How to accept donations with Stripe
This article explores the no-code ways nonprofits and charities can accept donations with Stripe. With Checkout Page, you don't need to know any code to start collecting donations online with a Stripe account.
We'll show you the simple ways that Checkout Page can help you accept donations and do fundraising without any technical know-how. With clear steps and screenshots, you will learn how to:
→ Create a donation form
→ Get a donation link
→ Collect donations on a donation page on your website
→ Accept donations with a QR code
Overall philanthropic giving is on the rise, but statistics show that nonprofits of all sizes are leaving a lot of potential revenue on the table.
More than half of all polled donors named online donation as their preferred method of giving, yet many donation sites still need work to be user and mobile-friendly (fundraising statistics).
Accepting donations online
Stripe for donations
Stripe enables nonprofits to accept donations and do fundraising in over 100+ currencies securely by debit or credit cards, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. Funds go directly from donors to your organization's bank account with quick payment processing times. Nonprofit organizations enjoy a discount on processing fees, which helps keep costs low.
Online donations are a crucial part of fundraising strategies, but many organizations don't have enough technical staff to help create or maintain this channel. The easiest way to use Stripe without code is by using Checkout Page's donation form templates, donation pages, and payment forms.
Setting up Stripe for accepting donations
Before proceeding, ensure that your organization meets the minimum conditions for accepting donations through Stripe. A donation must be tied to a specific charitable purpose, and Stripe does not support personal or peer-to-peer money transmission.
✔ Create a Stripe account here.
✔ Before collecting donations, learn about Stripe's requirements for accepting tips or donations.
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%
All non-donation transactions are charged the standard 2.9% + $0.30 rate.
Donation form templates
These are the types of donations and fundraising that Checkout Page enables:
Donation form templates:
💌 One-time donation (payment form)
💌 Recurring donations (monthly)
💌 Pay what you want (PWYW) form template
💌 Quarterly, bi-yearly or annual donations
See all customizable donation form templates here.
Ways to fundraise online
Here are some fundraising ideas and ways to collect donations:
💌 Donation/payment link (for social media, email, or direct messages)
💌 QR code donation
💌 Membership fees
💌 Ticket sales for fundraising events
💌 Registration fees
💌 Merchandise sales
💡 Try Checkout Page risk-free for 7 days! No credit card is needed to start creating unlimited forms.
How to create a donation form
Step 1: create a new page
Start with a donation form template, or create a new page in your Checkout Page dashboard (see screenshots below).
Step 2: donation type
What do the pricing types mean?
💵 One time: for once-off payments. Examples: donations, merchandise, event tickets, and membership fees.
💵 Subscription: recurring donations (1, 3, 6, or 12 months), monthly donations, and annual membership fees.
💵 Pay what you want (PWYW): donors decide how much to give.
- For one-time donations, fill in a base price. You can add options (variants) at a later step!
- For subscriptions (recurring donations), choose a billing frequency.
- One form per frequency.
- You can link multiple forms seamlessly (we'll show you how at the end).
- For 'pay what you want', indicate the minimum donation amount.
Step 3: add a description and image
It's recommended to add a description that accurately describes the payment form. You can add your organization's logo and brand colors to help potential donors recognize who they're donating to.
Step 4: variants for donation amounts
If you have fixed donation amounts, use 'Variants' to display them on your form. Variants are useful for one-time and recurring donations.
Step 5: add form fields
Add new form fields to collect donor information and billing information. Rearrange the fields as you desire.
💡 Keep the form simple with only the necessary fields
Step 6: change the text on the button
The standard text on the form submission button is 'Pay', 'Submit', or 'Subscribe'. You can easily change this to something more suitable for giving, like 'Donate now', 'Donate', or 'Pledge this amount now'.
To change the button text, go to 'Design', then click 'Custom Labels'. Scroll till you find the right field to edit.
- Pay button: for one-time and pay-what-you-want forms
- Subscribe button: for recurring donations
If you prefer not to display the price (donation amount) because of the custom text, feel free to hide it. For example, a 'Donate now' button text without the price after it.
Save when you're done and see the changes in the preview section!
Step 7: customize the confirmation email
By default, donors will receive an automated confirmation email. You can update it to include a thank you note or add links to your website. Here's how to do it:
Send yourself a test email to see what it looks like! You can add HTML to the email body and use the personalization tags when you click [+].
📧 Read more about custom confirmation emails here.
Step 8: test payments
Your donation form is almost ready! Navigate to 'Test Payments' to experience the donation process and make a test payment yourself. No actual payment will be made or received, but your registered email will receive a notification email of this submission.
Copy and paste the test credit card details into your form onto the form on the right (the preview area). Submit the "donation", and you should see the following message on the preview panel: [TEST] Payment confirmed!
The donation/payment form is now ready to be shared!
How to get a donation link
A donation link is a unique payment link that allows potential donors to donate online directly. All payments and donations are processed by Stripe.
🔗 Share it via email campaigns
🔗 Send the donation link by direct message
🔗 Link to it on social media posts
To get the shareable payment link of your donation form, look at the top right corner and click on 'Share & embed'. There are several other options to choose from:
How to create a donation page
The donation form we've created today can be used as a standalone donation page. You can also embed it as part of your website or donation page. This is what our completed donation form looks like!
To embed it into your website, copy and paste from 'Share & embed'. Our donation forms can be embedded into Framer websites, Instapage, Unbounce, Webflow, WordPress, and more.
How to get a donation QR Code
To generate a QR code for your donation form, go to 'Share & embed' and click the 'QR code' tab.
Download, print, and share the QR code to collect donations seamlessly online and offline (in person!).
Frequently Asked Questions
How soon can nonprofits access the donated funds?
All donations will go directly from the donor to Stripe. Checkout Page never holds any funds.
⏳ For the USA, Canada, and Australia: within two (2) business days.
If it's your first transfer, it might take up to 7 business days. You can set up automatic transfers to your business bank account.
💡 See past and incoming payouts on your Stripe Dashboard.
How much does Checkout Page cost?
Check out our pricing page for the latest promos.
Is there a nonprofit discount on Checkout Page?
Yes, Checkout page offers discounts for nonprofits. Take 25% off any annual plan by sending us a live chat message or email to verify your organization's nonprofit status!
