Accept in-person donations with Tap to Donate

Complete these steps once before your first event. After that, open the app and log in to get started.

Check your email for an invitation. Click Accept invite and follow the sign-in steps. When you finish, a page appears with an Open the app button — your invitation is now accepted. Shortly after, you'll receive a second email with your auto-generated password. You need this password to log in to the app.

If your organization requires two-factor authentication (2FA), you'll need to set it up before you can proceed. Otherwise, enabling 2FA is optional.

To log in to your Fundraise Up account later, go to dashboard.fundraiseup.com. There you can edit your name and change your email or password.

Install the Fundraise Up app on the phone or tablet:

Requirements:

• Android phone: Android 13 or later, NFC-capable, with Google Play Services installed and screen lock enabled. The device must not be rooted.
• iPhone: iOS 16.4 or later, iPhone XS or newer. A device passcode and an Apple Account are required.
• Tablet: an iPad that can install the app from the App Store, or an Android tablet running Android 13 or later with Google Play Services installed.
• Internet connection on the device.

A phone reads cards through its built-in NFC, and can also take payments through an external Stripe card reader. A tablet reads cards through its own built-in NFC where it has one, and through a reader where it does not. An iPad always needs a reader. To connect a reader to a phone or a tablet, see Connect a card reader.

Open the app — you'll see a welcome screen. The app will ask for permission to access your location. Allow it — location access is required to process payments. Tap Get started, then log in with the email and password from your invitation.

If the app prompts you to sign in with single sign-on (SSO), follow the prompts instead of using the password from your invitation. If you are not sure what to do, ask your administrator.

If you work with more than one organization, the app opens the one you used last. On your first sign-in, it opens the first organization you have access to.

After you log in, you may see a screen headed Accept in-person donations directly from a phone with an Enable button. This means that your organization has not turned Tap to Donate on yet. Only an Organization Administrator can turn it on, so contact your administrator before the event.

On iPhone, Apple asks you to sign in with an Apple Account before the phone can accept contactless payments. Your personal Apple Account works for this. Apple associates it with the merchant account, but it does not process the donation, and it gives you no access to anything in Fundraise Up — your Fundraise Up account controls that.

If your organization would rather not have your personal account associated, ask your administrator which Apple Account to use before the event.

Before you start collecting donations, open the app. You'll see the campaigns your administrator has given you access to. A campaign is a fundraising initiative your organization has set up — for example, a general fund, an annual drive, or an event. Ask your administrator which campaign to use if you're not sure.

You can search by campaign name or ID. Tap a campaign to open it.

To refresh the list — for example, if your administrator just granted you access to a new campaign — pull down on the screen.

If you don't see any campaigns, your administrator hasn't given you access yet. Contact them before you start.

You can pin campaigns to the top of your Active campaigns list so they're easy to find at an event. Pins are saved on your device only — they don't carry over to other devices or affect other team members. To pin a campaign, open it and tap the pin icon at the top of the screen. To unpin, tap the same icon again. If you pin more than one campaign, the most recently pinned appears first.

Use the menu at the bottom of the screen to move between the parts of the app you need at an event.

• Tap to Donate — the campaign list you collect donations from. This is where the app opens.
• Giving Station — the self-serve mode, where a tablet sits unattended and supporters give on their own. This option appears only on a tablet with a screen of about 8 inches or larger. For how to run it, see Run a Giving Station.
• Donations — the donations you have collected on this device.
• Settings — Language, Onboarding guide, Privacy policy, and Terms of service, and where you log out.

The app is available in Canadian English, Canadian French, and US English. On a new device it starts in Canadian English for an organization in Canada, and in US English for one in the United States. To change it, go to Settings > Language and select another.

The app remembers the choice on that device and uses it in both Tap to Donate and Giving Station. It does not change what other people on your team see on their own devices.

Some people collect donations for more than one organization — a group of organizations under one umbrella, or several clients of the same agency. If you are one of them, you sign in once and change organizations in the app.

The organization you are working in is named at the top of the campaign list. Tap the name, then pick another organization. Subaccounts appear under the organization they belong to.

The campaign list then shows that organization's campaigns — the ones your administrator has given you access to there.

Each organization sets its own sign-in rules, so the app may ask you to confirm who you are before the switch goes through — a verification code, or a sign-in through that organization's provider. Until you finish, you stay where you were.

Two cases need action outside the app. If the organization requires two-factor authentication and you have not set it up, set it up in your Fundraise Up account first. If it requires a password and you signed in through single sign-on, log out and sign back in with your password.

Use the on-screen pad to enter the donation amount.

If the campaign has recurring plans enabled, a frequency selector appears. The supporter can choose to give one-time or set up a recurring donation. Available frequencies depend on the campaign settings and may include: daily, weekly, biweekly, every 4 weeks, monthly, bimonthly, quarterly, semiannually, or annually.

Canadian debit cards can't be saved for later payments, so they can't start a recurring donation. Such payment will be declined. Ask the supporter for a credit card, or take a one-time donation instead.

If the campaign has designations, one may be pre-selected. A designation indicates which fund or program the donation goes to — the available options are set by your organization. If the supporter has a preference, tap the designation to choose from the list. When in doubt, leave the pre-selected option as is.

Tap Continue.

What the app asks for here depends on the campaign. A Supporter details screen opens before the payment whenever the campaign collects a name, email address, or phone number — these are always taken before the payment, so they can’t attach to someone else’s donation. When the campaign collects none of them, the app goes to payment.

Enter the supporter's first name, last name, email address, and phone number. Fields marked optional can be left blank. If the supporter chose a recurring frequency, these details are required.

