Overview

This article covers the steps for enabling your platform to accept donations. It also shows how donations look to your platform's users, and explains how you can edit the donation messages that are displayed to users who express interest in donating. Finally, it explains how you can view your donation data and how you can expect donations to work when your site is connected to another using the Galaxy Link.

Enabling Your Platform to Accept Donations

Donations through a Connect platform are done using Stripe. In order to set up for donations, you will need an account with Stripe. Once you have created an account, you must enter the applicable data from Stripe into the proper fields in your admin panel.

Note on Transaction Fees: Stripe charges a flat rate of 2.9%, plus 30¢ per successful charge. Galaxy Digital does not receive a percentage of donations made through a Connect platform.

Set Up Your Stripe Account

Stripe provides a secure means for accepting payments over the internet. To open a Stripe account, go to Stripe and enter an email address and a password. Next, take these steps:

1. From your Stripe dashboard, click Your account > Activate Account.
2. Complete all applicable fields. This form includes fields for the required bank details for accepting payments.

Once you have submitted the necessary information, you will need to obtain the API (application programming interface) keys that Stripe provides you. These keys will allow Stripe to interface with your platform so that you can accept donations securely.

Obtain the Necessary API Keys

Once you've set up your account, the next step is to create a way for Stripe to "talk" to your Connect platform so that secure transactions are possible. To do this, you should have two screens open:

• Your Stripe dashboard
• The Integrations area of your admin panel. To access this area, open your admin panel, click Settings, and select Integrations.

To obtain the necessary API keys:

1. From your Stripe dashboard, click Your account > Account Settings.
2. Click API Keys at the top of the screen.
3. Copy and paste the Live Publishable and Live Secret keys from Stripe into the corresponding fields under the Donations tab.
   Note: If you want to test Stripe first, you should copy the Test keys provided in Stripe. Once you're ready to accept donations, remember to replace the test keys with the live ones.
4. Click the Submit Changes button of your Donations page.

How Donations Work On Your Platform

Your site's visitors are given several opportunities to donate to your organization through your Connect platform. Not only is there a Donate button available in the utility bar (passive request), but users will be asked if they wish to donate after performing certain actions on the site (active requests).

Passive Requests

If you have set up your system to accept donations, your users' dashboards will include a Donate button in the utility bar.

If this button is clicked, the user will get an overlay with fields for entering their contact and credit card information.

Click here to learn how to edit the default text of this message.

Note: You can also edit the default text of the thank-you message that is displayed if the person chooses to donate. Learn more here.

Active Requests

After responding to a need, a volunteer is shown an overlay thanking them for volunteering, giving them the opportunity to share their need response on social media, and inviting them to donate to your organization. This is an example from a United Way organization so the language looks a little different from other Get Connected sites: 

A similar overlay with a Donate button is displayed after a volunteer fans an agency or RSVPs to an event.

Note:  You can request a language override for your site if you wish by contacting our Customer Experience team; however, Get Connected Community sites will already have this language override in place. 

Note: If you wish to disable this pop-up altogether, you can do so in the Main Settings area of your site settings.

"Donate" and "Thank You" Messages

You can specify the text of both "donate" messages that are displayed for users:

• Introduction Message - Displayed when a user clicks a Donate button.
• Thank-you Message - Displayed once a user has made a donation.

To edit the default text:

1. From your admin panel, go Settings > Donations.
2. Scroll to the Introduction Message and Thank-you Message fields.
3. Craft your messages as applicable.
4. Click Submit Changes.

Donations Reports

The Reports area of your admin panel includes two reports on donations:

• Donations Basic Information - shows data on incoming donations to your site, including the donor's name and address, the area of the site from which the donation was made, and the amount and status of the donation. You can search for donations by date, and you can export this report to see a detailed status.
• Donations By User - shows information about individual users who donate, including user first and last name, the site from which the donation was made, the donation date amount, the last four letters of the credit card used, and the status of the donation. You can export this information as needed.

Donations with the Galaxy Link

If two sites are connected via the Galaxy Link and one or both use donations, the donation links follow slightly different rules than those described above. Three possible situations can occur with hubs, portals, and the donations feature:

• The hub has donations, and the portal does not.
• The portal has donations, but the hub does not.
• Both sites have donations.

Hub Has Donations, Portal Does Not

If the hub has donations set up, and the portal does not:

• The hub will show its own passive request.
• The hub with show its own active requests.
• The portal will show the hub's passive request. 

Portal Has Donations, Hub Does Not

If the portal has donations set up, but the hub doesn't:

• The portal will show its own passive request.
• The portal will show its own active requests.
• The hub will not show any donation links.

Both Sites Have Donations

If both sites have donations set up:

• The hub will show its own passive request and its own active requests.
• The portal will show its own passive request and its own active requests.
• The portal will also show the hub's passive request. 

When a site has passive requests from more than one site, users will see a menu where they can choose the site they want to donate to. In this example, the Local Portal site is set up to take donations for both the Local Portal and The Community Hub.