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Introducing the New Dona Support Hub

Introducing the New Dona Support Hub

April 2025

Helping charity fundraising teams save time and maximise success
Dona Support Hub to help our charities streamline their donation machine management

We’re incredibly proud of our reputation for providing exceptional customer support at Dona. 

As part of our mission to help charities, places of worship, and community organisations make the most of every donation opportunity, we’re delighted to introduce our brand-new Dona Donations Support Hub — an online portal built specifically for our customers to self-serve answers, learn how to use our award-winning fundraising tools, and get the most out of their donation experience.

Dona Support Hub Launches to Help Fundraisers and Charities Streamline Management of their Dona Donation Machines

Everything You Need, All in One Place

Whether you’re setting up a new donation machine, exploring our fundraising features, or troubleshooting an issue, the new Support Hub is designed to make finding answers fast, easy, and intuitive.

You’ll find everything you need to get started and succeed, including:

  • Step-by-step setup guides for your donation machines

     

  • Tips and best practices to help you maximise donations using Dona’s features

     

  • How-to videos and tutorials to make learning simple and visual

     

  • FAQs and troubleshooting for quick fixes and practical advice

     

And of course, if you ever need extra help, our friendly Support Team is still just a phone call or email away.

The Support Hub is here to complement the great service you already know and love — not replace it.

Learning and Improving Together

We’ve already begun using real customer search queries to improve and expand the Support Hub. Every question we receive helps us learn more about what our charities need, and we’re committed to ensuring the Support Hub always reflects the most relevant, helpful, and up-to-date information possible.

Our goal is to ensure that whether you’re new to Dona or an experienced digital fundraiser, you’ll always have clear, easy-to-follow guidance at your fingertips.

Service That Sets Us Apart

The new Support Hub builds on the strong foundations of care, commitment and diligence that define Dona Support.

Our customer service team consistently achieves between 4.5 – 5 stars in feedback from our users — a reflection of the dedication that goes into every interaction.

Here’s a snapshot of our 2024 support success:

  • Average first response time: within 24 hours

  • Cases resolved within 24 hours: 95%

  • Technical bug resolution rate: 95% of bugs fixed within 1 month

  • Total downtime in 2024: just 15 minutes

  • Platform uptime in 2024: 99.9%

These numbers tell a story we’re proud of — a story of reliability, responsiveness, and a deep commitment to supporting the incredible causes that use Dona every day.

How to Access the Dona Support Hub

The Dona Donations Support Hub is now live and ready for you to explore.

Dive in to discover helpful articles, video tutorials, and tips designed to empower you and your team to do even more good.

Log in link for existing customers: https://support.mydona.com

Visit the Dona Support Hub and see how easy it is to get the answers you need, whenever you need them.

Call Sales: 0203 488 5038

Call Support: 0203 488 8095

Complete our enquiry form 

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Popular Technology

How to Prepare for Diwali Fundraising

How to Prepare for Diwali Fundraising

April 2025

Successful Diwali fundraising is about balancing tradition with innovation.
Diwali fundraising tips for Hindu temples and successful event management

Diwali — the Festival of Lights — is one of the most meaningful times for Hindu communities, celebrating light over darkness, renewal, and generosity. This shared spirit of giving also makes it an important fundraising period for temples, charities, or community initiatives. 

Providing the right resources to support your community during this busy time is essential. With more people moving away from cash, digital donation solutions like Dona are becoming an invaluable tool for religious organisations. With a host of fundraising features, we make donating simple, secure, and accessible — whether by card, contactless, or QR code — helping Hindus give generously during this auspicious season.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to preparing your Diwali fundraising campaign, with both traditional event inspiration and modern digital tools.

1. Create Inspiring Fundraising Campaigns on Your Donation Terminals

Before you launch your campaigns, clarify what you are raising funds for and who your target audience is.

  • Communicate your goals: Whether you’re raising money for temple maintenance, food distribution, or community education, explain clearly how the funds will make an impact. Donors are more likely to give when they understand exactly how their contribution helps.
  • Create individual funds on your Dona donation machines and online giving page, to make it easy for your community to choose where their contributions will go this Diwali. Sharing a range of campaigns can inspire greater generosity, helping your supporters engage with your mission.

