Online giving has become a foundational part of fundraising. As people spend more time online, they expect to support the causes they care about there, too. In a 2025 survey, over 60% of donors reported that they preferred to donate online rather than through traditional donation methods. Charities are taking this opportunity to build online giving experiences that tell compelling stories and build relationships at every step.

Below, we'll explain what online giving is, how online donations work and what charities should consider as they design their online giving experiences.

What's in this article?

• What is online giving?
  
• How does online giving work?
  
• Where can charities ask for online donations?
  
• What makes an online donation experience effective?
  
• Why is online giving now essential for charities?
  
• How do charities increase security and compliance for online donations?
  
• How Stripe Payments can help
  

What is online giving?

Online giving is the practice of making charitable donations digitally. Specifics can vary, but generally, a donor clicks a "donate" button, enters an amount, chooses how they'll pay and completes the gift online.

How does online giving work?

To facilitate online giving, charities need a system that can balance speed, security and reliability. The online giving process typically follows the same basic steps. Here's what's involved:

• Donation entry point: The process begins wherever a donor encounters a call to action. This can be on a charity's website or a campaign landing page, or through an email link, QR code, or shared payment link.

• Amount selection: The donor chooses a one-time or recurring amount and provides basic information such as their name and email address.

• Payment method selection: The donor selects how they'll pay. This might be via credit or debit card, bank transfer, or digital wallet. Payment details are encrypted in the browser and securely transmitted.

• Authorisation and processing: The payment processor routes the transaction to the appropriate card network or bank to confirm the funds are available and approve the charge.

• Funds settlement: Once the charge is approved, the funds are queued for payout to the charity's bank account. Settlement timing can vary, but modern platforms provide predictable payout schedules.

• Confirmation and receipt: The donor receives confirmation that their gift was successful, usually both on-screen and via email.

• Recurring donation management: Payment details for recurring gifts are securely stored by the processor and reused automatically on the chosen schedule.

• Back-office integration: Donation data can flow into accounting systems, donor databases and reporting tools.

Where can charities ask for online donations?

Donors encounter opportunities to give across channels and devices. Effective online giving meets them where they are.

Here are some options:

• Charity websites: These are still the primary sites for online giving. Dedicated donation pages create a direct path from interest to action while giving the charity full control over branding and messaging.

• Social platforms: Many donors discover causes on social networks. Native social fundraising tools can help them give without friction, while links to external donation pages guide them to further context.

• Shared links and payment URLs: Simple donation links can be distributed in emails, messages, or social posts. These take donors straight to checkout without requiring navigation through a full site.

• QR codes: QR codes on physical materials, such as flyers and mail, enable online donation even in offline moments. They work well for events, print campaigns and public spaces.

• Email campaigns: Donation buttons and links embedded in fundraising emails capture intent at the moment of engagement.

• Campaign-specific landing pages: Focused pages tied to a single appeal or initiative help clarify the precise purpose of a donation. These pages are especially effective when shared through email or social channels.

What makes an online donation experience effective?

An effective donation experience respects the donor's time, raises their confidence and keeps the focus on the gift's impact. Aim for the following:

• Immediate clarity: Donors should understand right away what they're giving to and why it matters. A focused, purpose-based call to action can set the tone for the entire experience.

• Simple flows: The strongest donation pages avoid unnecessary navigation and load quickly on all devices.

• Mobile-first design: Forms, buttons and text must be usable and legible on small screens.

• Minimal data collection: Avoid long forms, which can cause hesitation and signal unnecessary complexity.

• Flexible amounts: Suggested donation levels help donors decide quickly, while custom options respect different capacities to give. Offering both one-time and recurring donations lets donors decide how to show up.

• Trustworthy systems: Secure checkout indicators and recognisable privacy and security standards can increase trust in donors.

• Familiar payments: If donors can pay in familiar ways, they can feel safer and more confident. International charities should offer payment methods that match their donors' geographic contexts.

• Immediate confirmation: On-screen confirmation and a follow-up email reassure donors that everything worked as intended.

Why is online giving now essential for charities?

Many important transactions take place online and donations are no exception. Online giving has become an important way for charities to reach donors, respond to urgent moments and build durable revenue.

Consider the following:

• Donor behaviour has shifted: People have become familiar with paying for things online and from mobile devices. They generally expect to have the option to support causes this way, too.

• Online reach is limitless: Digital donations remove physical constraints. This allows charities to connect with supporters across regions and borders.

• Digital-first campaigns speed things up: Online giving allows charities to launch campaigns quickly, including call-to-action requests in response to a charity's need. This can capture intent when donor motivation is highest.

• Online giving lowers overhead: Compared with mail-based or in-person fundraising, online giving reduces printing and postage costs, as well as labour costs.

• Regular gifts become recurring revenue: It's simple for donors to set up monthly or annual gifts online, which creates more predictable income streams.

• Data improves decision-making: Digital donations generate structured, nearly real-time data from donor behaviour and conversion rates. Charities can use this information to improve their campaigns.

• Transparency builds trust: Well-designed online experiences can confirm donations instantly, communicate how funds are used and provide reliable records.

How do charities increase security and compliance for online donations?

Charities can use several tools to enable safer, more compliant donations. Confidence in a transaction's security can help turn an initial gift into a lasting relationship.

Have the following in place:

• End-to-end encryption: Donation forms should encrypt data the moment it's entered. This protects information as it moves between the donor's browser and the payment processor.

• A PCI-compliant payment processor: Instead of handling sensitive payment information themselves, charities can use processors that are Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) certified to maintain strict global privacy and security requirements. Systems that send card and bank details directly to the processor and not through the charity's servers can increase payment security.

• Built-in fraud detection: Modern platforms monitor transactions for suspicious patterns in real time. Automated risk scoring and adaptive rules can help block fraudulent activity without slowing down legitimate donors.

• Specific privacy and data handling practices: Donors expect to know how their personal information will be used and protected. Plain language privacy disclosures can build confidence and help meet data protection requirements.

• Regulatory compliance: Because online giving often crosses borders, many charities must abide by different legal frameworks for data protection and payments. Payment providers that operate globally can help ensure local requirements are met.

• Controlled internal access: Staff access to financial systems and donor records should be limited. This reduces the chance of misuse or accidental exposure.

• Reliable reporting: Accurate transaction logs support financial reporting, audits and regulatory reviews, and they make it easier to resolve donor questions and reconcile accounts when necessary.

How Stripe Payments can help

Stripe Payments provides a unified, global payments solution that helps any business – from scaling startups to global enterprises – accept payments online, in person and around the world.

Stripe Payments can help you:

• Optimise your checkout experience: Create a frictionless customer experience and save thousands of engineering hours with prebuilt payment UIs, access to 125+ payment methods and Link, a wallet built by Stripe.

• Expand to new markets faster: Reach customers worldwide and reduce the complexity and cost of multicurrency management with cross-border payment options, available in 195 countries across 135+ currencies.

• Unify payments in person and online: Build a unified commerce experience across online and in-person channels to personalise interactions, reward loyalty and grow revenue.

• Improve payment performance: Increase revenue with a range of customisable, easy-to-configure payment tools, including no-code fraud protection and advanced capabilities to improve authorisation rates.

• Move faster with a flexible, reliable platform for growth: Build on a platform designed to scale with you, with 99.999% historical uptime and industry-leading reliability.

Learn more about how Stripe Payments can power your online and in-person payments or get started today.