Frequently Asked Questions

ScanRaise is a fundraising platform that uses QR codes to make in-person donations fast and easy. Each fundraiser gets a unique QR code — printed on a card or shown on a phone. Donors scan it and give in 30 seconds. No app downloads, no account creation.

Anyone who raises money in person: PTAs, sports teams, booster clubs, churches, fire departments, scout troops, dance studios, band programs, political campaigns, animal rescues, and more. If your people go door-to-door, work events, or collect donations at intersections — ScanRaise makes it easier.

Go to scanraise.com/start and create a campaign in about 2 minutes. Enter your organization name, campaign name, and the names of your fundraisers. You'll get printable QR card PDFs and shareable links immediately. No credit card required to set up.

No. There is no app. Adults can pull up their QR code on their phone by visiting a link we send them. Kids get printed cards on card stock. Donors don't need an app either — they just point their phone camera at the QR code.

No. Donors scan the QR code, see the fundraiser's page, enter an amount, and pay with their credit card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay. No account, no login, no app. Done in 30 seconds.

ScanRaise charges 2.5% per donation. That's it. No setup fees, no monthly fees, no hidden costs, no contracts. Standard Stripe payment processing fees (2.9% + $0.30) apply separately. You only pay when you receive donations.

Snap! Raise takes 20%. GoFundMe charges 2.9% + $0.30. 99Pledges charges 3.49% + $0.49. Booster charges 5%+. GiveLively is free for registered nonprofits but relies on donor tips and doesn't offer QR codes, per-person tracking, leaderboards, auctions, raffles, or event ticketing. ScanRaise at 2.5% is the lowest platform fee for a full-featured fundraising platform, and we include QR code generation that no other platform offers.

Yes. There's a "cover processing fees" checkbox on the donation page (checked by default). When donors opt in, they pay a small amount extra so your organization receives 100% of the intended donation.

Minimum donation is $1.00. Maximum is $2,500.00 per transaction.

You have two options. Option 1: Connect your own bank account through Stripe (takes about 2 minutes) and donations flow directly to you on Stripe's standard payout schedule (typically 2 business days). Option 2: ScanRaise collects the donations for you and sends your organization a check or bank transfer monthly. Either way, your organization receives 97.5% of every donation. You choose what works best for your team.

Yes. All payments are processed by Stripe, the same payment processor used by Amazon, Shopify, and millions of businesses. ScanRaise never sees or stores credit card numbers. All data is encrypted with 256-bit SSL. Stripe maintains PCI DSS compliance.

Yes. If donors provide their email address, they receive an instant donation receipt. The receipt includes the amount, organization name, fundraiser name, and date.

Yes. There's a "Make this a monthly donation" checkbox on the donation page. Donors can cancel anytime.

That depends on your organization's tax status. If your organization is a registered 501(c)(3), donations may be tax-deductible. ScanRaise does not provide tax advice — please consult a tax professional. We include your organization's EIN on receipts if you provide one.

Each fundraiser gets a unique QR code that links to their personal donation page on ScanRaise. When someone scans the code with their phone camera, they're taken directly to a page where they can donate. The QR code can be printed on a card or displayed on a phone screen.

Just a list of names — first name and last initial for each person fundraising (e.g. "Alex T.", "Jordan B."). That's it. We generate a personalized QR code card for every person automatically. No photos, no emails, no accounts needed.

After creating your campaign, you can download a print-ready PDF with all your fundraisers' cards. Print them yourself on card stock at school, take the PDF to any print shop (FedEx Office, UPS Store, or a local printer), or we can handle printing and deliver them to you. A typical cost is $0.15–0.30 per card.

Yes. Each fundraiser gets a personal link (scanraise.com/my/CODE) that displays their QR code full-screen on their phone. Great for adults doing door-to-door, working events, or standing at intersections. The link can also be texted or shared on social media.

You can re-download the cards PDF anytime from your dashboard and reprint. The QR codes never expire and can be reprinted as many times as needed.

