Donation Campaigns
MakerVera lets you create donation campaigns to raise funds for your makerspace. Campaigns include goal tracking, progress displays, donor walls, and suggested donation amounts — all processed through Stripe Connect.
Donations are designed for low friction: one-time donations are guest-friendly (no account required), while recurring monthly donations require a signed-in account for Stripe subscription management.
How Donations Work
Section titled “How Donations Work”- An admin creates a donation campaign with a name, description, and optional goal
- The campaign is published and appears on the public Donate page (
/donate) - Visitors browse campaigns, view progress, and select a donation amount
- One-time donors enter their email and complete a Stripe checkout (no account needed)
- The donation is recorded, the campaign progress updates, and a confirmation email is sent
For Administrators
Section titled “For Administrators”You need the manage_donations permission to manage campaigns.
Creating a Campaign
Section titled “Creating a Campaign”Navigate to Admin > Store > Donations and click Create Campaign.
Campaign Details
Section titled “Campaign Details”| Field | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes | Campaign name (up to 100 characters) |
| Description | No | Rich text description explaining the campaign (up to 5,000 characters) |
| Cover Image | No | Image URL displayed on the campaign card |
Goal and Dates
Section titled “Goal and Dates”| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Goal Amount | Optional target amount. Leave blank for an open-ended campaign |
| Start Date | Optional. When the campaign begins accepting donations |
| End Date | Optional. When the campaign stops accepting donations |
Donation Configuration
Section titled “Donation Configuration”| Field | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Suggested Amounts | $5, $10, $25, $50, $100 | Preset donation amounts shown to donors |
| Allow Custom Amount | Yes | Whether donors can enter their own amount |
| Minimum Amount | $1.00 | The smallest donation accepted |
Display Settings
Section titled “Display Settings”| Field | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Featured | No | Featured campaigns appear prominently on the donate page |
| Show Progress | Yes | Display a progress bar showing raised amount vs. goal |
| Show Donor Names | No | Display donor names publicly. When off, all donations appear anonymous |
Tax Settings
Section titled “Tax Settings”| Field | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Tax Deductible | No | Mark donations as potentially tax deductible |
| Tax Receipt Text | — | Custom text shown on donation receipts when tax deductible is enabled |
Campaign Statuses
Section titled “Campaign Statuses”Campaigns follow this lifecycle:
| Status | Visible to Public | Accepts Donations |
|---|---|---|
| Draft | No | No |
| Active | Yes | Yes |
| Paused | No | No |
| Completed | No | No |
| Archived | No | No |
New campaigns start as Draft. Set to Active when you’re ready to accept donations. Use Paused to temporarily stop accepting donations without losing progress. Mark as Completed when the campaign is done, or Archive to remove it from view.
Tracking Progress
Section titled “Tracking Progress”Each campaign tracks:
| Metric | Description |
|---|---|
| Raised Amount | Total amount donated so far |
| Donor Count | Number of individual donations received |
| Progress Percentage | Raised amount as a percentage of the goal (when a goal is set) |
A progress bar is shown publicly (when Show Progress is enabled) and always visible to admins.
Viewing Donations
Section titled “Viewing Donations”On the campaign detail page, scroll to the Donations Received section to see a table of all donations:
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Donor | Donor name or “Anonymous” |
| Amount | Donation amount |
| Status | Pending, Completed, Refunded, or Failed |
| Date | When the donation was made |
| Message | Optional message from the donor |
Example: Equipment Fund Campaign
Section titled “Example: Equipment Fund Campaign”Your makerspace wants to raise $5,000 for a new CNC router:
- Create a campaign named “CNC Router Fund”
- Set the goal to $5,000
- Add a description explaining why you need the equipment
- Set suggested amounts to $25, $50, $100, $250
- Enable Featured and Show Progress
- Set status to Active
Members will see the campaign on the donate page with a progress bar showing how close you are to your goal.
For Donors
Section titled “For Donors”Making a One-Time Donation
Section titled “Making a One-Time Donation”Visit the Donate page (accessible from your makerspace’s public site or at /donate). No account is required.
- Browse campaigns — Active campaigns are shown as cards with their name, description, and progress
- Select a campaign — Click on a campaign to see full details, progress bar, and donor wall
- Choose an amount:
- Select one of the suggested amounts (e.g., $10, $25, $50, $100)
- Or enter a custom amount (if enabled by the admin)
- Proceed to checkout — Enter your email (and optionally your name)
- Donation options:
- Anonymous — Check “Make my donation anonymous” to hide your name from the donor wall
- Message — Leave an optional message of support
- Cover fees — Optionally cover processing fees so 100% of your donation goes to the campaign
- Complete payment — You’ll be taken to Stripe’s secure payment page to finalize your donation
If you’re signed in, your email and name are pre-filled from your profile.
Recurring (Monthly) Donations
Section titled “Recurring (Monthly) Donations”You can set up a monthly recurring donation for ongoing support:
- On the campaign detail page, check “Make this a monthly donation”
- If you’re not signed in, you’ll be prompted to sign in (required for subscription management)
- Proceed to checkout — the checkout page shows a “Monthly donation” badge
- Complete payment via Stripe — a recurring subscription is created
You can cancel your recurring donation at any time from your account settings.
What You See
Section titled “What You See”Each campaign page shows:
- Campaign name, description, and cover image
- Progress bar (raised amount vs. goal, when a goal is set)
- Number of donors and days remaining (for time-limited campaigns)
- Tax deductible notice (when applicable)
- Donor wall — Recent donors are displayed publicly (when enabled by admin and donor is not anonymous)
- Share buttons — Share the campaign via X (Twitter), Facebook, email, or copy the link
Donation Confirmation
Section titled “Donation Confirmation”After your payment is processed, you’ll see a confirmation page with a thank-you message. A confirmation email is sent to the address you provided. If the campaign is tax deductible, the receipt text will be included.
Not Yet Available
Section titled “Not Yet Available”The following features are planned but not yet supported:
- Campaign auto-completion — Campaigns do not automatically change to “Completed” when the goal is reached. Admins must update the status manually.
- Campaign-specific social previews — Share buttons generate correct URLs, but social media link previews use default site metadata (campaign-specific OpenGraph tags require server-side rendering).
- Recurring donation management for guest-to-member linking — If a guest donor later creates an account, their past recurring donation is not automatically linked to their account.
Next Steps
Section titled “Next Steps”- Store Guide — Managing your store products
- Gift Cards — Setting up gift cards
- Overview — Return to the billing overview