2. Plan Your Diwali-Themed Events

Events are a powerful way to engage your community, celebrate culture, and raise funds. Consider incorporating elements of Diwali traditions to make them meaningful:

  • Host a Diwali fair: Include stalls with traditional music, dance, rangoli art, and cultural displays.
  • Offer traditional foods: Sell samosas, ladoos, or festive sweets at your temple or through pre-orders.
  • Create handcrafted items: Diyas or clay lamps, handmade jewellery, and gift hampers are popular festive purchases.
  • Sell Diwali treats: Prepare boxes of sweets or dried fruit hampers for your community to share with friends and family.
  • Host a performance: Organise a Diwali concert, dance showcase, or fireworks display, with ticket sales contributing to your fund.
  • Position self-service digital donation kiosks around your site: make it as easy as possible for visitors to give as they shop, eat, watch performances and enjoy the celebrations.
Fundraising at Diwali for Hindu Temples

3. Engage Your Community

Clear communication and great preparation can make a huge difference to how successful your fundraising events can be.

  • Promote your campaigns: Use social media, WhatsApp groups, and temple newsletters to raise awareness. Include QR codes to your Dona online giving page for easy digital giving.
  • Partner with local businesses: Ask for sponsorships, raffle prizes, or in-kind donations such as food or decorations. Share posters or leaflets to expand your reach and welcome the wider community to engage with your Diwali events.
  • Involve volunteers: Encourage youth groups, community leaders, and families to help with crafting, setting up stalls, or sharing marketing content. There are so many ways to give, and people love to help in different ways.
  • Keep supporters updated about your fundraising progress: Tools like Dona’s ‘Keep in Touch’ feature let you thank donors, share progress on your campaigns, and encourage future engagement and repeat giving.

4. Handle Logistics and Legalities

A well-organised campaign inspires confidence and maximises impact.

  • Create a budget: Estimate expenses and projected income for each fundraising activity.
  • Secure permits: Check with local authorities for any licences required for fairs, food stalls, or public events.
  • Insurance: Consider coverage for liability or equipment, especially for large-scale gatherings.
  • Prepare for the increase in visitors: To avoid queues and ensure everyone has a chance to access your fundraising devices, aim for 1 donation machine per 50 attendees. This avoids bottlenecks and ensures everyone can contribute conveniently.

5. Leverage the Spirit of Diwali

Celebrate the richness of Diwali and traditional Hindu heritage while empowering generosity:

  • Decorate festively: Use bright colours, rangoli, marigold garlands, and diyas to create a welcoming atmosphere.
  • Encourage traditional dress: Celebrate cultural heritage by inviting attendees to wear traditional outfits.
  • Highlight your cause: Clearly display your fundraising goals, community initiatives and impact stories at your event and on your donation devices to help your visitors connect with your mission for the long-term.
  • Blend tradition with technology: Use QR codes on posters, event tickets, and even sweet boxes so people can donate anytime, anywhere via your free donation webpage.

How Cashless Donation Solutions Are Empowering Temple Fundraising

With fewer people carrying cash, it’s essential that temples and Hindu centres empower their communities with contemporary ways to give.

By integrating one consistent digital giving system across your buildings, website and social media, a spirit of generosity can be celebrated and encouraged, while also enabling you to maximise Gift Aid collection and keep your followers informed easily. 

  • Inspire spontaneous giving and higher donations, even when people don’t carry cash.
  • Maximise Gift Aid: after registering once, your donors’ future donations will automatically be collected with Gift Aid, increasing your donation income by 25%. 
  • Reduce admin for your team with easier Gift Aid declarations, HMRC reporting and future forecasting.
  • Keep in touch with your followers.
  • Safer, more secure donations without the risk of theft or loss that cash can bring.
  • Free up time for your volunteers: Dona’s unattended donation kiosks enable donors to donate independently, without the need for a volunteer to programme or manage fundraising devices.
  • Expand opportunities for both in-person and remote donations with a complete, integrated fundraising solution – joining up your online giving with your in-person card donations.

Successful Diwali fundraising is about balancing tradition with innovation. By creating clear fundraising campaigns, hosting inspiring community events, and providing cashless donation options, your temple or organisation can inspire greater generosity during this sacred time. 

Whether through a ‘Light a Lamp’ campaign, handcrafted diya sales, or QR codes on festival posters, inspire your community to give with heart and help your cause shine brighter this Diwali.