Yes. Every organization on ScanRaise gets a dedicated donation page at scanraise.com/give/your-org-name. Anyone can donate directly to your organization from this page — no QR code needed. Share the link in emails, on social media, on your website, or anywhere else. It works alongside your QR code campaigns.

QR code campaigns are for specific fundraisers — kids going door-to-door, teams working events. Each person has their own code and their own page. Donations are tracked per person with leaderboards.

The org donation page is for general giving — like a PTA general fund, a year-round donation link, or an "easy way to give" link you put in your newsletter. Donations go to the organization as a whole. You can use both at the same time.

Yes. If your organization has multiple active campaigns, donors will see a dropdown to choose which one they want to support. If you only have one campaign, it goes there automatically.

Absolutely. That's what it's for. Copy and paste your link (scanraise.com/give/your-org-name) anywhere — email newsletters, Facebook posts, text messages, your website, flyers. It works on any device with a browser.

Yes. Create an event from your dashboard with a name, date, location, description, and ticket price (or free). ScanRaise generates a public event page where people can buy tickets and pay via Stripe. You'll see who bought tickets in your dashboard and can check them in at the door.

Yes. Set the ticket price to $0 and people can register instantly — no payment needed. You still get a list of who's coming and can check them in.

Yes. Set a ticket quantity when you create the event. The page will show how many tickets are left and automatically stop selling when it's sold out.

Yes. Every organization gets an online store at scanraise.com/shop/your-org-name. Add products with photos, prices, sizes, and inventory tracking. Buyers pay via Stripe checkout. You see all orders in your dashboard and mark them fulfilled when shipped or picked up.

Yes. Each product can have size options (S, M, L, XL, etc.) and an optional inventory count. The store automatically marks items as sold out when inventory hits zero. You can update inventory anytime from your dashboard.

Yes. Every donation page and thank-you page has a share button. On phones, it opens the native share sheet (text, email, social media). On desktop, it copies the link to the clipboard. The easier it is to share, the more donations you'll get.

Yes. Add one line of code to your website and ScanRaise places a styled "Donate" button that opens your donation form in a popup. Just add: <script src="https://scanraise.com/api/widget/your-org-name"></script> anywhere on your page. The button automatically matches your organization's brand color.

Yes. Donors can text your organization's name or a fundraiser's short code to our text-to-give number, and they'll receive a link to donate. Great for events, presentations, and anywhere you want to say "text us to give." Contact us at support@scanraise.com to set up text-to-give for your organization.

Yes. Every campaign has a real-time leaderboard that shows each fundraiser's total, ranked from highest to lowest. You can also view the leaderboard by class, team, or group. The public campaign page shows this to everyone.

Yes. Log into your dashboard, go to your campaign, and add new fundraisers at any time. They'll get their own QR codes immediately.

Yes. Set an overall campaign goal and up to 4 milestones with rewards (like "at $5,000, the principal wears a silly hat"). These show up on your public campaign page with a progress bar.

Yes. Every campaign has a live display mode (scanraise.com/live?campaign=your-slug) — a full-screen dark theme view showing the total raised, progress bar, and donations rolling in real-time. Project it on a screen at your gala, fun run, or event.

Yes. From your dashboard, you can export all donations as a CSV file with donor names, amounts, dates, and which fundraiser they donated to.

Go to scanraise.com/login and enter the email you used to create your campaign. We'll send you a login link — click it and you're in. No password to remember.

Yes. The Donor CRM aggregates every donation, ticket purchase, and store order by donor email so you see lifetime totals, first/last donation dates, and recurring status. You can tag donors (VIP, lapsed, board member), add private notes, and export to CSV. Right-to-erasure (GDPR delete) and right-to-access (single-donor export) are built in.

Yes. Compose an email, ScanRaise sends it to your donor list (excluding anyone who has unsubscribed), and tracks sent/failed counts. Every email includes a one-click unsubscribe link. Capped at 500 recipients per send to keep delivery clean — contact us if you need more.

