{"id":69104,"date":"2023-10-06T15:47:18","date_gmt":"2023-10-06T22:47:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/donorbox.org\/nonprofit-blog?p=69104"},"modified":"2025-08-13T14:14:37","modified_gmt":"2025-08-13T21:14:37","slug":"pair-donorbox-with-stripe-or-paypal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/donorbox.org\/nonprofit-blog\/pair-donorbox-with-stripe-or-paypal","title":{"rendered":"Boost Fundraising by Pairing Donorbox with Stripe or PayPal"},"content":{"rendered":"

You already have a great payment processor – why do you need a fundraising platform as well?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The short answer is that fundraising platforms like Donorbox have more features designed specifically for nonprofits when compared to even the best payment processors.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In this article, we\u2019ll cover why pairing Donorbox with Stripe or PayPal will help you grow your organization through online fundraising features such as recurring giving, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer, and more. We\u2019ll also share how you can connect your Stripe or PayPal accounts with Donorbox so that you can start taking advantage of these incredible features today.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Why Pair Donorbox with PayPal or Stripe?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Stripe<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>PayPal<\/span><\/a> are two of the top payment processing platforms on the market. They interact directly and securely with your donors\u2019 financial institutions, allowing you to confidently accept online transactions. But even they have limitations when it comes to effective online fundraising!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On the flip side, fundraising platforms like Donorbox don\u2019t always have the capability to process payments within their own system. Instead, they integrate with these powerful payment processors – like Stripe and PayPal – so that they can focus on building the tools you need to successfully raise funds in a digital environment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s why pairing Donorbox with Stripe or PayPal is not only recommended – it\u2019s a must. While select donor data is securely stored within Donorbox, we never hold funds for any period of time. All donations get processed directly via Stripe and PayPal. In turn, Stripe and PayPal\u2019s platforms, while great at processing payments, are simply not geared toward nonprofits.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Features of a Powerful Donation System\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Integrating Donorbox with Stripe or PayPal (or both!) creates a powerful donation system that enables you to increase donations, manage your donors, improve donor engagement, and much more.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s because Donorbox offers all of the features below – many of which are not available (or are only available on a limited basis) through PayPal or Stripe alone.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"Screenshot<\/a><\/p>\n

Get started with Donorbox<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

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Customized donation forms and pages<\/span><\/h3>\n

Because Donorbox is designed and built for nonprofits, you can rest assured that our online forms are created with your donors and their giving experience in mind.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You can customize your embeddable (or pop-up!) Donorbox <\/span>donation form<\/span><\/a>\u2019s colors, buttons, and more to fit seamlessly into your website and <\/span>branding<\/span><\/a>. Or, you can create an entire donation page – mobile-optimized and hosted for free on our SSL-enabled servers – that features your logo, images, impact stories, and more.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Within your forms, you can also ask up to 10 custom questions, the answers to which will be recorded in our donor database (more on that later). You can also include various ask amounts, impact details, tribute gift options, designated fund selections, and more.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Plus, Donorbox offers unique tools that will take your fundraising forms and pages to the next level, such as a virtual donor wall and fundraising goal thermometers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Here’s an example<\/a> of an embedded Donorbox donation form in action on Upward Scholars’ website.<\/p>\n

\"Upward<\/p>\n

Build my own fundraising campaign<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

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Recurring donations<\/span><\/h3>\n

One of the best ways to secure consistent and reliable income for your organization is through a <\/span>recurring donation<\/span><\/a> program. Making it simple to set up and manage recurring gifts in your online donation form is an important piece of a successful recurring giving strategy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Donorbox enables you to add up to four recurring donation intervals (choose from daily, weekly, biweekly, 1st and 15th, monthly, quarterly, and annually) to your donation form. Plus, make it easy for donors to log in to their donor portal<\/a> to change their recurring donation plan at any time.<\/span><\/p>\n

