How to Accept Donations Online for Your Charity in 2026

Launching a successful fundraising campaign takes more than passion. You need a donation page that is easy to set up, easy to share, and does not eat into every gift you receive. This guide walks you through eight essential steps and ten tips for accepting donations online, plus a UK fee comparison so you can see exactly what each platform charges.

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In this article:

• Accept donations online in 3 minutes

• Why zero fees change everything for charities

• 8 steps to accept donations online for your charity

• 10 effective tips for accepting donations online

• Platform fee comparison: what you actually pay

• What are the best online fundraising platforms for UK charities?

• Ready to start accepting donations online?

• Frequently asked questions

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Accept donations online in 3 minutes

You do not need a developer, a card reader, or a contract to start collecting donations. Here is how to get your first donation page live today:

• 1. Sign up free at zeffy.com, no credit card, no contracts

• 2. Create your donation form, customise colours, set suggested amounts, add recurring giving options

• 3. Share your link, embed it on your website, post on social media, or send via email

100K+ charities and nonprofits | £2B+ raised | £0 in fees

Every pound donors give goes directly to your cause. No platform fees, no transaction fees, no surprises. Zeffy is 100% free for charities, so your budget stays intact.

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Why zero fees change everything for charities

Most charities do not realise how much they are losing to fees until they do the maths. Take a £1,000 online appeal on a typical UK platform: you might lose around £19 in card processing fees (1.9% + 20p across roughly 50 gifts), then a further 5% off the Gift Aid uplift that HMRC pays out, and on top of that a suggested donor tip of around 17% that is prompted at checkout. Money Saving Expert and UK charity press have criticised this tipping pattern repeatedly, and the Fundraising Regulator's Code of Fundraising Practice (current version effective 1 November 2025, Section 9) sets clear expectations for transparency on online platforms.

Fees do not just reduce revenue. They reduce what you can do. Every pound that goes to a payment processor is a pound that does not fund a programme, pay a staff member, or serve someone in need. That is the real cost of fundraising platforms that look affordable on the surface.

As one fundraising manager described it in research conducted with UK charity professionals, Gift Aid is survival-critical: charities depend on that 25p uplift, and they lose it entirely on any platform that skims the Gift Aid claim. In their words: "every pound that you donate, we get twenty five pence back, charities love that, and actually they survive on that."

Zeffy works differently. Donors are invited to leave an optional voluntary contribution to support Zeffy when they give. That contribution is shown transparently on top of the donation amount, never hidden, never framed as a percentage of the gift. It covers Zeffy's operating costs, not your charity's budget. The result: 100% of every donation reaches your mission. Not 97%. Not 98%. All of it.

This model has helped more than 100,000 charities and nonprofits raise over £2 billion with £0 in fees. It is not a promotional offer or a limited tier. It is how Zeffy is built.

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8 steps to accept donations online for your charity

1. Set up a website

One of the first things a new charity needs is a website. A Facebook page and other social media accounts help spread awareness, but a website gives potential donors a central online home to visit, learn about your work, and give.

Charities can use their websites to share their history and programme details, volunteer opportunities, fundraising events and campaigns, and more. Use a website builder to create your own, encourage online giving, and convert visitors into donors.

When you registered your charity, your governing document, whether a constitution, trust deed, or Articles of Association for a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) or charitable company, set out your charitable objects. Those objects are the purposes your charity exists to serve, approved by your trustees as exclusively charitable for the public benefit under the Charities Act 2011. Registered charities file with the Charity Commission for England and Wales (income above £5,000; CIOs register regardless of income), with OSCR in Scotland, or with CCNI in Northern Ireland. State those purposes clearly on your website as your mission statement.

A clear mission statement tells potential donors who you are, what you hope to achieve, and how you plan to do it. It is often the primary reason donors choose to support an organisation.

Display your registered charity number and Fundraising Regulator badge in the site footer. Cancer Research UK, Macmillan, and the RSPCA all do this because it is the first thing UK donors look for before they give.

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2. Choose a payment processor

There are many online payment processors available. As you compare options, look for these features:

• Online security: Payment processors must be PCI DSS compliant. Look also for SSL encryption and fraud detection. Any processor you choose must also meet UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018 obligations, with a lawful basis for processing donor personal data. Direct electronic marketing by email or SMS is governed by PECR. Fundraising must follow the Code of Fundraising Practice (Fundraising Regulator, effective 1 November 2025). UK charities routinely ask "Are you GDPR compliant?" before adopting a new platform. Make sure your processor can give you a clear answer.

