How to Create a Nonprofit Event on Donorbox | A Step-by-Step Guide
Donorbox Events helps you create customizable event pages and event ticketing forms to elevate online ticket sales. Learn everything in this step-by-step guide and get started today!
Donorbox Events helps you create customizable event pages and event ticketing forms to elevate online ticket sales. Learn everything in this step-by-step guide and get started today!
Join the fundraising movement! Join the fundraising movement!Galas, auctions, trivia nights, or concerts — fundraising events allow you to engage your audiences, spotlight your cause, and collect donations from attendees.
Our innovative feature – Donorbox Events – is designed to lighten your workload and amplify the success of your next event.
In this article, I’ll walk you through the steps to setting up your event form and page on Donorbox.
Donorbox Events is a robust event ticketing solution for all types of nonprofit fundraising events. It takes just a few minutes to get set up, and you can offer buyers an unlimited number of ticket tiers while displaying tax-deductible values for your ticket prices.
To get started, sign up for Donorbox. If you already have an account, head straight to the Events section in the left-hand sidebar of your Donorbox Dashboard. The Donorbox platform fee for event ticket sales is 3.95% per transaction on our free Standard Plan, or sign up for Pro or Premium to access a 2% transaction fee for Events!
And so much more!
We get it – events season can get hectic. That’s why Donorbox Events is designed to make the event-planning process as seamless and effective as possible, from start to finish.
Create user-friendly event forms that let you sell tickets, collect attendee information like preferences and contact information, and accept additional donations on top of ticket sales.
Enjoy hands-off features like automated receipts, ticket assignments so someone can easily purchase and assign tickets for multiple attendees, and the ability to showcase the tax-deductible amount just by entering the fair market value of each ticket type.
Then, check your guests in with unique QR or numerical codes for each ticket. This helps you track attendance so you can get the metrics you need, including event conversion.
Every step of the way, Donorbox Events has you covered with comprehensive event management tools that let you boost sales with promo codes, process refunds when needed, and track ticket sales. Plus, it’s all integrated into your robust fundraising platform – meaning you can steward these attendees into long-term supporters.
Now let’s take a look at how to get started.
If you haven’t already, sign up for Donorbox. Make sure you’re also signed up for Stripe and have connected it to your Donorbox account!
On your Donorbox dashboard, you will find the Events tab in the left-hand sidebar. Once in the Events tab, click the “+ New Event” button to set up your ticketing form.
First, name your event. Then, select your preferred currency in the dropdown.
Donorbox Events lets you choose from a list of 52 currency options, making ticket sales even more powerful and effective for your organization. Discover all currencies available here.
After selecting your currency, you can turn on the switch to ask donors to cover the estimated processing fees. You can also choose to have this option checked by default on the last step of the checkout process.
In this step, you can also select the option for purchasers to donate to your cause. This allows ticket buyers to give an additional donation – separate from the cost of their tickets – when completing a purchase.
Don’t worry, you can edit these options later if you change your mind!
Next, you will be taken to your event’s editor. This editor is where you will return anytime you need to edit, update, or check in on your event (more on that later).
While editing your event – whether while creating a new form or editing an existing one – you can also check the top navigation of that event’s editor to view the status, preview your form, and click “Publish” when you’re ready. Once published, this navigation will also feature options to “Check-In Ticket” or “Unpublish.”
When creating a new event, you will first be taken to the “Event Details” tab. Here, you may edit your event’s name, and customize the look and feel of your form with a background image.
Use our rich text editor here to add a detailed event description as well as additional photos and videos to your event page – simply click “Add description.”
On this same page, you can choose to set a deadline for your ticket sales. Click “Set Deadline” and select a date in the calendar – by doing so, your ticket sales will automatically close at 11:59 p.m. on that day. This is a great way to create a sense of urgency for your audience and make it a little easier for you to plan for your headcount in advance.
You can also add a date, time, and location to your event.
Select “Set Date and Time.” Here, you can set the start date and time, and optionally add an end date and time. You can also change the time zone and format to account for different locations.
To ensure your guests can find your event, add a location using Google Maps. Type in the address or name of your location and choose the correct address that pops up. This way, you know your guests have all the information they need!
Next, move to the “Settings” in your event’s left-hand navigation. We suggest starting with “Ticket Types.”
Click “+ Add Ticket Type” and walk through the steps provided to add either a paid or free ticket to your form.
