How ScanRaise Works: QR Fundraising in 6 Steps

Create a campaign, download per-person QR cards, collect donations by scan, and track results live. Standard fundraising has a 2.5% platform fee.

Create your campaign

Go to scanraise.com/start and enter your organization, the campaign name, and the people raising money. Type the names in or upload a CSV file, and add a goal if you want one.

Each person gets their own QR code. No credit card is needed to set up.

ScanRaise campaign setup form with a sample campaign name and payment options. — Name your campaign, set a goal, and choose how to collect donations. This is an unsubmitted setup form for a fictional organization. View the full-size screen

Connect Stripe

Donations go to your organization's own Stripe account. Stripe asks for identity details, an EIN or SSN, and bank information, and you can finish this step after you create the campaign.

ScanRaise charges a 2.5% platform fee on each donation. Stripe processing is separate. If each participant already has a donation page with a national charity event, the cards can link to those pages instead.

Print the QR cards

Download a print-ready PDF with every person's card, 1, 2, or 4 to a page, and print it at school or at any print shop. Adults can show their code on a phone instead.

ScanRaise is recruiting local print partners, and your organization page shows whether one is near you.

Collect donations

Donors scan the code with a phone camera. The page shows the fundraiser's name, your campaign, and progress toward your goal. They pick an amount and pay by card, or with Apple Pay or Google Pay when supported. No app, account, or cash needed.

Donors can cover the fees so you receive the full gift, and give monthly if you offer giving levels. Donors can also text your organization's keyword to get your donation link by reply. Carrier delivery times vary.

ScanRaise donation page with $25 selected for a fictional adult fundraiser. — Choose a preset amount or enter your own. This example uses a fictional adult fundraiser in test mode; no payment was made. View the full-size donor screen

Track results live

Your dashboard shows every donation as it arrives, with totals by person and by class, team, or group. Export everything as a CSV file at any time.

At events, put the Live page on a projector. It refreshes every 5 seconds.

Get paid

Stripe pays out to your bank. The first payout usually arrives 7 to 14 days after the first successful live payment and may take longer. After that, Stripe pays out on your account's regular schedule.

Example: A donor gives $100. Stripe processing is $3.20 and the ScanRaise fee is $2.50, so your organization receives $94.30. If the donor covers the fees, they pay $106.03 and you receive the full $100.

More in the same account

Event tickets, auctions, a merchandise store, recurring giving, peer-to-peer pages, donor email, and a donate button for your website. Owners and admins can manage products and inventory from Products on the organization page. See all features.

How walkathons and other -athons work

Turn on athon mode when you create the campaign and pick a unit: miles, laps, pages, minutes, or your own.

Sponsors pledge per unit

A sponsor picks an amount, such as $2 a mile, and a maximum. Stripe saves the card without charging it.

Participants track in the phone browser

GPS records distance, the step counter counts steps, and read-a-thons use a simple log. Participants can optionally connect Fitbit, review today's daily summary of steps, distance, and active minutes, and choose whether to import it. Fitbit imports require a Fitbit account and app.

Suspicious entries wait for your review

Sessions with impossible speeds or jumps are held for you to check. If a phone fails, you can record a manual result.

You finalize, then sponsors are charged

ScanRaise charges each sponsor for the final total, never more than their maximum. A failed charge stays on your list, and the sponsor gets a secure way to update the card. More on running an athon.

Start your fundraiser