• Multiple payment options: Donors want flexibility. Accept credit and debit cards (Visa, Mastercard, Amex), Apple Pay, Google Pay, Direct Debit (via GoCardless or equivalent, the largest single UK charity donation method at around 31% of donation volume), Open Banking / Pay by Bank, and cheque. Note: PAD (Canadian Pre-Authorised Debit) is Canada-only and does not apply in the UK.

• Mobile optimised: Many donors give from their phones. Your processor must offer a smooth mobile experience.

Not every organisation reading this is a registered charity. If you are a Community Interest Company (CIC), unincorporated community group, PTA, village hall committee, or Neighbourhood Watch, you cannot claim Gift Aid, and some platforms restrict community groups or charge more. Zeffy is open to a broad range of organisations, so check Zeffy's current eligibility on the registration page before you commit.

Charity raffles are regulated separately. Under the Gambling Act 2005, most charity raffles are small society lotteries and require registration with your local licensing authority (council): £40 initial fee, £20 annual renewal, £20,000 single-draw cap, £250,000 aggregate annual cap, at least 20% of proceeds to the cause, and a maximum single prize of £25,000. Incidental non-commercial lotteries drawn entirely at an event (a fete tombola, for example) need no registration. Note that Gift Aid never applies to raffle ticket purchases.

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3. Register for Gift Aid with HMRC

Gift Aid is a UK-only tax mechanism that lets your charity reclaim 25p from HMRC for every £1 a UK taxpayer donates. A £100 gift becomes £125 at no extra cost to the donor.

To claim, your charity must be HMRC-recognised (a separate registration from the Charity Commission, OSCR, or CCNI; you receive a Charities Reference Number on approval). Donors sign a Gift Aid declaration covering their full name, home address, your charity's name, and confirmation that they have paid enough UK Income or Capital Gains Tax to cover the claim.

Key points to know:

• Claim window: four years from the end of the financial period in which the donation was received.

• Records: keep Gift Aid declarations for at least six years after the last donation they cover.

• Higher-rate (40%) and additional-rate (45%) taxpayers can reclaim the difference via Self Assessment using their own records. They do not need a formal tax receipt from your charity.

• Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme (GASDS): claim a 25% top-up on small cash and contactless gifts of £30 or less, up to £8,000 per tax year, with no declaration needed.

• Gift Aid does not apply to raffle ticket purchases, event ticket prices, auction lots at fair value, membership fees that confer benefits, or company donations.

(HMRC Gift Aid guidance)

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4. Create donation pages

Donation forms and pages are the best way to collect donations online. Fundraising platforms let charities create separate online donation pages for campaigns and events. When creating a donation form, add your organisation's branding: logo, colours, font, and content. Share compelling stories and images to inspire donations.

Campaigns succeed when they create urgency and community. Here are a few ways to do that:

Recurring donations

In the UK, Direct Debit is the gold standard for regular giving. It has high donor retention and low drop-off compared to card-based recurring, and it accounts for around 31% of all UK charity donation volume. Cover monthly Direct Debit, monthly card recurring, and annual gifts. Note that Gift Aid applies to regular gifts too: your charity reclaims 25p per £1 across the whole giving relationship.

Charities can also develop memberships or regular-giving benefits that encourage supporters to give consistently.

Payroll Giving

Payroll Giving is an HMRC-administered scheme where donors give from their pre-tax salary. Every £1 costs a basic-rate taxpayer just 80p. Encourage donors to check whether their employer offers the scheme. It is one of the most tax-efficient giving mechanisms available in the UK and requires no Gift Aid declaration.

Match-funding campaigns

Match-funding creates urgency and multiplies impact. Crowdfunder UK runs match-funding partnerships with national funders. The Big Give Christmas Challenge offers matched giving rounds for eligible charities. The National Lottery Community Fund runs grant programmes with match-funding components. Promoting these in your campaigns compels immediate action and can significantly lift your total raised.

Matching gift challenges

Find a major donor or sponsor to match donations up to a set amount. Promote the challenge via email, social media, and peer-to-peer campaigns to encourage immediate giving.

Make your donate button obvious and easy to find. Use clear colours and direct language: "Donate now" or "Donate today."

