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Getting Started With iDonate

Everything You Need to Start Accepting Gifts.

iDonate makes digital fundraising simple for your donors and powerful for your organization. Donors experience a smooth, secure checkout process, while your team gains clean, actionable data to inform decisions, strengthen relationships, and grow revenue.

How Do I Get Started?

Once your organization is onboarded, getting from zero to accepting donations is straightforward. The setup follows a logical progression that mirrors how fundraising actually works. At a high level, you will:

  1. Define what the donation is for. (Create a Designation)
  2. Group fundraising efforts under a shared initiative. (Create a Campaign)
  3. Create the experience donors will use to give. (Create a Giving Form)
  4. Decide where that experience will live. (Place the Form on your website)

Step 1:  Create a Designation

A Designation tells both donors and your accounting system where the money is going. This is essential for transparency and for maintaining compliance with 501(c)(3) requirements.

Designations can represent general giving or specific purposes such as programs, funds, or appeals.

Examples:

  • If you’re a nonprofit, you may be dividing funds by internal needs and external goals. You may provide donors the opportunity to give in support of internal needs such as Technology & Innovation, Endowment/Sustainability, Professional Development & Training, Marketing & Outreach, Capital Improvement/Equipment. Then there are External Goals (Direct Impact & Programs) such as Scholarship/Beneficiary Sponsorship, Emergency Relief/Rapid Response, Research & Advocacy, Supplies & Logistics, or Geographic Specific Funds.
  • If you’re a Church, you may be dividing funds in a similar fashion. You’ll certainly want to create an opportunity for church-goers to give their Tithe/General Offering. You may also want to consider giving opportunities toward Missions, Benevolence, or Outreach. More specific designation examples might be Youth Ministry, Youth Camp, Children’s Ministry, Men’s/Women’s Ministry, Vacation Bible School, Lottie Moon or Annie Armstrong, etc.

For more information, learn how to configure and use designations.

Step 2:  Create a Campaign

A Campaign is the umbrella under which your fundraising efforts live. Think of it as the organizing structure for an initiative like a seasonal appeal or annual drive.

Each campaign can include any number of Giving Channels:

For more information, learn how to create a campaign here.

    Step 3:  Create a Giving Form and Place On Your Website

    Giving Forms are the fastest and most effective way to start receiving donations. We highly recommend utilizing our Pop-up Form.  This giving-form type produces the best fundraising results per our many head-to-head tests comparing the different types of giving forms iDonate provides.  To get started setting up your Pop-up Form, follow the instructions found in our Knowledge Base article here.

    The iDonate Pop-up Form Editor is a flexible, no-code, mobile-first builder that allows you to design, customize, and embed highly optimized, friction-free giving forms directly onto your website.

    Once published, simply place the provided code snippet on your website and you’re ready to accept donations. Don't worry, all of the instructions are found in the linked knowledge base article provided above.

    (Optional) Create a Hosted Page

    If you do not have a website or want a lightweight standalone page, you'll want to use one of our single-page Giving Forms.  Our single-page forms include the option to create and customize a Hosted Page. Hosted Pages allow you to publish a basic page with your Giving Form as the focal point, all hosted on iDonate’s servers. You can learn how to create a Hosted Page at the bottom of the document found here.

    Avoid PCI Fines:  Become PCI Compliant (within the next 3 months)

    iDonate supports secure, PCI compliant payment processing.  Your giving is safe and secure through iDonate!  

    The Payment Cards Industry requires you, as an organization capable of receiving funding by all major payment cards (Visa, Master Card, Discover, and American Express) to also maintain PCI Compliance.  Becoming compliant is simple, and should only take you about 15 minutes to complete.  We have provided a walkthrough document that will take you, step-by-step, through the PCI compliance process.

    Optimize and Explore

    With your fundraising system live, the real work begins: optimization.

    Common next steps include:

    1. Refining Giving Forms with branded colors, imagery, and messaging.
    2. Implementing the Recurring Gifts Prompt, Default the Donor Paid Fees to "already selected" for the donor, and set up your mobile wallets (PayPal, Google Pay, and Apple Pay) to maximize fundraising results. To set up Google and Apple Pay, submit a Support Ticket and a member of our Help Desk will assist you.
    3. Using reporting to understand donor behavior and demographics.
    4. Setting up integrations to connect with tools like Salesforce or Virtuous.

    Fundraising is iterative by nature, and iDonate is designed to support experimentation, learning, and growth over time.

    When Help is Needed:

    You can find access to tutorials, walkthroughs, and other information by clicking the Blue Circle with the Question Mark seen toward the bottom right of your screen when logged in to iDonate.

    For further training, consider visiting our Knowledge Base at idonate.com/knowledge.

    If something seems broken, we've got you covered.  You can submit a Support Ticket, and a member of our Help Desk will assist you.

    HAPPY FUNDRAISING!