Let the supporter know that leaving an email address gives them access to their Donor Portal, where they can view their giving history and download receipts at any time.

Depending on the campaign settings, this screen can also include:

• Donate anonymously — select it to keep the supporter's information out of public feeds.
• A checkbox for a supporter giving on behalf of an organization, with a field for the Organization name.
• Subscribe to receive updates — the marketing consent checkbox. Ask the supporter whether they want to hear from your organization.
• Supporter has agreed to Terms and Privacy Policy — when the campaign requires terms, the supporter must select this before you can continue. Tap Terms or Privacy Policy to open either document.

The campaign can add two more screens: the supporter's mailing address on an Enter supporter address screen, and communication channels on a Contact preferences screen. Contact preferences always opens after the payment. The address screen opens after the payment too, unless the campaign requires an address. Move through each with Continue, or tap Skip where it appears.

An organization in Canada always requires an address, so the address screen opens before the payment and doesn't offer Skip.

Skip appears only where the campaign allows it. Without it, fill the screen in before you can move on.

On the next screen, you'll see the total donation amount and a toggle labeled Cover transaction costs. Ask the supporter if they'd like to cover the transaction cost — if yes, enable the toggle. This adds the cost to their total so your organization receives the full intended amount. Let the supporter decide.

Tap Donate on Android or Tap to Donate on iPhone to proceed to payment.

The app activates the payment terminal. Show the screen to the supporter so they can see the donation amount.

• On Android: ask the supporter to tap the back of the device with their card, phone, or watch.
• On iPhone: ask the supporter to hold their card, phone, or watch near the top of the device.
• With a card reader: ask the supporter to tap their card, phone, or watch on the reader. Depending on the reader, the supporter can also insert a chip card or swipe a magnetic-stripe card.

Hold the device steady until the payment goes through. For some transactions, the supporter's bank may require a PIN — if prompted, the app displays a PIN pad for the supporter to enter it.

Canadian debit cards follow fixed network limits. Below 100 CAD a donation goes through without a PIN. The fourth contactless payment in a row on the same card always needs one.

Between 100 CAD and 250 CAD a PIN is always required, and some cards can only give it through a chip reader, which the app does not support — those donations cannot be completed.

A contactless donation can't complete above 250 CAD. In each of these cases, ask the supporter for another card. Apple Pay and Google Pay are not affected.

If the payment is declined, ask the supporter to try a different card or payment method.

If a connected reader stops responding, connect it again before you take the next donation — see Connect a card reader.

If the internet connection drops during a transaction, the card is not charged. Ask the supporter to tap again once the connection is restored.

After the payment, the app asks for anything the campaign collects but hasn’t shown yet — a mailing address, contact preferences, or both. The supporter can fill these in or finish without them.

If they skip, the donation is recorded as awaiting supporter details, and you can add them later from the Donations tab.

A confirmation screen appears when the payment is successful. It shows the donation details and a QR code. After scanning it, the supporter can add their name and email and receive an email with a link to their Donor Portal, where they can view the donation and download the receipt. Tap Back to campaign to return to the number pad for the next donation.

If a supporter has questions about the campaign or the donation, tap About on the donation screen. This shows the campaign description.

From the About page, tap Legal info in the top right for answers to common questions — whether the donation is secure, whether it is tax-deductible, and how to cancel a recurring donation. Review it before the event so you can answer questions without leaving the donation flow.

To review the donations you've accepted, open the Donations tab at the bottom of the screen. The app groups them by day, with a total for each day, so you can keep track of how much you've collected.

You see only the donations you accepted — not donations taken by other members of your team.

To find a specific donation, filter the list by date, campaign, or supporter. Clear the filters to return to the full list.

Tap any donation to open its full details, including the amount, supporter, campaign, designation, payment method, and status. From there, you can show the receipt again or update the supporter's contact details. You cannot refund or cancel a completed donation from the app.

When a supporter gives but does not share their details, the donation still appears in the Donations tab, in an Awaiting supporter details block at the top of the screen. The block sits above the daily groups and shows the combined amount of these donations with a count, such as Awaiting 3 supporter details. This amount is separate from your daily totals.

The block shows the most recent donation first. Tap Show more to see the rest, and Show less to collapse it again. Each donation shows its amount, the time it was made, and the campaign, but no supporter name, because the details have not been added yet.

These donations have no supporter yet, so they do not appear when you filter by supporter. They do appear when you filter by date or campaign.

Tap a donation to open its details. The status reads Awaiting supporter details, and the fields that depend on the supporter or the completed donation stay empty until the donation is completed.

There are two ways to complete these donations:

• The supporter adds their own details. Tap Show receipt. There is no receipt yet, so the app displays a QR code that opens the supporter's Donor Portal. Ask the supporter to scan it with their phone camera to add their details and download their receipt.
• You add the details. Tap Edit personal information, enter the supporter's First name, Last name, Email address, and Phone number (optional), then tap Save.

After the details are added — by you or by the supporter — the donation moves into its daily group. If no one adds them within 4 hours, it still moves into its daily group, and Fundraise Up checks whether the card the supporter tapped belongs to a supporter who has already donated to your organization. On a match, Fundraise Up attaches the donation to that supporter record. With no match, the donation stays anonymous, without a name or contact information.

Sometimes a supporter declines a receipt during the donation and asks for it later. You can show it again at any time.

Open the donation, then tap Show receipt. The app displays a QR code. Ask the supporter to scan it with their phone camera to open their receipt, where they can view and download it.

You can correct a supporter's details or add information they skipped during the donation, such as their phone number.

1. Open the donation, then tap Edit personal information.
2. Update the supporter's first name, last name, email, or phone number.
3. Tap Save.