logo
book Subscribe to our Magazine
    • Magazine
    • Membership
    • Donate
  • Racial Justice
  • Economic Justice
  • Climate Justice
  • Health Justice
  • Leadership
    • Grassroots Fundraising Journal
  • CONTENT TYPES
  • Podcasts
    • Tiny Spark
    • Women of Color in Power
  • Webinars
    • Free Webinars
    • Premium On-Demand Webinars
  • Membership

Nonprofits Riled by Apple Ban on iPhone Donations

James David Morgan
December 9, 2010
Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print

December 8, 2010; Source: New York Times | Nonprofits don’t seem to be on Apple’s shiny radar. The company keeps apps that accept donations out of the iTunes store, and out of the toolboxes of nonprofits that would put those apps—and the donations—to use. This has the third sector riled up, enough so to circulate a petition to Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs on the subject—a petition that has quickly attracted thousands of signatories from the world over.

The explanation Apple has offered at first seems a reasonable one—they don’t want to shoulder the administrative costs of verifying charities and vetting the transaction process. Nonprofit pundits admit that’s a hefty burden to bear. But then, this is a trap of Apple’s own making. The company would require that donations be processed through their payment mechanism, the same one used when a song is purchased through iTunes, for example. Apple keeps a tight grip on their products, and allowing third party donations processing just doesn’t jive with their way of thinking about what the end user should be allowed to do.

PayPal was one such alternative, and it’s this case that has nonprofits so upset. Owned by e-Bay, PayPal partnered with another e-Bay friendly company, MissionFish, to accept donations in their app. MissionFish did all the legwork, functioning as the administrative back room for donations made in the app, but Apple had the project killed after two months.

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the NPQ newsletter to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

So what’s keeping Apple from permitting third party options in the app store? Apple takes 30 percent of each transaction in the store, but it can’t skim off the top of in-app purchases; there’s simply no way to track those to Apple’s liking. Besides, taking 30 percent of a nonprofit donation would be objectionable, and Apple would want to consider how nonprofit transactions are processed differently than for-profit.

Tech-savvy nonprofit staffers have been sounding off about the decision to ditch MissionFish, and it’s spawned some vitriolic criticism of Apple. The company’s scant philanthropic track record, lack of charity pricing options, and poor social responsibility have been brought to the fore (see here and here). It was enough to prompt reknown nonprofit social media pundit Beth Kanter to ditch her iPhone, will others follow?

There’s good reason to believe that Android—the Google smartphone software that is available on multiple phones—is the way forward. The software is open source, which means users can develop what they like, unlike under Apple’s draconian regulations. PayPal, for example, is already developing the MissionFish donations software for Android. If Apple won’t put their minds to the nonprofit question, it may be solved by other developers.—James David Morgan

Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print

Become a member

Support independent journalism and knowledge creation for civil society. Become a member of Nonprofit Quarterly.

Members receive unlimited access to our archived and upcoming digital content. NPQ is the leading journal in the nonprofit sector written by social change experts. Gain access to our exclusive library of online courses led by thought leaders and educators providing contextualized information to help nonprofit practitioners make sense of changing conditions and improve infra-structure in their organizations.

Join Today
logo logo logo logo logo
See comments

NPQ_Spring_2022

You might also like
The History of Black Studies
Abdul Alkalimat
Moving the Mountain: A Conversation about Pro-Blackness with Cyndi Suarez, Liz Derias, and Kad Smith
Cyndi Suarez, Liz Derias and Kad Smith
Apocalypse Now: Building Solidarity in Crisis Times
Ronnie Galvin
Building a Solidarity Culture
Rithika Ramamurthy and Steve Dubb
Wealth Stripping by Design: The Impact of Predatory Lenders in Memphis
Steve Dubb
What Is the Nonprofit Sector of a Future, Equitable World?
Devon Kearney

Upcoming Webinars

You might also like
AOC’s “Tax the Rich” Dress Dazzles Met Gala, while...
Anastasia Reesa Tomkin
Foundation Giving Numbers for 2020 Show 15 Percent Increase
Steve Dubb
Strike MoMA Imagines Art Museums without Billionaires
Tessa Crisman
WOMEN OF COLOR IN POWER
Women of Color in Power

Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

Subscribe
Rep. Ayanna Pressley and Authentic Leadership
Reclaiming Interrupted Lineages

Like what you see?

Subscribe to the NPQ newsletter to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

Independent & in your mailbox.

Subscribe today and get a full year of NPQ for just $59.

subscribe
  • About
  • Contact
  • Submissions
  • Advertisers
  • Newsletters
  • Copyright

Subscribe to View Webinars

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

 

Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.