Donations Online

Groups raise money when supporters make donations to your online store. Once participants register, they can invite family and friends to your store. Invitations are sent out via social media, text, and email.

Registration is the most effective way to promote your fundraiser online. Once registered, participants can invite friends and family to your online store using text, social media, and email. They'll also be able to log in to their sales portal at any time and track their progress. If you’re offering one of our prize programs, donations count towards earning prizes.

When more potential donors click on the link that your sellers share, your store will experience increased traffic and donations. Once at the store, the participant's name appears at the top of the page, which helps to personalize the fundraiser. Encourage your sellers to personalize the visitor experience even more by uploading their pictures when logged into their dashboard.

NOTE: Participants who add their picture are ten times more likely to get supporters than those who don't!

Before your sale starts, we send you access to your online sales portal. Sponsors can track things like.

• Registered participants
• Donation updates

Enhance donations by setting individual seller goals tailored to your group's specific needs.

Track your fundraiser's progress and remind participants to invite people to your store, which will help them reach their goals.

Registered participants will also be eligible to win prizes. We encourage groups to supplement our prize program with additional incentives.

You can assign your group to separate teams. Participants can then add their team name when registering, allowing you to see donations by each team. Make selling even more fun by incorporating additional fundraising incentives to help foster competition between teams to boost overall sales.

Registration is Key

Getting your group to register is vital to your success, and you want to start strong. 46% register on the first day, and 80% of registered participants sell, translating to an average of $100 in donations per seller! Here are some ideas:

Pro Tips:

• Meet in person or over Zoom to discuss the importance of registration.
• Offer low-cost or no-cost incentives (extended recess, duct tape the principal to the wall, water balloon the principal, etc., based on reaching a set registration level, such as 40-50%).
• Offer a registration prize (or everyone who registers by tomorrow goes into a special drawing).
• Email your parents, asking them to register (principals send an email for school-wide fundraisers).
• The goal is 100% registration, so continue to remind your group throughout your sale.
• Use our leaderboard to promote and boost sales throughout your fundraiser.

There are two ways to promote your store:

1. Registration: Participants will need your group link to complete the registration process. This way, they can log in and track their donations. When they share the link with friends and family via social media, text, or email, visitors will see the participant's name upon arrival at the store.
2. Direct Link: If you don't want your group members to register, they can send your group link. You cannot track individual participant sales by sharing your group link alone. Instead, consider posting your group link on social media, placing it in your school newsletter, and directly on your school’s website.

You cannot track individual participant donations by sharing your group link alone. You would also not be able to use a prize program.

There is no in-person money collection. Participants generate sales when the people they invite make a donation through your store.

Participants can log in to their portal at any time and view their donations.

There are no setup fees or costs associated with running a Donations Online fundraiser. We will waive the $50 admin fee once your group raises $250. If you decide to cancel after we receive your signed agreement, you will be charged the $50 admin fee.

The customer pays a 3.5% processing fee when donating.

Adding prizes has been proven to increase donations. It's essential to promote your incentives throughout your sale, keeping your participants focused on sharing their store links with others.

You have two prize program options:

1. Cash
2. Prizes

We will email you your prize flyer before your kickoff. After your sale, we add the total cash amount to your profit payment. If you choose prizes, we will ship them to your group.

You'll receive a sales report showing the names of your participants and the amount of money they raised. Prizes are shipped with a reference list that matches prizes with participants.

There is no cost to the group for our prize programs.

NOTE: Each donation counts; however, donations must average $10 or more to qualify.

There are no brochures because this is an online fundraiser. Before your sale, you'll receive a 'registration instruction steps' email. Be sure to forward it to your sellers.

You'll receive an agreement to sign after you submit our Start a Fundraiser form. Processing your order and setting up your store will take at least 3-5 business days.

Your store will be live once we send you your participant registration steps. We recommend that you have an official kickoff meeting so everyone starts simultaneously.

If you can't meet in person, consider using online communication technology. Examples include Zoom, Cisco Webex, GoToMeeting, and Google Meet.

The key is to strike a balance between sufficient time for donations and sustained enthusiasm, so we’ve found a 2-week sale to be optimal. Therefore, we will set your end date for two weeks after your start date by default.

You can always let us know if you need to extend your sale about three-quarters of the way through. To succeed, focus on creating a sense of seller urgency, getting out of the gate quickly, and establishing early momentum. Unless you tell us to extend your sale, your store will close the next business day after your fundraiser ends.

No, we also work with non-school groups, such as church groups, sports leagues, and dance organizations.

No. You must choose one store. For example, Donations Online cannot be run simultaneously with Popcorn Online. However, you can always run a second online fundraiser after the first one ends.

Yes. Your group must have at least 5 participants.