How to Collect Donations
PheedLoop is one of the few platforms out there that offers a dedicated system to collect donations from your attendees. It's a powerful way for all types of not-for-profits and charities to raise funds. We've seen events raise anywhere from hundreds to hundreds of thousands of dollars. In fact, we used the donations system ourselves at our Changemakers user conference back in April of 2021, and raised $10,000 for ovarian cancer research. There's no doubt that collecting donations is a critically important way to generate funds for an important cause, or revenue for your organization. Whatever your fundraising goals may be, PheedLoop's system is here to help!
Note: Collecting donations is currently available for virtual events only. It is on the roadmap to come to in-person events as well via the mobile event app.
Connect to Stripe
In order to process the payments coming in from donations, you need to have Stripe connected. You likely already have Stripe connected if you are using PheedLoop for registration and ticket sales. To connect to Stripe, visit your account's settings, navigate to Integrations > Finance, and follow the steps to connect to Stripe. If you do not have a Stripe account, creating one should take only a few minutes at most. If you are a not-for-profit, be sure to contact Stripe and inquire about not-for-profit rates to save on transaction fees.
Enabling Donations
In your dashboard inside the event you want to enable donations for, use the menu on the left hand side and navigate to Experiences > Virtual. Check the box called "Enable Donation System" and save your changes. Visit your virtual event portal, and notice the brand new menu item in the sidebar called "Donate" (feel free to adjust the label using the translations system).
Collecting Donations
Collecting donations is super easy! All you need to do is direct your attendees to the Donate option in your portal. Upon clicking that button, your attendees are greeted with a simple credit card payment processing form. They enter the amount they'd like to donate, their credit card information, any comments, and whether they would like the donation to be anonymous or not. Upon submitting the donation, the donor receives an email with a PDF receipt confirming their donation. They can also view their receipts in the portal itself, as well as view donations and comments from donors.
Configuring the Donations Process
You have a few additional settings you may use to configure the donation experience. Head over to Advanced > Donations in your event dashboard. You are able to adjust the transaction fee (default zero) that donors pay (see the FAQ below for more information), as well as the instructions they would see in the donation window (rich text and images supported) and the content in the footer of the receipt on the PDF donors receive (great to include things like a charity number).
Frequently Asked Questions
How often are donations transferred to my bank account?
It really depends on your Stripe settings, but it's usually every 2-3 days unless you choose a different schedule.
What are the transaction fees involved?
The transaction fees are identical to the way they work for registration and tickets (learn more here). Stripe has its own transaction fees, as does PheedLoop. Stripe's will depend on whether you inform them and they allow you to benefit from not-for-profit rates, so please contact them. PheedLoop's are 1.9%. Just like other platforms that collect donations, you have the option to customize the transaction fee via Advanced > Donations > Additional Fee Percentage. This additional fee will be passed on to the donor, and can help you offset fees that you would otherwise need to account for.
Can I include my charity's registration number anywhere?
Absolutely! The two best places to do so are in the instructions area where donors submit their payment information and the footer of the donation receipt itself. Both of these can be configured via Advanced > Donations in your event dashboard.