Over the past decade, online donations have increased by 23%. It means that, if you’re thinking about accepting donations for your digital efforts, or fundraising for your upcoming project, it’s the right time! 🙂
Collecting online donations refers to the process of accepting money or financial support to a cause, organization, or individual through the Internet.
For instance, if you’re a digital creator, you can accept donations under names like ‘support my work’. Similarly, if you have a charity organization, you might set up a website where supporters can make recurring or one-time donations to support your ongoing projects.
In this article, we will cover the following aspects:
- When should you accept online donations?
- What are the types of online donations?
- How can you use Stripe to collect online donations?
You can download WP Full Pay plugin for free, create donation forms with Stripe, and test Stripe transactions on your WordPress site.
When should you accept donations?
Deciding if your business or project should take donations depends on what kind of work you do – the nature of your work, your financial goals, and your audience. Here are some use cases for accepting online donations.
Digital creators, artists, writers, musicians, and others seek donations to fund their creative work or monetize a blog website. If you’re an artist, musician, or a content creator, you can use platforms like Buy Me a Coffee, Ko-fi, and Patreon or WordPress plugin like WP Full Pay to accept monetary gifts – donations from your audience. This provides a simple and direct way for fans to support their favorite creators and contribute to the content they enjoy.
Nonprofit organizations and charitable events can also benefit from online donation forms to expand their reach and get support for their causes.
Moreover, in urgent situations like disaster relief, online donations become a lifeline, enabling quick fundraising to aid affected communities. Similarly, educational institutions and individuals facing personal emergencies, especially medical ones, rely on online donations.
Educational bodies fund scholarships and infrastructure, while individuals seek broader community support through online platforms.
Learn how to create donation forms on WordPress site.
Types of online donations
Online donations can vary in how often payments are made, such as one-off or subscription-based. They can also differ in their purpose or underlying intent, such as crowdfunding or legacy giving.
One-time donations
Individuals can make a single donation of a specific amount to a cause or organization of their choice. One-time donations are one-off payment forms that are often suitable for immediate support.
A typical use case for accepting one-off online donations is a charitable organization conducting a specific fundraising campaign.
Recurring donations
Donors can set up automatic, recurring donations to provide ongoing support to a cause or organization at regular intervals, such as monthly or annually.
For example, an artist on Patreon or a blogger on WordPress can encourage their supporters to subscribe to recurring donations to provide ongoing support for their creative work. This consistent financial support motivates creators to focus more on producing content while helping them sustain their projects in the long term.
Crowdfunding
Online crowdfunding platforms allow individuals to raise funds for specific projects, events, or causes by collecting small donations from a large number of people. It allows individuals to create fundraising pages and share them with their networks to gain support.
For example, platforms like Kickstarter or GoFundMe help you create fundraising campaigns. Kickstarter is often used for creative, technological, or product-based projects, offering a reward-based system to backers. GoFundMe, on the other hand, is commonly used for a broader range of purposes, including personal causes, non-profit initiatives, and various startup projects.
You might also like to read: using the ‘Rule of Three’ for fundraising success.
With these platforms, you can easily set up a campaign page, share it with the network, and collect donations from a wide range of people to reach your funding goals.
There are also other types of donations such as in-kind donations, matching gifts, and legacy giving and bequests, which are suited for specific scenarios.
You might also like to read: The power of suggested donations.
How to use Stripe for Donations?
You can use Stripe, one of the top online payment platforms, for accepting donations and conducting fundraising. It supports transactions in over 100+ currencies securely through debit or credit cards, Apple Pay, and Google Pay.
The easiest way to use Stripe without code is by using its donation forms and Stripe Payment Links.
Stripe Payment Links allow you to create one-off or recurring online donation forms. With the donation payment form, you can accept contributions or financial gifts from individuals or organizations who wish to support.
Stripe is an optimal choice for donation forms for its secure Stripe Checkout, accessibility, affordability, and user-friendly interface.
To accept online donations through Stripe, it’s important to understand the requirements for accepting tips and donations.
For WordPress users, integrating Stripe is simple: add a Stripe donation plugin like WP Full Pay, configure Stripe on your WordPress site, and create donation forms.
Stripe fees for nonprofits
Stripe processing fees for donations vary based on the country and payment method used (similar to PayPal’s fees). The discounted processing fees for nonprofits are not publicly available, but organizations that qualify get 0.7% off standard rates.
Applicable for nonprofits with verified 501(c)(3) status who plan to process at least 80% of donations through Stripe.
Read more about Stripe’s fee discount for nonprofit organizations.
Stripe nonprofit pricing per donation:
- Credit cards (except AMEX): 2.2% + US$0.30
- American Express cards: 3.5%
FAQs
- How do I accept Stripe payments on WordPress?
Step 1: Download and activate the ‘WP Full Pay’ plugin from the WordPress dashboard.
Step 2: Configure Stripe API Keys in WP Full Pay
Step 3: Create a donation form in your WordPress site
Step 4: Integrate Stripe payment form into your page and publish
- Is Stripe free on WordPress?
Yes, Stripe is free on WordPress and does not require a monthly fee.
Instead, Stripe charges fees per transaction and offers discounts for nonprofit organizations.
- Which plugins I can use on my WordPress to create donation form?
To accept Stripe payments on your WordPress sites, you can use WP Full Pay, SimplePay, and Payment Plugins
- What are the regulations to accept online donations?
To accept online donations, it is important to follow the compliance guidelines for each. For instance, when sending fundraising emails, you must adhere to CAN-SPAM and CASL rules. If you receive donations from people in the European Union, you need to get familiar with GDPR.