Yes. Apple Pay and Google Pay are enabled automatically on Stripe Checkout for any donor whose device supports them. They appear as one-tap buttons above the card form. PayPal is also supported. We never store card details — Stripe handles all of it.

Supporters can create their own personal fundraising page tied to your main campaign. Each page has its own goal, story, and shareable link. Donations made through a personal page count toward both the page total and your overall campaign. The page creator gets an emailed edit link so they can update their story. Leaderboard ranks pages by amount raised.

Yes. Create an auction with multiple items, set a starting bid and a closing time, and donors bid through the public auction page. The highest bidder at close wins and pays through Stripe Checkout. Raffles work similarly: set a ticket price, donors buy entries, then draw a random winner. Both run through your organization's connected Stripe account — funds never touch ScanRaise.

Many large employers (Microsoft, Google, Principal, John Deere, Wellmark, and thousands more) will match their employees' charitable donations — often dollar for dollar. After a donor gives through ScanRaise, they see a search box on the thank-you page where they can check if their employer matches. If it does, they get a direct link to submit the match request. This can literally double every donation at no cost to your organization. ScanRaise currently covers 32+ major employers including several Iowa-based companies, with more being added regularly.

Community drives let you run a fundraising campaign for a nonprofit at 0% platform fee. ScanRaise takes nothing — the organization keeps 100% of every donation. Donors can still choose to cover Stripe's processing fee. This is for when your PTA wants to support a local food bank, your Little League wants to run a drive for a children's hospital, or any time you want to rally your community around a cause without any middleman taking a cut.

If you refund a donation in Stripe, ScanRaise automatically catches the webhook and updates everything — the donation is marked refunded, peer-to-peer page totals are decremented, raffle entries are excluded from the next draw, and auction items go back to "unsold" status. You don't need to update anything manually.

Snap! Raise takes 20% of everything you raise and requires an app. ScanRaise charges 2.5%, requires no app, and includes features Snap! Raise doesn't have: event ticketing, merch store, auctions, raffles, donor CRM, email campaigns, employer matching, and community drives. On $10,000 raised, you keep $9,750 with ScanRaise vs $8,000 with Snap! Raise. See the full comparison.

Yes. Tithe.ly charges 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction and Givelify relies on donor tips. ScanRaise charges a flat 2.5% and includes QR codes for in-person giving (pew cards, mission trip drives, boot drives), event ticketing for church dinners, a merch store for youth group t-shirts, and a full donor CRM. Churches that do in-person fundraising — boot drives, mission trip asks, building fund campaigns — get more from ScanRaise than a general giving platform.

Yes. Traditional product sales give 30-40% to the vendor before your troop sees a dollar. With ScanRaise, scouts carry QR cards to neighbors and the troop keeps 97.5%. No inventory to store, no order forms to track, no money to collect. Plus you get per-scout tracking, leaderboards, and a merch store if you want to sell camp t-shirts alongside donations.

Yes. The traditional boot drive collects cash at intersections — but fewer people carry cash every year. Put a QR code on a sign next to the boot, or give each firefighter a QR card. Drivers scan from their car window. Money goes directly to your department's Stripe account. You can also run community drives (0% fee) for causes like MDA's Fill the Boot. See ScanRaise for Fire Departments.

Yes. Create a campaign for the trip. Each student gets their own QR code and fundraises individually — grandparents, neighbors, family friends all scan and donate directly to that student's share. The leaderboard shows who's on track and who needs help. Sell trip merch (t-shirts, water bottles) through the built-in store. Use event ticketing for pre-trip meetings or send-off parties.

FIRST Robotics teams typically need $15,000-$20,000+ per season for registration, parts, and travel. ScanRaise gives each team member a QR card so families and sponsors can donate with a scan. Use the merch store to sell team shirts and stickers, run auctions for sponsor-donated items, and use the donor CRM to track sponsors across seasons. The employer matching feature is especially valuable — many robotics sponsors work at companies that match donations.