PayPal only supports monthly donations and, while Stripe does allow for daily, weekly, monthly, and annual billing frequency, it is not designed specifically for a giving program. In addition, neither system makes it as quick to set up and manage recurring donations as is possible through Donorbox.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Donor-covered fees<\/span><\/h3>\n

Empower donors to ensure that 100% of their gift goes directly to serving your mission by giving them the option to <\/span>cover the processing fee<\/span><\/a> on their donations.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With a flip of a switch on the backend in Donorbox, you can add the option for donors to cover fees to your donation form. The fee is then simply added to the transaction total, so only one donation is processed.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Personalized email receipts<\/span><\/h3>\n

Acknowledging each and every donation is critical when it comes to engaging with donors and solidifying long-term relationships. While sending a personalized thank-you letter is ideal, it is also important that you send an <\/span>automated email receipt<\/span><\/a> for every donation made through your form.<\/span><\/p>\n

Unlike Stripe and PayPal, Donorbox enables you to customize your receipt emails. Not only do these receipts include all required information for tax purposes, but you can also add thank-you notes, embed impactful images, and more. In addition, you may use Donorbox to send customized year-end tax receipt emails.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Donor management<\/span><\/h3>\n

All donor and donation data is securely stored in the Donorbox database, easily accessible within your organization\u2019s account. Here, you can segment donors, get alerts for important moments, add communication notes, update donor profiles, and much more. We also offer Donor Reporting Templates<\/a> for Donor Overview, New Donor, and LYBUNT reports to save you time and help you find critical donor information.<\/span><\/p>\n

Stripe and PayPal do not offer any type of <\/span>donor management<\/span><\/a> system at this time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Matching gifts<\/span><\/h3>\n

Through our partnership with Double the Donation, we make it possible to add a <\/span>donation matching<\/span><\/a> widget to your Donorbox donation form. This enables donors to check if their employers are willing to match their donations, often doubling or even tripling the total gift.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Donors also receive all details needed to complete the process on their end directly from Donorbox, making the process as hassle-free as possible for the nonprofits themselves.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Crypto and stock donations<\/span><\/h3>\n

Offering a variety of giving options opens your nonprofit up to more types of donors. Crypto and stock giving is picking up in popularity due to the numerous benefits for donors and nonprofits alike. Our <\/span>partnership with The Giving Block<\/span><\/a> makes accepting crypto and stock donations through your online giving form easy for you and your donors.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Screenshot<\/p>\n

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Memberships<\/span><\/h3>\n

Another way to bring in reliable income for your nonprofit is to start a membership program. With Donorbox\u2019s <\/span>Memberships<\/span><\/a> tool, you can easily set up unlimited membership tiers for monthly or annual membership campaigns.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Managing memberships online isn\u2019t possible with Stripe or PayPal alone, but Donorbox makes it easy to attract, engage, and add members to your program.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Peer-to-peer fundraising<\/span><\/h3>\n

Through <\/span>peer-to-peer fundraising<\/span><\/a>, you can turn your supporters into advocates for your mission, broadening your reach and bringing in new donors. With <\/span>Donorbox Peer-to-Peer<\/span><\/a>, simply create your organization\u2019s campaign, and then invite supporters to build their own fundraising pages to share with friends and family.<\/span><\/p>\n

While this is a popular and effective tool in Donorbox\u2019s set of offerings, it is not available through Stripe or PayPal.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Event ticketing<\/span><\/h3>\n

Donorbox also offers the capability to sell and manage tickets online through our <\/span>Donorbox Events<\/span><\/a> feature. Through Donorbox Events, you can set ticket limits and deadlines, create promo codes, ask donors to cover fees, request donations, and much more. Plus, the tool does all the tax work! Simply enter the fair market value of your ticket and the form will generate the tax-deductible value for you.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

