Donations and fundraising campaigns
Accept one-time and recurring gifts through Stripe once Connect shows payouts enabled. Create donation products under Products → Donations and optional goals under Settings → Campaigns. Donations use 0% platform commission (Stripe processing pass-through).
ArtInStack combines donation products (what donors pay through) with fundraising campaigns (goals, story, and progress you show publicly). They work together—link a donation product to a campaign for attribution and a live progress bar—but you can use either on its own. This is separate from ad embed placements (third-party ad zones under Settings → Integrations); see Ad embed placements.
Prerequisites
Stripe Connect payouts enabled: Dashboard → Settings → E-commerce (see Connect payments with Stripe)
Donations tab: Dashboard → Products → Donations (plan capability donation products)
Campaigns: Dashboard → Settings → Campaigns (plan capability fundraising campaigns)
How donations and campaigns relate
[Fundraising campaign] (optional link)
goal, story, dates, image |
| v
+--------> [Donation product] ------> [Donor checkout via Stripe]
| presets, billing mode
|
v
[Fundraising drive block on a Page] --> progress bar + story + Donate CTA
[Donation block on a Page] --> card/banner for one donation product
[Impact map block] --> optional campaign + donate CTA
| Piece | What it is | Where you configure it |
|---|---|---|
| Donation product | Checkout offer: amounts, one-time vs monthly, max gift | Products → Donations |
| Fundraising campaign | Named drive with goal, story, dates, cover image | Settings → Campaigns |
| Fundraising drive block | Public story + goal progress + optional donate button | Pages → Edit → block settings |
| Donation block | Simpler embed for a single donation product | Pages → Edit → block settings |
Create a donation product
Dashboard → Products → Donations → create or edit:
| Setting | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Name & description | Shown on the public donation page and in blocks |
| Image | Hero on donation page and block layouts |
| Link to campaign (optional) | Attributions gifts to a fundraising campaign for goals and metrics |
| Preset amounts | Up to six suggested gift levels (e.g. $10, $25, $50) |
| Show presets | Toggle preset buttons on or off |
| Allow custom amount | Let donors enter their own amount |
| Billing mode | One-time only, Recurring only (monthly), or Allow both |
| Maximum donation | Cap per checkout (fraud / safety). This is not the public fundraising goal. |
| Status | Active when Stripe Connect is ready |
Publish Active products before embedding them on live pages.
Fees and payouts
Donation checkout uses your Stripe Connect account. ArtInStack charges 0% platform commission on donations. Stripe card processing is passed through (one-time gifts and monthly subscriptions). You still need payouts enabled on Connect. Print-on-demand uses a separate commission model for the provider catalog and fulfillment; see Connect payments with Stripe.
What donors see on your site
On the donation product page (/product/… on your public site):
- Preset buttons and/or a custom amount field (per your settings).
- Frequency — One-time and/or Monthly when billing mode allows both.
- Donate now → Stripe checkout on your connected account.
One-time gifts use standard payment checkout. Monthly gifts use subscription checkout and renew each month until the donor cancels in Stripe.
Create a fundraising campaign
Dashboard → Settings → Campaigns:
| Field | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Title | Public name of the drive |
| Slug | Optional URL-friendly id (auto-generated from title if empty) |
| Status | Draft, Active, Completed, or Archived |
| Goal amount | Powers the Raised / goal progress bar when set |
| Start / end dates | Optional campaign window |
| Story | Long-form copy for fundraising drive blocks |
| Featured image | Hero for drives and blocks |
Open the Metrics tab to see raised totals, percent toward goal, and a breakdown by type (donations, print/POD, digital, etc.) for gifts linked to that campaign.
Use campaigns and donations together (recommended)
- Create a fundraising campaign with goal and story.
- Create a donation product and select Link to campaign.
- Add a Fundraising drive block on a Page → pick the campaign → link the same (or another) donation product for the CTA.
- Publish the page and test on your preview URL.
Visitors see story text, optional portfolio gallery, Raised: $X / $Y goal (Z%), and a Donate button to your product page.
Page blocks
Fundraising drive block
Pages → Edit → add Fundraising drive (plan: fundraising campaigns):
| Trait | Options |
|---|---|
| Campaign | Campaign from Settings → Campaigns |
| Hero & gallery | None, single featured image, or Portfolio gallery (slider or grid) |
| Layout | Card, banner, or minimal |
| Show story | Campaign story on the public block |
| Donate button | Optional donation product + custom Button text |
Progress appears automatically when the linked campaign has a goal amount.
Donation block
Pages → Edit → add Donation block (plan: donation products):
- Pick a donation product, layout (card / banner / minimal), show image, and button text.
- Does not require a fundraising campaign—good for a simple “Support us” strip.
Impact map + campaign
On Impact map blocks you can optionally attach a campaign and donation product for a donate CTA beside the map. See Add an Impact map to a page.
Billing modes (one-time vs monthly)
| Billing mode | Donor choices |
|---|---|
| One-time only | Single gift checkout |
| Recurring only | Monthly subscription checkout |
| Allow both | Donor picks one-time or monthly before Donate now |
Monthly checkout rules:
- Monthly gifts use a separate checkout session—donors should not mix a monthly gift with prints or one-time cart items in one order.
- Promo codes and shipping do not apply to monthly gift checkout.
Payouts land on your Stripe Connect account like other commerce.
Implementation steps — donations only (no campaign)
- Connect Stripe and enable payouts.
- Products → Donations → create product with presets and billing mode.
- Set status Active.
- Add a Donation block to a page or share the product URL.
- Run a test one-time (and monthly, if enabled) checkout.
Implementation steps — full fundraising drive
- Settings → Campaigns → create campaign with goal and story.
- Products → Donations → create product linked to that campaign.
- Pages → Edit → Fundraising drive block → select campaign and donation product.
- Publish and verify progress + CTA on your public site.
- Review Settings → Campaigns → Metrics after test gifts.
What you'll see
- Public blocks with story, optional gallery, and live Raised / goal when configured.
- Donation product pages with presets, custom amount, and frequency toggles.
- Dashboard metrics aggregating linked checkout revenue toward each campaign goal.
Plan and Stripe requirements
| Feature | Typical requirement |
|---|---|
| Donation products | Plan includes donation products; Stripe Connect payouts enabled |
| Fundraising campaigns + drive blocks | Plan includes fundraising campaigns; Stripe Connect payouts enabled |
| Progress metrics | Campaign with goal amount + linked checkout activity |
If a capability is not on your plan, blocks show upgrade guidance instead of failing silently.
Verifying your setup
- Stripe Connect shows payouts enabled.
- At least one Active donation product with presets or custom amount configured.
- Optional: fundraising campaign with goal, linked product, and published Fundraising drive block.
- Test one-time checkout succeeds; test monthly if billing mode allows it.
- Metrics tab shows raised amount after a linked test gift.