When does Diwali take place this year?

This year, Diwali takes place on Monday 20th October 2025.

Amavasya Tithi – the day of the New Moon in the Hindu calendar – is starting from Monday October 20th at 03:44 pm, and ending on Tuesday October 21st at 05:54 pm. 

Lakshmi – Goddess of fortune, prosperity and wealth – is the key deity worshipped during Diwali, which can also be called Deepavali or Deepawali. The Hindu festival of lights, is honoured in different ways by a range of Indian religions, including Jainism and Sikhism. Diwali symbolises the spiritual victory of Dharma over Adharma, light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance. 

Call: 0203 488 5038

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Categories
Popular Technology

Growing Together: How Dona’s Donation Machines Keep Improving Performance

Growing Together: How the Performance of Dona Donation Machines Keeps Improving

April 2025

Comparing the fundraising data of charities in their first 6 months with Dona: how each generation of Dona donation machine performed.
Best contactless fundraising machines for charities rely on continuous improvement - see Dona data

At Dona, everything we do starts with one goal: helping charities fundraise more. When we first launched the Digital Collection Plate (DCP), we knew it had the potential to transform giving. But we also knew that listening, learning, and improving alongside our partners would be key to making it truly powerful.

From Version 1 to Version 2: Smoother, Smarter Giving

When we first moved from Version 1 to Version 2, we made what might sound like a small change: removing an unreliable Bluetooth connection.

But the impact was huge. With a smoother, more reliable donation process, charities saw an average of 49% boost in donations raised over their first first six months of fundraising, compared with charities using the version 1 devices.

From Version 2 to Version 3: Donations Anytime, Anywhere

The next step was even more exciting. By switching from SumUp to Stripe as our payment provider, we were able to launch offline mode — meaning charities could accept donations even without WiFi or 4G.

That freedom led to a 21.8% increase in donations for charities fundraising on Version 3 compared to Version 2, in their first six months with Dona. For more data on the impact made by Offline Mode, see this blog.

Best donation machines for charities in 2025 - performance data by Dona donations

The Bigger Picture: 81.4% More Raised Since the Start

Looking back at the journey so far, the difference is clear. Organisations now raise on average 81.4% more in their first six months with Version 3 compared to those who started out with Version 1. That’s not just an upgrade in tech — it’s a real difference in the funds reaching charities and communities, through all the amazing work our partners do.

Powered by Feedback, Built for You

None of this would be possible without the feedback we receive from the charities we work with. Our UK-based support team makes sure every insight is heard, and our in-house development team turns those ideas into new features and improvements. Together, we’re building technology that grows with your needs.

Looking Ahead to 2025-6

The journey doesn’t stop here. We’ve got new innovations on the way in 2025 that we believe will make an even bigger impact. We can’t wait to share them with you — so watch this space.

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Making the Most of Christmas Fundraising

Making the Most of Christmas Fundraising for your Organisation

November 2024

The Christmas season is a time for generosity and community that extends beyond just giving gifts to friends and family. At Dona we see a huge spike in donations from late autumn through to New Year, as a host of different festivals – from the Christian celebrations of Advent, Christmas, St Nicholas Day and the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, to Hannukah, Diwali, Kwanzaa, Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s birthday, Bodhi day and the Winter Solstice – foster a spirit of goodwill and generosity in communities across the United Kingdom.

For charities, religious organisations, cultural sites and community groups, it’s important to be ready to make the most of the additional opportunities for fundraising during this busy period. Preparation is key to making the most of your time, resources and opportunities for boosting funds when donors are at their most generous.

Christmas Fundraising to boost charity funds

Preparing for a busy period

Taking a look at how your charity has previously performed during the winter season can be a great indicator of future success. You might be able to spot opportunities for additional fundraising campaigns as well as expand on those that generated high donation values in the past. 

