Best Ways to Collect Donations Online

If you are looking to raise funds for a colleague leaving, a wedding or a surprise party you need a way to collect donations online, so you don’t end up chasing the money yourself! Here are some options we have put together for you.

How to collect donations online

Accepting donations through your bank

By using your bank account and simply passing on your sort code, account number and account name to any willing donors. The benefits are there for you in that you already have a bank account and all the details ready at hand.

While your best friends could confidently be trusted with your account details, what if someone outside your inner circle wishes to donate? There’s no real need to fret if you have done this, and generally, a hacker would need a combination of your date of birth, identity number, PIN, full name, address, the full card number on the front of the card, its expiry date and CVC number at the back. It’s not impossible, but unlikely that the basic details you give out will put you at risk, but it’s not a great start to your fundraising campaign if your account is mixed up in some illicit activity somehow! Keeping your bank details out of the picture is always something we would recommend.

There’s also the inconvenience factor as people need to set up a new contact on their banking app potentially, or if they aren’t set up on a smartphone, they need to add the funds on the phone or in-person at a bank, or horror of all horrors – you end up with a paper cheque!

Using a money transfer service

Platforms like PayPal can be used to send funds, but there are issues to be aware of. The first is keeping track of who has paid what. The second is the fees. If someone clicks the wrong button, you get charged with the donation. There’s also a delay in withdrawing the money into a bank and no way to show people how much you’ve raised for your fund without showing them your PayPal page, which may contain personal details. 

As well as being open to issues, you may also get charged fees every time there is a withdrawal of your online donations, so you need to be sure how much each transaction will cost.

The fee structure – as well as the time taken to withdraw money from your account- will depend on which bank you choose and how long they hold onto the funds before releasing them. The only way to avoid these is to keep looking for another alternative! 

Registering with a collection platform

The best way to get money donations made online is to use a dedicated platform! 

Online giving platforms allow you to set up a donation page that other people in your network will then use. While they are easy to use, reputable and shareable, the top reasons they are great for fund collection is the blend of security and useability!

A dedicated platform will provide secure transactions and an easy way to show your donors whether you’ve reached your goal. They also offer many safety features such as bank-level SSL encryption, fraud prevention tools, authentication tokens that confirm users are who they say they are and more!    

This, in our opinion, is the best way to collect donations online without having to worry yourself with any of the admin stuff- simply pass on the URL and let them do their thing on a smartphone, laptop or tablet. You can also link the URL directly to any social media promotion and quickly add it to a physical flyer. 

Collection Pot is an online fundraising platform designed for anyone who wants to fundraise and raise money online, and is also perfect for generous donors who wish to give to a great cause. 

Anyone can create an online fund and have money added to the balance if they use a reputable platform like Collection Pot – and the best part is it’s free to use! 

Why not create your Pot today?

Elaine Keep

Elaine Keep is an accomplished content writer with over 15 years of experience in the field of marketing and content creation for many leading brands, where she shares her passion for research and helping others through her articles. You can also find her in 'mum mode', walking in the countryside or enjoying the dreamy combo of a new non-fiction book with a tea and chocolate bar to hand.

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