Setting up your Campaign
How do I create my Crowdfunding campaign?
Create a Stripe account within FundEasy. This is a necessary step prior to creating your event.
Click the FundEasy logo in the top left corner. Then click the Add Event button and choose the Crowdfunding option. It takes just a few minutes to get started.
On the next page, you'll fill in the details for your campaign.
Once you submit the initial details, you'll be prompted to set up the Widget.
Note: All Crowdfunding campaigns now utilize the widget settings. By default, publishing the widget adds a Give button to your main campaign web page. In addition, you use the widget kiosk mode, embed a widget button or enable the full size widget on your own webpage.
Can I edit my campaign after I've created it? Yes. There are two main places to edit your campaign information.
Click on Campaign Details to edit things like:
Campaign Name
Campaign start and end date
Contact Information
Goal - this is a required field so the Fundmeter will show on your campaign webpage and the graphs on the Dashboard will show your totals.
Starting balance - any offline donations you've received before or during your campaign.
Twitter hashtag
Banner and Colors (we've preloaded banner selections for you)
Donation levels and donor information collected on the payment form.
TaxID and Tax Receipt language
Click on Donation Widget to edit things like:
Widget settings (how the giving tool looks when used in kiosk, button or embed mode)
Donation settings, including donation increments, donation minimum and processing fee options
Donor details - which fields you'd like donors to fill out when making a donation
When will my Crowdfunding campaign start and end?
The Campaign Date is the date that your campaign will end (at midnight in your timezone).
Your campaign will begin immediately unless you choose the "On" option and select a different date and time in the Fundraising Start Date field.
Why do I have to choose my time zone? To make sure your campaign's start and end time is consistent with your organization's time zone, we have you choose your time zone during setup.
I don't see a Facebook banner. Do I still need one? All campaigns should have a Facebook banner so posts on Facebook look good. We created a Facebook-sized version of the default banners for Online Giving Campaigns. When you choose a banner design, we'll use the coordinating Facebook banner. If you choose to upload a custom banner, you'll want to provide a corresponding Facebook banner as well.
I want to create my own banner. What are the banner sizes?
Crowdfunding banners should be 2056 px wide and 514 px tall.
Separate banners are needed when posting on Facebook and on mobile devices. Recommended image size for Facebook/mobile banners is 940px wide and 492px tall for high resolution. Supported file types: JPEG, PNG, or GIF.
If you choose to use your own banners, click the "Upload a custom banner" link to upload your banners.
How do I set up my payments processing?
All campaigns must use Stripe for payment processing.
If you have an existing Stripe account with FundEasy, you can choose that payment account.
If you haven't used Stripe with FundEasy, here are the steps on how to set that up for your account.
Managing your campaign
How do I open my Crowdfunding campaign? When you created your Crowdfunding campaign, you had the choice to open your campaign immediately or to choose a specific date or time. Your campaign will open based on that choice.
If after your campaign opens you decide to close it, go to Campaign Details and set the Campaign Date to today's date. The campaign will close at the end of the day.
Where do I find the link for my event?
The link to your campaign is on the lower part of your Dashboard. Click the gauge icon in the upper left corner to go to your Dashboard.
You can also click the loudspeaker icon in the lower left icon to open a modal with with your campaign's promote tools.
To use any of the widget modes, click Donation Widget and then the Use Widget button in the lower left hand corner.
Does this campaign have fundraiser pages? No. Crowdfunding campaigns are not peer-to-peer campaigns. Instead there is one Crowdfunding Campaign Web Page where your donors can go to make their gift for your organization.
Does this campaign have a fundmeter? I don't see it on the Campaign Web Page.
Yes, it does have a fundmeter, although donors will not see the fundmeter if accessing the widget through an embedded view or in the kiosk mode. If you have chosen a delayed start day and time, the thermometer and the give button will be replaced by the countdown clock. Once your delayed start day and time is reached, your thermometer and give button will appear. You can choose which fundmeter you want to use in Campaign Details. Note: the thermometer does not start to fill until you have raised 1% of your goal.
Where do I find my donors? Your donors are listed in Tax Receipts. You can also view them in your Stripe account.
How do I refund a donor? Refunding payments requires two steps - one in Stripe and one in FundEasy. Once you have returned the money in Stripe using these instructions, contact Support to have us mark the transaction as refunded in FundEasy. The refund does not go to the customer until it is completed in Stripe.
Will my donors get receipts? Yes, your donors will receive an emailed receipt of their donation automatically. You can also generate receipts from the Tax Receipt page. Check the box next to the name of the donor, then select Generate Receipts. You can print or you can save as a PDF from the print screen and attach the PDF to an email.
What does it say on their credit card statement? Will it have the name of our organization?
The statement descriptor that you created when you created the Stripe account will show on your donors' credit card statements. For more information on statement descriptors and how to update them, click here.
Can I add offline donations? Yes, for offline donations, we've added a "Starting Balance" field in Campaign Details. You can enter an amount there any time. To update an existing balance, simply edit the balance amount entered here to include any new offline donations. This article has more information.
What are the fees for my Crowdfunding campaign?
The credit card processing fee is 2.9% + $0.30/transaction.
Processing fees are deducted at the time of transaction.
64% of donors choose to cover processing fees!
Please note that Stripe's fees for American Express may vary from our advertised fee structure. To verify this rate or to request to disallow American Express in your account, please contact Stripe. Rates that deviate from our advertised fee structure will result in reporting discrepancies.
Where are my deposits?
To view your donations in FundEasy, click on Tax Receipts. You can export this list using the Export to CSV button located on the top right of the columns.
To view your payout information, visit your Stripe Dashboard by logging into your Stripe account.
For information on Stripe payouts, click here.