For a paid ticket, add the ticket name and its full price. If applicable, toggle the option to make this ticket tax-deductible. Manually enter the fair market value, and the tax-deductible amount will be automatically updated. It will also be displayed on your form, encouraging buyers to purchase tickets for the tax benefits.
For both paid and free tickets, you may choose to set a ticket quantity. To do so, toggle the switch and enter the number of tickets you wish to sell for that tier. When this is set up, the form will automatically close ticket sales for that tier when the limit is reached.
Your ticket buyers will be able to see the ticket quantity remaining for each tier in the form as well as when a tier is sold out, creating a sense of scarcity and urgency.
Simply return to this page and click “Edit” on the appropriate ticket type should you choose to change any of these details at a later date. You can also click “+ Add Ticket Type” to add more tiers.
If you would like to sell ticket packages – like tiered sponsorship bundles, gala tables, and group ticket bundles – navigate to the ‘Packages’ tab and select “+ Add Package.” This feature helps increase ticket sales and streamlines checkout for supporters by allowing you to group different ticket types into one package for easy purchasing. Note that you’ll need to create specific ticket types to include in your package.
Here, you’ll be able to include a description for each package, specify the benefits included, brand packages using visuals, select your ticket type/s to be included in each package, limit the quantity of packages available, and more.
Learn how to create ticket packages in this step-by-step guide.
You can also add unlimited promo codes to allow certain buyers to purchase tickets at a discounted price – or for free! To add promo codes, simply go to the “Promo Codes” tab in your editor’s left-hand navigation. You can also find a shortcut to this on the Events list (see above).
Click “Add Promo Code.” Enter your desired code, a description (optional), and the discount as a dollar or percentage. Then click “Create” and share it with your audience!
After they are created, you will be able to view all of your promo codes for each event in a detailed list. Unused promo codes may be edited, and you can quickly deactivate, re-activate, or delete your codes, making it possible to offer discounted or free tickets for a limited time.
If there is any additional information you’d like to collect about your attendees, head to the “Supporter Info” tab. Here, you have two options:
For both, you can choose to apply your questions to all ticket tiers or just specific ones.
To collect attendee preferences, choose from six question types: email, first and last name, image uploader (to upload images), multiple choice, open-ended question, or single checkbox.
This means that regardless of who purchases the tickets, you can get important information about each attendee.
For the buyer info option, you have the ability to choose from three custom question options: multiple choice, open-ended question, or single checkbox.
This allows you to customize the information you ask your buyers for. In both cases, you can choose to make these questions mandatory.
Note: In cases where one buyer purchases tickets for multiple attendees, they can easily assign those tickets to those attendees by providing an email address. Those added attendees will receive their ticket via email, and you’ll now have their contact information for future event outreach.
Next up, set your checkout options in your “Checkout” tab! This is where you can edit the currency, as well as your additional donation and fee cover options you first set at the beginning of the process. On this page, you can also set sales taxes, add attendee questions, and choose to offer various payment options.
To add tax info, click “Edit Taxes and Fees” and toggle the option to add appropriate tax amounts to your tickets. Manually enter the tax rate to determine the tax-deductible amounts of your tickets. You can also check the tax-inclusive option if sales tax is already included in the price of the ticket.
On this screen, you can also edit the options for asking donors to cover transaction fees.
The last option on this page is to set up additional payment features. Click on the appropriate “Learn more” and follow the steps to enable Apple Pay and/or Link by Stripe on your ticketing form, giving your ticket buyers flexibility in their payment choices.
Once you’ve added all the details, it’s time to share your event!
This can be easily done by adding a QR code – included for free with every Donorbox Event form – to your marketing pieces.
Access this QR code in the “Share & Embed” tab or through the shortcut on your Events list. Here, you can also find your event link for easy sharing.
If you’d like, you can also choose to embed your event form directly into your organization’s website. It’s easy to do – simply view your event on the dashboard, select “Embed Form Code,” and follow the directions to copy the code and place it on your website. You can also find it in the “Share & Embed” tab of your event’s editor.
The Events section on your Donorbox dashboard will allow you to see a list of all your events. Simply click the pencil icon in the appropriate event to view or edit one.
Here, you can also see which event ticketing forms are in the draft stage or if they have been published, as well as find several other shortcuts.
The “Preview” button takes you to the preview of your event page. You can also click on the event title, which leads you to your event’s dedicated dashboard.