PayPal and Stripe do not offer event ticketing software of their own. Pairing Stripe with Donorbox Events, however, makes it possible to accept global payment methods. Depending on your market, these include Cash App Pay, Amazon Pay, Stripe Link, and more.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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On-site fundraising\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Making it easy for donors to give on-site, whether at your location or during a fundraising event, can make the difference between missing and capturing vital donations. Donorbox provides several solutions for on-site and on-the-go fundraising, including Text-to-Give and Donorbox Live\u2122 Kiosk.<\/span><\/p>\n

With <\/span>Text-to-Give<\/span><\/a>, donors simply send your campaign ID to a designated number in order to receive a link to your secure giving form sent straight to their phone. You can add the <\/span>Donorbox Live\u2122 Kiosk<\/span><\/a> app to any tablet and pair it with a card reader to create your own giving kiosk, where donors can give using their cards or smart devices in just a few taps.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While PayPal and Stripe both offer card reader options, neither is designed for nonprofit fundraising. Donorbox Live\u2122 Kiosk actually pairs with Stripe\u2019s card readers, giving you one more reason to connect these two incredible platforms.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Donorbox Compared to Stripe<\/span><\/h2>\n

Looking for more details about how Stripe stacks up against Donorbox? Read <\/span>this blog<\/span><\/a> for more information.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Donorbox Compared to PayPal<\/span><\/h2>\n

How does PayPal as a stand-alone compare to Donorbox? Take a look at <\/span>this article<\/span><\/a> for more details.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Pricing<\/span><\/h2>\n

Donorbox offers three <\/span>pricing plans<\/span><\/a> to fit your needs. The Standard plan is free for all users and offers a 2.95% platform fee to use most of our tools, including our donation forms and pages. Events, Memberships, and Peer-to-Peer come with a 3.95% platform fee on the Standard plan.<\/span><\/p>\n

Our Pro Plan features a 1.75% platform fee for everything included in our Standard plan,\u00a0 plus additional add-ons like Zapier, Tracking & Analytics, advanced form customizations, crypto and stock giving, and more. And, you’ll pay a reduced 2% platform fee for Events, Memberships, and Peer-to-Peer.<\/span><\/p>\n

Premium users also access a 1.75% platform fee for everything included in Pro, and a 2% platform fee for Events, Memberships and Peer-to-Peer. Plus, they receive a custom plan and corresponding monthly fee to fit their unique needs.<\/span><\/p>\n

Stripe offers a discounted rate for <\/span>qualifying nonprofits<\/span><\/a> at 2.2% + $0.30 per transaction. PayPal\u2019s <\/span>nonprofit<\/span><\/a> payment processing fee is 1.99% +$0.49 per donation.<\/span><\/p>\n

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How to Set Up PayPal or Stripe as a Payment Processor on Donorbox<\/span><\/h2>\n

Pairing Donorbox with Stripe or PayPal is easy to do. You also don\u2019t have to pick between the two payment processors. Integrate both with your Donorbox account to expand your giving options even further!<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

First, make sure you have an active <\/span>Donorbox org account<\/span><\/a> as well as an account with <\/span>Stripe<\/span><\/a> and\/or <\/span>PayPal<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Then, <\/span>log in<\/span><\/a> to your Donorbox org account and head to the Payment Processors page – find it under \u201cAccount\u201d in the left-hand navigation.<\/span><\/p>\n

To connect with Stripe, either click \u201cCreate Your Stripe Account\u201d or \u201cAlready have a Stripe account?\u201d Then, follow the instructions provided by Stripe. Once complete, you\u2019ll be redirected back to your Donorbox dashboard!<\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019d like to connect with a PayPal business account, enter your email address in the PayPal field. Click \u201cUpdate\u201d and you\u2019ll be set! <\/span><\/p>\n

For a more detailed guide on getting started with Donorbox, including pairing Donorbox with Stripe or PayPal, check out <\/span>this article<\/span><\/a>. More of a visual learner? The video below walks you through each of the necessary steps to connect Stripe and PayPal to Donorbox.<\/span><\/p>\n