Fundraise Up app for in-person donations

Each mode fits a different way of collecting donations.

• Tap to Donate is for donations that a member of your team collects. A staff member or volunteer holds a phone, opens the app, chooses a campaign, and enters the amount, then turns the phone to the supporter, who taps a card, phone, or watch to donate. It suits a staffed setting — working a gala floor, greeting guests at a table, or going door to door.
• Giving Station is for donations that supporters make on their own. A member of your team sets up a tablet and leaves it on the donation screen for supporters to use without help. A supporter enters an amount and taps to donate, then the screen resets for the next person. It suits an unattended setting — a reception counter, a registration desk, or a stand beside an exhibit.

1. Create the campaign in the Dashboard. Create a Tap to Donate campaign or a Giving Station campaign — one of each if you will run both at the same event.
2. Install the app on the phones or tablets you will use, from Google Play or the App Store.
3. Sign in and choose a campaign. On the device, sign in with a Fundraise Up account, then choose a campaign from your list.

From here, the two modes differ.

In Tap to Donate, the staff member enters the amount for each donation and turns the phone to the supporter, who taps a card, phone, or watch to donate.

In Giving Station, the staff member sets a 4-digit PIN to lock the tablet to the donation screen. The PIN does not lock supporters out — it keeps the tablet on the donation screen and stops anyone from leaving the app without it. Supporters give on their own, and the screen resets for the next person. To close the station, the staff member presses and holds a corner of the screen and enters the PIN.

In both modes, supporters can give once or set up a recurring donation, and they get a receipt by email or by scanning a QR code.

To use the app, your organization needs:

• To be based in the United States. The event must also take place in the United States.
• A connected Stripe account. If you have not connected one, see Stripe.
• A Fundraise Up account for each person who will set up or use the app, with a role that allows it (see Roles and permissions).
• An internet connection wherever you collect donations.

Device requirements differ between phones and tablets.

Tap to Donate reads cards through the phone's built-in near-field communication (NFC). This is the wireless technology a device uses to read a card, phone, or watch held against it.

The phone must meet these requirements:

• iPhone: iOS 16.4 or later, iPhone XS or newer. A device passcode and Apple ID sign-in are required.
• Android: Android 11 or later, with NFC, Google Play Services installed, and a screen lock enabled. The phone must not be rooted.

If the tablet has built-in NFC, the app reads cards through it, and you need no card reader. If it does not, you need an external Stripe card reader. iPads always need an external reader, because the app does not use the tap-to-pay built into iPad.

• iPad: always needs an external Stripe card reader.
• Android or other tablet with NFC: reads cards through its own NFC. No card reader needed.
• Tablet without NFC: always needs an external Stripe card reader.

To check whether a tablet has NFC, look for it in the tablet's specifications or settings. If you are not sure, an external Stripe card reader works on any tablet.

Recommended tablets

These NFC tablets are recommended for use with the app. They read cards through their built-in NFC, so no external Stripe card reader is needed:

• HMD T21
• Samsung Galaxy Tab Active5
• Sunmi CPad
• Oukitel RT3 Plus
• Ulefone Armor Pad 4 Ultra

Stripe card reader

To buy a reader, open the Stripe website and filter by country (United States) and manufacturer (Stripe) to see the available readers. Any of them works, including the least expensive option, the Stripe Reader M2, at $59. To pair a reader with the app, see Run a Giving Station.

Your Fundraise Up role determines what actions you can take with the app.

Only an Organization Administrator can turn on Tap to Donate for the account.

Organization Administrators, Campaign Administrators, and Configuration Managers can create both Tap to Donate and Giving Station campaigns.

Any of those three roles can also run either mode on a device. In addition, a Tap to Donate Specialist can run both modes — Tap to Donate on a phone and Giving Station on a tablet. This role is for staff and volunteers who only collect donations and see only their assigned campaigns.

To assign roles, see User roles.

Stripe processes every payment. When a supporter taps, their card details are encrypted immediately and sent directly to Stripe — the data never passes through the staff member's device or Fundraise Up, and no one on your team sees a card number. Fundraise Up does not store card numbers or security codes. For recurring donations it stores no card data or payment token either; Stripe keeps the payment method for future charges. The app meets PCI DSS compliance standards.

On any screen that shows a supporter's personal details, the app blocks screenshots and screen recording, so those details cannot be captured.

A Tap to Donate Specialist works within a tightly limited set of permissions. They can take donations, review the ones they collected, and update those supporters' contact details, but they cannot open the rest of the Dashboard, see other donations or supporters, or change a completed transaction. Each specialist can only access the campaigns the Organization Administrator has assigned to them.

Sign-in is protected by your organization's account security. The app supports two-factor authentication (2FA): users enter a verification code at login in addition to their password, and an Organization Administrator can require it for everyone. It also supports single sign-on (SSO): if your organization requires SSO, users sign in through your identity provider instead of a password.

When the app first opens, it asks for permission to use the device location. Stripe requires location access to process in-person payments. The app does not track the device or send location data to Fundraise Up.

For more on how Fundraise Up handles security and supporter data, see Supporter information security FAQ.

Donations from the app appear in the Dashboard alongside all your online giving — in Insights, in CRM integrations, on the Donations page, and in exports. They are also available through the API. Each donation is labeled with its source, either Tap to Donate or Giving Station, so you can filter and report on each mode separately.

If a supporter gives without sharing their details, the donation is recorded without a name or contact information. These anonymous donations can be identified only by their date and amount, and cannot be linked to a supporter profile.

Set up the app for the mode you need:

• Set up Tap to Donate — create and configure a Tap to Donate campaign for phones.
• Set up Giving Station — create and configure a Giving Station campaign for tablets.

Give the on-site guide to the people who will use the devices:

• Accept in-person donations with Tap to Donate — collect donations on a phone.
• Run a Giving Station — set up and launch a tablet at your venue.