Anticipate the Surge:

  • Run a review of past data: Analyse your previous year’s donation trends to estimate the potential increase compared to a usual month. In your Dona Donations management portal you can use the reporting function for this. The average donation value across all Dona customers in Dec 2023 alone was £13.
  • Get Gift Aid ready: encourage repeat supporters and congregation members to sign up for Gift Aid in advance by making early donations or sharing a link to your online giving page via newsletter. Donors only need to register once with Dona, and all their future offerings will then be automatically Gift Aided, giving your charity an extra 25% on each donation.
  • Look at your staffing and resources: Ensure your team is prepared to handle a higher volume of donations. Consider temporary staff or volunteers to assist with processing and enquiries, ensuring you have sufficient time to train and prepare them too. Alternatively, use additional self-service terminals.
Custom donation terminal stand in wood with clear background
  • Technology: Make sure your donation processing systems are equipped to handle increased traffic.  Sign up with Dona for a robust system where terminals are easily added. Additional terminals decrease queues and increase donation volumes at busy times.

Have Clear Donation Processes:

  • Streamlined Online Giving: Ensure your online donation platform is user-friendly and secure. The Dona Donations contactless donation terminal, DCPv3, is GDPR and PCI DSS compliant to ensure donor and card data is protected.
  • Efficient Offline Processing: Have clear guidelines for processing cash, and other offline donations. Ensure you’re not missing out on digital donations by using a system like Dona which also captures offline transactions. 
  • Acknowledgment System: Implement a system to acknowledge donations promptly, either through automated emails or personalised thank-you notes. Dona terminals do this automatically and you can customise your message too.

Encouraging Extra Donations

Christmas fundraising funds screen on a donation terminal

Compelling Campaigns:

    • Emotional Appeal: Create campaigns that evoke empathy and highlight the real-world impact of donations. With Dona you can advertise a range of different campaigns on each donation terminal, so people can choose which specific fund they want to give to, which can inspire people to give more generously.
    • Specific Goals: Set clear, achievable goals for the campaign to motivate donors.
    • Limited-Time Offers: Use urgency to encourage immediate donations, such as matching gift campaigns or time-limited offers.
    • Send regular newsletters to existing donors, members of your congregation and followers so they know how they can help or support during the Christmas period. 
    • Send a press release about your seasonal campaigns or events to your local community magazines and newspapers.
    • Innovative Fundraising Ideas: Seasonal Events: Organise festive events like Christmas dinners, carol services, holiday bazaars, or celebrations that resonate with causes your community cares about.
    • Gift-Giving Campaigns: Encourage donors to give gifts in the name of loved ones to the charity.
    • Social Media Campaigns: Utilise social media platforms to engage with donors, share heartwarming stories, and run fundraising challenges. Encourage your followers to share their stories and experiences.

Managing the Extra Donations

Christmas fundraising event at a church with tree and lights

Financial Management:

  • Budgeting: Adjust your budget to accommodate the increased income. It might be the perfect time to launch your ‘new roof’ campaign or a new initiative for your community. 
  • Financial Planning: Develop a plan for how the extra funds will be allocated, ensuring they are used effectively and efficiently with good feedback for your donors. With the Dona Management portal it is easy to see how much has been donated to each campaign – giving you the opportunity to update donors regularly.

Donor Relations:

      • Personalised Thank-You Notes: Send heartfelt thank-you notes to donors, expressing gratitude for their support. This is automated through Dona Donations as standard. 
      • Donor Updates: Keep donors informed about the impact of their donations through regular updates and newsletters.

To find out more about how Dona Donations contactless terminals could boost your fundraising this winter please enquire today.

Find out more....

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

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Popular

The Power of Contactless: How Charities Can Raise More

The Power of Contactless: How Charities Can Raise More

July 2024

Why going contactless is one effortless way to boost donations.


Nowadays, fewer than 1 in every 5 payments are made with cash in the UK. There has never been a
better time to switch to contactless donations for your charity.
The rise in contactless payments in the UK has been phenomenal since Covid 19 with a record 93.4%
of all in-store transactions up to £100 being made with a contactless method of payment in 2023*
In 2023 the average person used their contactless payment 231 times with an average spend over
the year of £3,623**


There is no doubt that contactless is now the quickest and most efficient way for most people to
make purchases day to day. The contactless payment limit was raised to £100 in October 2021 and
with Dona Donations terminals the most you can donate in one transaction is £9999.99.
Mobile phone wallets have no specific limits. However, it is wise to check as some providers have a
general total card spending limit. Find out more here about general mobile transactions.
Contactless payments continue to be a safe way to make payments with a small reduction in the
amount stolen through payment fraud in 2023 according to the UK Finance Annual Fraud Report
2024.


