Festive Fundraising Checklist for Charities

💡 Almost 25% of income fundraised by charities on Dona is generated between November and December.

💡 45% more donations are raised by churches on Dona in December than on other months of the year.

Preparation is Key

The final months of the year are a time for community and giving, when a spirit of generosity takes centre stage. For charitable organisations of all kinds, this makes it a critical time for fundraising.

During the festive season, around large religious festivals and celebratory events, there are a few steps you can take that can help make fundraising run smoothly for you and your donors.

7 Key Tasks for Festive Fundraising Success

Plan and prepare early! Arrange a meeting with your team to outline your goals, plan resources, explore creative fundraising ideas and ensure you have a clear to-do list. Use Dona’s AI insights to see what worked best last year, and build on your success.
Design engaging fundraising ideas to plan your events and campaigns. View our 50 Creative Fundraising Ideas Blog to get inspired now.
Programme your festive campaigns on your machines and donation webpage.
Educate your community so they are familiar with your donation machines before the end of November.
Create posters or social media to support your campaigns & add your QR Code to link to your webpage. Inspire your community and celebrate what you’re fundraising for.
Be clear and proud of your efforts – tell people regularly where and how they can donate.
Celebrate and keep in touch – in your event space, via social media and on email newsletters, be proud of your community’s achievements. People love to know the difference their donations have made.

Get Inspired - 50 Creative Fundraising Ideas

Read the Blog

Speed up donations using Tap and Go

Dona donation terminals (DCP v3 and DDB) come with a Tap and Go functionality, allowing you to set one suggested donation amount that people can give with a fast, simple tap and go. This can help reduce queues and encourage more people to donate that otherwise might not stop if they are subject to a lengthy wait.

This is particularly useful during big events and busy seasonal gatherings, or for leaving in a shop window so passers-by can gift overnight

💡 Top Tips for Tap and Go Donations

Tap and Go will speed up donations, but won’t ask new donors to register for Gift Aid.

You can encourage donors to preregister for Gift Aid either via your Dona Donation Webpage, or using the donation machines in advance, as this only needs to be done once.
Mention this to your congregation in person or in a newsletter to help secure Gift Aid donations ahead of time.

Ensure you have enough donation terminals: 1 per 50 visitors is optimum.

💡 Data shows that 1 donation terminal per 50 people is the optimum ratio for fundraising, as people don’t like to queue.

💡 In 2024, organisations on Dona fundraising with 2 donation machines raised an average of 263% more income than organisations with 1 donation terminal.

The cost of purchasing an extra terminal can be quickly recuperated during the festive period and at busy events, and your organisation will then be set up to capture additional donations for the rest of the season and well into the new year. Contact our sales team to add a terminal to your account quickly and easily.

Self-service stands

To enhance donation accessibility, Dona donation terminals are all self-service. Self-service terminals, placed in strategic high-footfall locations, empower donors to make contributions independently. This can significantly boost donations, especially during peak periods when staff or volunteers may be limited. Our flexible stands can be configured to suit various environments, including counter-top, freestanding, and adjustable styles.

Pass-around donation terminals

As churches continue to serve their local communities in new and creative ways, how we give and receive donations is also evolving. Congregations are increasingly embracing the use of pass-around digital collection plates to give with greater ease during offertory or Sunday collections.

Rather than replacing cash collection, contactless donation devices handed up and down pews alongside the traditional collection bag, basket or offertory plate, give donors more choice and control over how they wish to give.

Digital collection plates enable donors to select how much they would like to give, add Gift Aid seamlessly to increase donation amounts by 25% and reduce admin for church volunteers, and even choose to keep in touch with future messaging to learn more about how their donations are having an impact.

💡 Learn more in our blog here: donadonations.com/news/how-churches-are-embracing-pass-around-digital-collection-plates-alongside-cash-collections

Let people know you accept card donations

If you are holding an event or gathering, ensure you let people know before and during the event so they can feel inspired to donate at any point. This will reduce queues and give you the opportunity to let them know about how important their support is and the difference it can make.

💡 Learn more in this blog: Make the most of Christmas fundraising for your organisation.

Sending regular updates and newsletters electronically to your donors means they can really get behind your fundraising goals and be part of the journey to success with helping to hit your targets.
Be sure to also have your Dona donation webpage set up for those unable to attend in person who might like to show their support. Contact our support team today if you have any questions about how to do this.

Is your account verified?

If you are a new customer, financial regulations mean you will need to complete a verification process with the card payment processor. This avoids limits to the donation amounts and totals that you can receive.

If you have any questions about the information required by Stripe to verify your account for financial verification please follow this link: https://support.stripe.com/questions/business-information-requirements-to-use-stripe?locale=en-GB

Do you need to top-up your 4G data?

If you are using 4G data SIMs or a 4G dongle with your donation machines, we recommend topping-up your data ahead of busy periods. This will ensure that your DCPs are usable at all times.

If you would prefer you can upgrade to a WiFi +4G terminal that will allow you to take donations with or without an internet connection.

Further help and resources:

If we can help in any other way please contact our Sales team with any new terminal enquiries on 0203 488 5038

Or our support team on 0203 488 8095 who are available up until 24th December 2025 and from 5th January 2026.

Find out more....

Our friendly team will be in touch to answer any questions you may have.

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