Yes. ScanRaise works for any candidate, PAC, or campaign committee that needs to raise money. Every volunteer gets a personalized QR code. Voters scan at the door, at rallies, from yard signs, or from mailers. You track which volunteers and precincts drive the most donations. Full donor CRM with CSV export for your compliance reporting.

ScanRaise is a technology platform, not a campaign finance advisor. We provide full donor data export (name, email, amount, date) in CSV format so you can feed it into your compliance reporting. However, ScanRaise does not enforce contribution limits, track employer/occupation fields required by the FEC, or file reports on your behalf. Your campaign is responsible for its own compliance. We recommend consulting your campaign finance attorney.

Yes. Set up a store at scanraise.com/shop/your-campaign-slug and sell t-shirts, yard signs, bumper stickers, hats, and anything else. Sizes, inventory tracking, and order management built in. Same 2.5% fee. Merch sales are a revenue source and a visibility multiplier — every shirt is a walking ad.

Yes. Use event ticketing to sell dinner tickets, then run a silent auction from attendees' phones during the event. No paper bid sheets. Project the live donation display on a screen to build momentum. Raffle off donated items between courses. One platform for the whole evening.

An athon campaign lets donors pledge per unit of activity — $2 per mile walked, $0.50 per page read, $1 per lap swum. After participants complete the activity, we calculate what each donor owes and collect payment automatically via email.

Walk-a-thons (GPS), run-a-thons (GPS), swim-a-thons (Strava sync), read-a-thons (verified timer), math-a-thons (timer + manual entry), dance-a-thons, bike-a-thons, jump-a-thons, climb-a-thons — or any custom unit you define.

Participants open a tracker page on their phone (no app download). GPS tracks their route in real time using the phone's built-in location services. Distance is calculated from coordinates. Works on both iPhone and Android.

Our step counter uses the phone's motion sensor (accelerometer) to detect walking patterns. It's opt-in — participants grant permission with a single tap. Works on iPhone and Android, no app needed.

For read-a-thons and study-a-thons, the timer tracks how long the page is actively visible on the participant's screen. If they switch to another app, the timer pauses. This proves they were actually engaged.

No. All sensor tracking (GPS, step counter, motion) is completely opt-in. Participants can always choose manual entry instead. We never collect sensor data without explicit permission.

No. Everything works through a web page. Participants open a link on their phone and tracking starts in the browser. No app store, no account creation, no setup.

Server-side anti-cheat analyzes every submission. For GPS: we check speeds (driving vs walking), detect teleportation (impossible location jumps), flag perfectly straight paths (highway driving), and detect GPS spoofing. For timers: we verify the page was actually visible. Photo check-ins with GPS stamps add another layer of proof. Admins can review all data and override any flag.

Yes. Participants click "Connect Strava" on the tracker page, authorize their account, and recent activities (runs, rides, swims) are available to import with one click. This is the easiest way to get smartwatch data into ScanRaise.

Yes. Same flow — click "Connect Fitbit," authorize, and daily step counts and activity data can be imported.

These devices don't have direct web APIs, but they all sync to Strava. So the path is: wear your watch → activity syncs to Strava → ScanRaise imports from Strava. One integration covers almost every watch brand.

Swimmers wear their watch in the pool. After swimming, the watch syncs to Strava. ScanRaise imports the distance and calculates laps based on the pool length you set for the campaign. No volunteers with clipboards needed.

Only what participants opt into: GPS coordinates during tracking, accelerometer data for step counting, and photos for check-ins. We never access contacts, messages, health apps, or any other phone data.

Verification data (GPS paths, step samples, photos) is stored encrypted on our servers. It's used only for activity verification and is automatically deleted 90 days after the campaign ends.

Absolutely not. We never sell, share, or monetize participant sensor data. It exists solely to verify activity for the fundraiser. Period.

Yes, at any time. Manual entry is always available. Participants are never required to enable GPS, motion sensors, or camera access.