing is separate
Processing is charged by the payment networks and banks, not by us. Current processing rates:
- Cards: 2.9% + $0.30 per charge.
- Bank transfer (ACH): 0.8%, capped at $5.00 per charge.
A giver can choose to add the processing cost on top of their gift so none of it goes to fees. The choice is the giver's alone — it is never pre-selected. Processing rates are set by our payment provider and may change; current rates are always shown on the giving screen.
4. What you receive, and when
Your organization receives the full gift, less the 2% Witness fee and payment processing (unless the giver covered processing). Funds are paid out to the bank account your organization connects itself; balances transfer automatically as they clear. A balance is never shown as paid until a real transfer to your bank has succeeded. Witness is not a bank or money transmitter and does not hold your funds as an investment.
5. What the fee never does
- Paying more, or paying at all, never changes whose prayers are seen. Giving and prayer visibility are permanently separate.
- The fee is never taken from the optional "keeping the light lit" gift a giver may add for Witness itself — that gift is already ours.
- There are no per-gift charges to your organization beyond the 2%, and no hidden monthly fee for receiving gifts beyond your published plan price.
6. Refunds and reversals
Gifts are generally non-refundable once processed, except as required by law. If a gift is refunded or reversed, the 2% Witness fee on that gift is returned with it; processing costs already charged by the networks may not be recoverable.
7. Taxes and receipts
Your organization is responsible for its own tax receipts, acknowledgments, and reporting to givers, and receipts reflect the full amount given. Where a thank-you item is provided, only the portion of a gift above the item's stated fair market value may be tax deductible. The 2% Witness fee is a fundraising cost your organization pays, not part of the giver's gift. Consult your own tax advisor.
8. Changes
If we ever change the 2% fee, we will give at least 30 days' written notice before the new rate applies to new gifts, and continuing to receive gifts after that date means you accept the new rate. Gifts already made are never re-priced.
9. Contact
Questions about this agreement: Common Light LLC, 1312 17th St Unit #353, Denver, CO 80202, USA, or support@witnessmovement.com. We reply within two business days.
This is a working draft. Have qualified counsel review it before public launch.