Help Center

Getting Started

From sign-up to your first donation in under 10 minutes.

1. Sign up at /start. Pick your organization type (PTA, school, church, sports, etc.) and enter the basics.
2. Connect Stripe via Stripe Connect so donations land in your bank (see Stripe Connect Setup).
3. Create your first campaign. Pick a mode: Native (we process payments to your Stripe), Passthrough (link to your existing donation page), Platform (we collect on your behalf), or Community (no payments).
4. Generate QR cards. Each fundraiser (a person, group, or class) gets a unique QR code.
5. Share the QR cards. Donors scan, give in 30 seconds, you get notified.

Detailed FAQ: Getting Started FAQ

Campaign Setup

Campaigns are your fundraising containers. Each has groups (grades, classes, teams), fundraisers (individuals), and a goal.

Choose a campaign mode

• Native: ScanRaise processes payments via your Stripe Connect account. 2.5% platform fee. Funds settle to your bank in 2 business days.
• Passthrough: QR links to your existing donation page (Givebutter, GoFundMe, etc.). No payment processing on our end.
• Platform: We collect on your behalf via our Stripe account. Useful for orgs without their own Stripe.
• Community: Tracking only, no payments. Used for activity verification before pledges are collected separately.

More: Campaign Management FAQ

QR Codes & Cards

Each fundraiser gets a unique short code that maps to a QR. Print on cards, posters, programs, or anywhere physical.

• Generate QR cards as a single PDF: every fundraiser, ready to print.
• Re-print individual cards as needed.
• Custom branding: org logo, colors, slogan all imprint on the card.
• QR codes are stable for the life of the campaign. Reuse across years if structure stays the same.

Detailed FAQ: QR Codes FAQ

Donations & Payments

2.5% all-in. No setup fee, no monthly minimum. Stripe handles the card / Apple Pay / Google Pay flow.

• Donor receipts auto-emailed (IRS-ready 501(c)(3) format if you've added your EIN).
• Recurring donations supported. Donors can cancel from a self-serve link in any receipt.
• Refunds: issue from your Stripe dashboard or the ScanRaise admin. Platform fee is refunded too.
• Custom amounts: up to $2,500 per transaction.

Detailed FAQ: Payments FAQ

Auctions updated

Run silent auctions inline with your campaign. Bidders enter on your fundraiser page, you collect at close.

Set up an auction item

1. From the campaign admin, open Auctions.
2. Click + New item.
3. Enter: name, description, starting bid, optional reserve price, optional buy-now price, close time, image URL.

Reserve price (new)

If a reserve is set, the auction does NOT auto-award if bids stay below the reserve. You decide whether to award anyway, re-list, or cancel. Reserves are private to the org admin and never shown to bidders.

Buy now

If set, a bidder can end the auction immediately by paying the buy-now amount. Once paid, no further bids accepted.

Detailed FAQ: Auctions FAQ

Raffles

Sell raffle tickets, draw winners, notify by email. All in your campaign admin.

• Set ticket price (or tiered: $5 each, 5 for $20, etc.) and number of prizes.
• ScanRaise generates a unique entry per ticket. Drawing is verifiable random with audit log.
• Some states regulate raffles. Check your local laws before running one.

Detailed FAQ: Raffles FAQ

Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Fundraisers

Each individual creates their own page, sets a personal goal, shares with their network. Great for athons and personal fundraising drives.

1. From the campaign admin, enable P2P mode.
2. Each fundraiser visits /p2p-create and customizes their page (photo, story, goal).
3. They share a personalized link. All donations roll up to the parent campaign total.
4. Leaderboard auto-ranks fundraisers by total raised.

Detailed FAQ: P2P FAQ

Athons (walk-a-thon, run-a-thon, swim-a-thon, read-a-thon)

Donors pledge per unit (mile, lap, page, minute). Participants track. ScanRaise calculates and collects.

Tracking modes

• GPS: phone tracks distance during a walk or run. Verified vs. impossible speeds, teleports.
• Step counter: phone accelerometer counts steps. Pace verified, replay attacks blocked.
• Timer: tracks active screen time. Used for read-a-thons, study-a-thons.
• Strava sync: import activities from connected Strava account (covers Apple Watch, Garmin, COROS, Polar, Suunto, Samsung). See Strava section.
• Manual entry: always available. Some kids will swear they walked 100 miles.

Detailed FAQ: Smartwatch & Fitness FAQ

Strava & Fitness Sync new

Apple Watch, Garmin, COROS, Polar, Suunto, and Samsung all sync to Strava. ScanRaise imports from Strava.

For participants

1. On the tracker page, tap Connect with Strava or Fitbit instead.
2. Click the orange Connect with Strava button.
3. Authorize ScanRaise to read your activities (we never access health, sleep, or messages).
4. Pick from the activities list. Each row links back to View on Strava.
5. Click Import. Distance is converted to your campaign's unit (miles, km, laps).