On this dedicated event management page, you’ll find an overview of all the tickets you have sold. You can view the data based on the transaction, the number of tickets sold, and if the purchasers also made an additional contribution to your cause while purchasing tickets. Find additional details for each of the above by using the left-hand navigation.
You can also click on the purchaser ID to see each purchaser’s information. This includes their event and ticket details, time of purchase, name, contact information, and any separate donation amount. This is also where you can access receipts.
You can issue full refunds (no partial refunds available) to your ticket purchasers on this event management page. Simply select the transaction ID to see the details, and click ‘Refund’ to issue the refund for the purchase.
If you have any offline ticket transactions, you can easily add them to keep track of all your ticket sales in one place. Click “Add Offline Transaction” and you will be taken to a screen where you can search for existing supporters or add new supporters. Then select the payment method.
You can also add any additional donations made with each offline transaction. If your event has promo codes or additional questions to collect attendee notes, you can add that information to offline transactions as well.
Finally, you can now edit email notifications sent to your admins and team members. Email notifications available include “Deadline Passed,” “Ticket Purchased,” and “Tickets Sold Out.” Click on “Notifications” in your event’s left-hand navigation to edit all of the above.
Donorbox Events makes ticket check-in a breeze. Each ticket has a unique check-in numerical code and QR code that you can use to verify tickets, track attendance, and streamline the check-in process.
Simply click “Check-in Ticket” in your event’s top navigation and type in the check-in numerical code. Alternatively, use your smart device’s camera to scan the QR code. Both actions will take you to the screen to confirm the ticket and mark it as checked in.
No more dealing with long, printed lists! This feature allows you to have fewer people manning your check-in process. Plus, it’s easy to split up group tickets that are purchased together, since each ticket has a unique code.
More of.a visual learner? Check out our step-by-step video tutorials as Jena Lynch walks you through the process of setting up your event with Donorbox Events.
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel to get trending fundraising ideas and strategies from nonprofit experts every week!
Fundraising events are an effective way to get your donors more engaged with your nonprofit and its mission. With Donorbox Events, you can set up an easy-to-use events form and page that will help you sell more tickets – without more work.
Sign up for your Donorbox account today to get started. If you already have an active account, click here to head straight to the Events section.
For more fundraising tips and ideas, visit our Nonprofit Blog and subscribe to our monthly newsletter to receive exclusive resources sent to your inbox.
Donorbox Events is free to use! We charge no cost for signing up on Donorbox and setting up your event page. The platform fee for ticket transactions is 3.95%, plus the processing fee of Stripe (2.2% +30c). However, if you upgrade to Donorbox Premium or Donorbox Pro, the fee for Donorbox Events is reduced to 2%.
You can create an unlimited number of ticket levels based on your pricing structure. Each ticket level (listed as “ticket type” in the editor) can be customized with a unique title, ticket description, and price. You can assign the fair market value and the tax-deductible amount to each ticket tier.
After a buyer has purchased the tickets, they’ll be emailed a receipt, which will include a line stating the tax-deductible amount (if any), as well as PDFs and links to individual tickets that they can print or download. If buyers assign attendees for additional tickets and provide their email address, those attendees will also receive their ticket via email.
For all kinds of nonprofit events and fundraisers – the options are endless! For example:
And more!
Yes – the donations collected from ticket sales, as well as information for each ticket buyer, are also stored in the Donations and Supporters section of your Donorbox app. You can manage all of the data from the same place!
Yes! Simply select “Free Ticket” when building your ticket types. You can also create promo codes to give only certain buyers the ability to check out with free tickets.
Yes, you can! Visit the Events page on your dashboard, select “Share & Embed” on the appropriate event, and follow the instructions to copy the code and add it to your website.
On Donorbox-hosted event forms and forms embedded into your website, you can enable your audience to purchase their tickets via credit card or Apple Pay. Select markets may also choose to offer various direct debit, “buy now, pay later,” and other tools to ticket buyers in specific countries.
Our full list of available payment methods is listed below:
You can offer full refunds to your ticket buyers via the Events feature – partial refunds, however, are not possible. Visit the page for the applicable event, click on the transaction, and select “Refund” to issue the refund.
Yes, this is possible with Events. When creating or editing your event, simply click “Set Deadline” in the “Event Details” tab and pick a date in the calendar. On this date, your ticket form will automatically close to the public at 11:59 p.m. in the time zone selected in your organization settings.
Join the fundraising movement! Join the fundraising movement!
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