Donating

A donation page lets you give to an organization without creating an account or signing in. You choose an amount, enter your name and email, and pay through a secure checkout. The whole page is public, so you can open the link, give, and be done in a couple of minutes.

Each organization has its own donation link. On a wide screen, the page splits in two: a form on the left and the organization's branded panel on the right. On a phone, the organization's name and logo sit at the top, with the form below.

Choosing an amount

Under Choose an amount, tap one of the suggested amount buttons. The organization sets these, so the choices vary from page to page. The first suggested amount is selected for you when the page loads.

If the organization allows it, an Enter a custom amount button appears below the suggested amounts. Tap it to open a Custom amount box where you type any amount. A line below the box shows the smallest amount you can give, written as "Minimum …" with the figure filled in. Some pages have no suggested amounts at all and open straight to the custom box.

If the organization has turned custom amounts off, no Enter a custom amount button appears. Pick one of the suggested amounts to continue; you can't give a different figure.

Entering your details

Under Your details, the only required field is Email. A note under the box reads "We'll send your receipt here." The Name field is marked optional but is worth filling in, since a receipt needs your name to be issued.

An Add a mailing address (optional) section can be expanded to enter Street, City, Province / State, Postal / ZIP, and Country. This is optional, but a Canadian charity needs your mailing address to send an official tax receipt.

Paying for your donation

The button at the bottom of the form reads Donate followed by the amount you picked. When you tap it, the button changes to "Redirecting to checkout…" and the page sends you to a secure Stripe checkout to enter your card details. A line under the button confirms this: "Payments are processed securely by Stripe. We never see your card details."

Enter your payment information on the checkout page and confirm. Once the payment goes through, you're returned to the donation page with a confirmation message. The organization processes payments through its own Stripe account, so the charge on your statement comes from that organization, not from this page.

After you donate

When the payment succeeds, the donation page shows a confirmation headed "Thank you for your gift!" It explains that your donation went through and a confirmation was recorded, that your official donation receipt is emailed to you shortly if it's eligible, and that the organization will follow up otherwise. Your gift is only recorded after the payment is confirmed, so this message is your sign that everything went through.

A receipt only goes out when your gift qualifies: it needs to be given in Canadian dollars, and needs your name and mailing address on file, along with any other rules the organization follows. If you expected a receipt and didn't get one, contact the organization you gave to.

If something doesn't work

The form checks a few things before sending you to checkout. If you leave the email blank, it shows "Please enter your email so we can send your receipt." If no amount is chosen, it shows "Please choose or enter a donation amount." If custom amounts are off and the amount doesn't match one of the suggested buttons, it shows "Please choose one of the suggested donation amounts." If your custom amount is below the minimum, it shows "The minimum donation is …" with the figure filled in.

If the organization isn't set up to accept online donations at all, the form shows "This organization isn't able to accept online donations right now." If the organization hasn't connected a way to receive the money yet, it shows "This charity can't accept online donations yet." If the donation link is no longer available, it shows "This donation page is not available." In any of these cases, reach out to the organization for an up-to-date link or another way to give.