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5. Promote donation opportunities

Create a multi-channel campaign. Fundraising strategies like social media campaigns, email newsletters, and events are excellent ways to spread the word and raise funds.

Stay transparent about how you use donations. Donors have more options than ever, so transparency is essential to earning their long-term trust. Share impactful stories and updates about your programmes and fundraising progress before, during, and after campaigns.

Peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns let your supporters fundraise on your behalf. Adding a peer-to-peer element to your next campaign helps you reach new donors through trusted personal recommendations.

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6. Express gratitude

The best way to sustain donations is by expressing genuine gratitude. Treat donors as partners and share your mission and fundraising goals before and during your campaign.

Once they give, donors should receive a warm thank-you email confirming their gift and, where applicable, their Gift Aid declaration details. Higher- and additional-rate taxpayers will use their own records for Self Assessment, but a clear acknowledgement reassures them. After that, send personalised thank-you letters and build real relationships. See our thank-you letter templates for donations.

If the only time you contact donors is after they give, they will feel like an ATM. Collect personal details and add them to your donor management platform. Send birthday and anniversary greetings throughout the year to strengthen relationships.

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7. Track donations and create fundraising reports

Monitor your donations after every campaign. Track donations and donor engagement to see where your fundraiser succeeded and where you need to improve. Use reports to understand donor behaviour and inform future strategies.

Before you track success, define your goals and set key metrics:

• Donation conversion rates

• Average donation size

• Total donations received

• Donor retention rates

These KPIs give you a fuller view of your campaign's performance and highlight areas for improvement.

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8. Make improvements to your fundraising campaign

Send donor surveys via email and social media to collect essential feedback. Once you ask for opinions, listen and adjust your online donation forms when necessary. These changes prevent you from repeating the same mistakes and help your charity save time year over year.

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10 effective tips for accepting donations online

1. Craft compelling stories

Nonprofit stories raise awareness, create connections, and inspire action. The hero of your story is usually someone who has received your charity's services. Donors take the role of guide: essential to helping that person reach their goals. Effective storytelling explains the need for your organisation and directs potential donors towards meaningful ways they can help.

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2. Offer engaging content

• Inspiring images

• Videos

• Infographics

• Compelling storytelling

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3. Highlight the impact of online donations

Donors respond best to campaigns that share tangible results. Use statistics and success stories to show impact. Organisations that share these details on social media see more visitors convert into donors.

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4. Show social proof of online donations

Build trust with testimonials. People are much more likely to give to an organisation reviewed by a real person. Add testimonials to your charity website, your donation forms, and your email campaigns.

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5. Include calls to action

A clear call to action is essential. Add donation buttons throughout your content. Make them visible, use clear colours, and use direct language: "Donate now" or "Donate today."

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6. Link to segmented online donation forms

Personalised donation appeals remind visitors of their connection to your mission. Segment donors by demographics, programme interests, and giving capacity. Creating a segmented donation form for different donor types increases engagement and helps you reach your goals.

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7. Simplify the donation process

A complicated donation page stops donors before they give. Reduce the number of clicks required to complete a gift. Remove unnecessary questions and keep the form focused on the action you want donors to take.

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8. Optimise how supporters give online

An optimised donation form directly impacts gift completion. Before going live, check these:

• Does your page explain why donors' support matters?

• Is your form loading quickly?

• Are there any broken links?

• Have you run A/B tests on text, images, and stories?

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9. Build relationships while collecting online donations

When thanking donors, show genuine appreciation and share how their gifts made an impact. Involve donors in your mission. Update them on campaign progress. Treat them as partners, not transactions.

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10. Promote other ways to help and boost online donations

After acknowledging a donor's gift, share volunteer opportunities and upcoming events. Rarely ask for another gift in your acknowledgement letter. Instead, educate donors about additional ways to connect with and support your organisation.

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Platform fee comparison: what you actually pay

Fees are easy to overlook when you are setting up a fundraising platform. They compound quickly. Here is what each major UK platform actually charges per transaction, based on a £10,000 campaign of 100 gifts at £100 each:

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On a £10,000 campaign (100 gifts at £100): JustGiving's 1.9% + 20p card fee alone equals £190 in percentage fees plus £20 in per-transaction fees, before any Gift Aid fee or tipping. Zeffy: £0.

