Generous Kiwis give $22 million a year to good causes on crowdfunding website Givealittle but soon about $1.1m of that won't reach people in need.
The site announced today that from September 1, it will charge a 5 per cent fee on the amount raised by each cause on the site.
Givealittle says this will help its long-term "sustainability".
"Givealittle's success has been phenomenal - in the last three years, the amount that individuals, charities and communities have raised through the site has grown from $500,000 per year to $22m a year," the site's chief giving officer Tom Beyer said.
"This comes at a cost - so we need to cover the expense of the work we do everyday in keeping the site running, and improving the customer experience."
The site would not be making a profit from the funds raised and the fee helps cover Givealittle's costs, such as customer service and website development staff and outsourced payment processing and website hosting.
Not all costs will be covered, however, and the site's owner the Spark Foundation will continue to make a "significant contribution", a statement from Givealittle says.
The fee will only apply to donations made from September 1 and donors will be given the option to "top up" their payments, to cover the 5 per cent levy on what they donate.