Garmin Connect IQ & COROS

Garmin's developer program is currently in transition (paused as of April 2026). When it reopens, we'll add direct Garmin Connect IQ support so you can skip the Strava step. COROS integration is in flight. For now, both work via Strava.

Detailed FAQ: Smartwatch FAQ

Scavenger Hunts

Multi-stop hunts with QR waypoints. Participants check in at each stop, learn something, donate at the end.

• Create waypoints with title, description, optional photo prompt, and GPS coordinates.
• Participants scan a starting QR, then visit each waypoint in order (or any order, your choice).
• Optional: donor pledges per waypoint completed.

Event Ticketing

Sell tickets, scan at the door, track attendance. Each ticket gets a signed QR token.

• Create event with name, date, venue, ticket types (general, VIP, etc.).
• Buyers receive an email with a QR ticket. Scan at check-in to verify.
• Check-in by ID + email fallback if QR is unreadable.
• Forged QR tokens are rejected (server-side HMAC verification).

Detailed FAQ: Event Ticketing FAQ

Merchandise Store

Sell branded merch, tickets, services. Atomic inventory (no overselling), abandon cleanup, 4 confirmation emails (order placed, shipped, delivered, refunded).

• Add products with photo, description, price, inventory count.
• Buyers check out with the same Stripe flow as donations.
• Inventory decrements atomically; race conditions can't oversell.

Detailed FAQ: Store FAQ

Text-to-Give (SMS) new

Donors text a keyword to (515) 461-8728. They get a payment link. They tap, they give. No app, no account.

Set up a keyword

1. Open your Org Settings page (gear icon on your dashboard) and scroll to Text-to-Give Keyword.
2. Pick a keyword (3-30 chars, A-Z 0-9). Has to be globally unique across ScanRaise.
3. Save. Test by texting the keyword to (515) 461-8728.

Live Page new

A public projector-friendly page that shows real-time donations and activity for your campaign. Use at events, on stage, in the cafeteria.

• Visit /live/{campaign-id}.
• Auto-refreshes every 15 seconds.
• Shows: total raised, top fundraisers, recent donors, pacing, optional QR code overlay.
• Customize donor display (name only, name + amount, anonymous-friendly).

Microsoft 365 SSO new

Schools and districts that run on Microsoft 365 / Entra ID can sign their staff in with their work account.

Setup (district admin)

1. Email support@scanraise.com with your tenant ID and domain.
2. We'll add ScanRaise to your tenant as an enterprise app and enable user assignment.
3. Your staff visit /login → click Sign in with Microsoft → use their work account → done.

We use cert-based authentication (RS256 client_assertion JWT) so there are no client secrets to rotate. The cert is good for 10 years.

Clever SSO

K-12 districts on Clever can SSO their staff and admins. ScanRaise is registered as a Clever Application Partner.

1. From your Clever district admin: search "ScanRaise" in the App Library.
2. Authorize and assign which staff can use it (we recommend role-based: Principals, Activities Directors, Athletic Directors, PTA Liaisons).
3. Staff sign in via the Clever portal or directly at /login → Sign in with Clever.

ClassLink SSO new

Both admin AND parent-side ClassLink SSO is live. Parents can sign in with their district ClassLink account to view their kid's fundraiser.

1. Email support@scanraise.com from your district account.
2. We'll add ScanRaise to your ClassLink tenant. Provide the OAuth redirect URI we send.
3. Once enabled, users see Sign in with ClassLink on /login.

We use the full scope so we can read user info plus profile data needed to match parents to students.

District Management new

For district administrators: oversee every PTA, school, and athletic department in your district from one dashboard.

• See all orgs in the district, their campaigns, totals, and pacing.
• Export a district-wide CSV or JSON snapshot for the board / superintendent.
• Single SSO login (Microsoft, Clever, or ClassLink) gates access.
• Per-school admins still own their data; the district view is read-only by default.

Landing page: For Districts

Parental Consent

For students under 13, COPPA requires verifiable parental consent before we collect any data tied to that student.

• When a fundraiser is created for a student, the system flags whether parental consent is required.
• Parents receive an email with a one-click consent grant.
• Without consent, the kid's QR works only for anonymous donations (no name, no leaderboard, no email).
• Consent is logged with timestamp + IP for audit.

Stripe Connect Setup

Funds settle directly to your org's bank via Stripe. ScanRaise never touches your money beyond the 2.5% platform fee.

1. From your org settings, click Connect Stripe.
2. Stripe walks you through identity verification (your EIN, bank account, signing officer).
3. Once approved, you're set. Donations route directly to your bank.

Sign-In Options (Magic Link, Passkey, SSO)

No passwords. We support magic-link email, passkeys (Touch ID / Face ID / Windows Hello), and four SSO providers.

• Magic link: enter your email, we send a one-time sign-in link. Default for first-time users.
• Passkey (recommended after first sign-in): authorize your device's biometric to sign in instantly. Roams via iCloud Keychain or your password manager.
• Microsoft / Clever / ClassLink / Google SSO: see sections above.