Fee structures change. Always verify current rates on each platform's pricing page before you commit. For CAF Donate specifically, verify the current fee schedule on cafonline.org before publishing, as no dedicated UK compare page exists for this platform. The Zeffy £0 fee is permanent by design.

See how Zeffy compares in detail: Zeffy vs JustGiving | Zeffy vs Enthuse | Zeffy vs PayPal

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What are the best online fundraising platforms for UK charities?

Zeffy

Zeffy is the only 100% free online fundraising platform. UK charities can use it to accept online donations, organise events, run fundraising campaigns, manage memberships, and run peer-to-peer fundraising. No platform fee, no transaction fee, no credit card fee. Ever.

Key features:

• Zero-fee fundraising

• Mobile-friendly

• Customisable donation forms

• Fundraising event management

• Donor management tools with segmentation and personal notes

• Reporting and analytics

• Accepts credit and debit cards, Direct Debit, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Open Banking, and cheque

• Recurring membership billing

• Gift Aid handling

• Automated donation acknowledgements

Pricing: 100% free

Review:

"It was extremely easy to set up our account with Zeffy and create different forms for different fundraising activities. Customer service has been terrific. The platform's ability to allow easy communication with donors has been especially helpful. It has exceeded all my expectations."

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JustGiving

JustGiving is the UK's household-name donation platform and has been the default choice for consumer donors since 2001. Brand recognition still helps with cold donors who recognise the URL. However, the ~17% suggested-tip prompt is the single most-criticised pattern in UK fundraising press, and Money Saving Expert has covered it extensively. Card processing runs at 1.9% + 20p, and there is a 5% fee on the Gift Aid value claimed. Smaller charities are increasingly moving to platforms with cleaner fee structures.

Key features:

• Donate pages and campaign pages

• Peer-to-peer fundraising infrastructure

• Mobile friendly

• Gift Aid processing (with 5% fee on the Gift Aid value)

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Enthuse

Enthuse puts your charity's brand front and centre rather than the platform's own. It is the official online fundraising partner for London Marathon Events (TCS London Marathon) and the Great Run series under an exclusive contract running to 2034. If your charity has runners in those events, Enthuse is effectively mandatory. Outside those flagship events the value proposition is weaker, and the subscription option adds up.

Key features:

• Branded fundraising and event registration

• P2P sponsorship pages

• Event ticketing

• Gift Aid processing (5% fee on Gift Aid value)

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CAF Donate

CAF Donate is built by the Charities Aid Foundation, itself a registered charity, and is used by more than 8,000 UK charities. It carries strong sector trust, particularly with trustees who recognise the CAF name. Fees are generally lower than commercial competitors and there is no monthly subscription. Reporting is more basic than commercial platforms, but for straightforward donate buttons and Direct Debit it is a solid, low-flair option.

Key features:

• Donate buttons and embedded giving forms

• Direct Debit support

• Gift Aid processing

• No monthly subscription

Pricing: Verify current rates at cafonline.org before committing.

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Wonderful.org

Wonderful.org is genuinely 0% for charities using its Open Banking (Pay by Bank) route: no platform fee, no Gift Aid fee, no tip jar. It is technically the best-value option per independent UK reviews. The trade-off is reach: Wonderful has a narrower donor base than JustGiving, and the Open Banking authentication flow converts well with digitally confident younger donors but less well with donors uncomfortable authenticating via their bank app.

Key features:

• 0% fees via Open Banking

• Gift Aid processing at no charge

• Simple donate pages

Pricing: £0 on Pay by Bank. Verify current card-payment rates before committing.

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Ready to start accepting donations online?

Accepting donations online well is vital for any charity looking to make a lasting impact. From establishing an online presence with a purpose-driven website to choosing the right payment processor and crafting a compelling donation page, each step matters. Here is a quick recap:

• Setting up a website with registered charity number and Fundraising Regulator badge

• Choosing a payment processor that supports Direct Debit, Gift Aid, and UK GDPR compliance

• Registering for Gift Aid with HMRC

• Creating donation pages with recurring giving, Payroll Giving, and match-funding

• Promoting donation opportunities across multiple channels

• Expressing genuine gratitude and confirming Gift Aid declarations

• Tracking and reporting on key metrics

• Making improvements based on donor feedback

Keep every pound you raise. No platform, transaction, or credit card fees. Zeffy is 100% free for charities, and more than 100,000 charities and nonprofits have already raised over £2 billion with £0 in fees.

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Frequently asked questions

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