*According to Frontier Economics 
**Barclays, 2024

Contactless cards in gold from visa and mastercard

5 key benefits of taking contactless donations with Dona
Donations


1. Take donations with Contactless and Chip & PIN

2. Collect donations without an internet connection.

3. Easy-to-use Management Portal featuring Gift Aid declarations and HMRC
reporting 

4. Secure custom stand options 

5. Self-service kiosk with a 10-hour battery life


Most charities can benefit from contactless donations including churches, mosques, temples,
museums, schools, universities, hospices, and food banks. Dona Donations have raised over £25
million for over 2,000 charities thus far. With 40% of donations Gift Aided it is the future of
fundraising.

Cards Accepted include@

 Mastercard
 Visa
 Apple pay
 American Express
 Google Pay
 Contactless
 Diners Club
 Maestro

What does the future of Contactless fundraising look like?

With the use of mobile wallets, digital currencies and banks collaborating to make fintech
advancements at an astonishing rate, we can be sure that tap and go is here for the long run. But
which other areas could we see payments developing into for the future?


Consumer confidence has grown, and card payment is widely accepted as a preferred alternative to
cash. With the reduction in risk and the rise in wearable devices, the future of contactless looks likely
to grow further with enhanced convenience and accessibility. The technological advancements mean
the traceability and reporting now available help to make the running of a charity so much more
efficient.


We could see further biometric payments and the need for physical cards decline with some
providers already issuing virtual credit cards. Additionally, QR codes may have finally found their
niche with a huge uptake in the use of this technology for managing business credit card accounts
and taking automatic payments.


Find out more about Dona Donations charity donation plate and how it could help boost your
donations. 

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Uncategorized

4 Easy Steps to Set Up Contactless Fundraising

4 Easy Steps to Set Up Contactless Fundraising

June 2024

Boost donations for your charity!

Dona Donations Managing Director Elroy Fernandes talks us through the ease of setting up contactless fundraising terminals for your charity.

The rise of mobile payments has transformed how people give. Cash donations are declining, but with contactless fundraising, your charity can literally ‘tap’ into a whole new world of generous supporters.

Here are the 4 easy steps to get your contactless fundraising up and running:

1. Assemble Your Fundraising Committee: Gather and talk to your committee about how contactless fundraising can be used for your charity as a safe and effective tool.  Speak to us and we can provide you all the costs, savings, and statistics to help you put forward your case to your fellow members.

Some of the most common questions we are asked are:

    1. How much does it cost
    2. Length of contracted commitment
    3. What support is available should there be a technical or user problem?
    4. Which payment cards are accepted?
    5. How long does it take to set up contactless donations?

    Elroy said “The biggest factor is trust, making sure we are helping your charity to make the most of the donations made with low costs and clear transparency.  Ensuring our values also align with your mission and values of your charity as a trusted professional supplier”

     

    2. Setting Up Your Electronic Donation System: The beauty of ‘tap to pay’ fundraising is its simplicity. We walk you through the entire process, ensuring a seamless integration with your existing donation infrastructure.

    Elroy noted “Nominate a team member that will help us to get you set up,  this is a quick process that is usually handled by your treasurer who can liaise with your bank, we are very happy to help guide you from start to finish”

    3. Promote, Promote, Promote! Once your mobile giving is up and running, let your supporters know! Announce your new donation option on your website, social media channels, and email newsletters. Additionally, you could consider offering incentives for early mobile donors to generate excitement or set a target to reach.

    Person making a Credit card payment for online donation terminal

    Elroy stated “Upon launch, we see a big rise in initial donations as supporters are keen to try the new technology and welcome the opportunity to use a safe method of payment.  Hence, this leads to a rise in the average donations made”

    4. Enjoy Increased Donations & Growing Support: With a card payment fundraising system in place, you’ll be opening your charity up to a whole new wave of contributions. Therefore, Dona terminals make donating easier than ever, allowing your supporters to contribute anytime, anywhere.

    Elroy added “For outdoor activities and events our terminals are perfect.  No Wi-Fi signal is no barrier; we can bring the latest technology to your charity fundraising and keep your team safe with a reduced theft risk.  We also find that charity volunteers like the reduced responsibility of handling cash”

    Remember, we're here to help!

    We have the experience and resources to make your contactless fundraising journey a success. Contact us today to learn more and take the first step towards a brighter future for your charity.

    Enquire