Venmo Fundraising

Some say that after 2020 things will never be the same. No one is certain exactly, but one thing is for sure, the way we transact has shifted. We are seeing the transition from cashless transactions to ‘touchless’ payments and the migration from cash to credit card has quickly moved to mobile-first and even digital only. While it’s easy for consumers to transition to the new normal, it’s not always easy for our organizations to keep up.

It’s critical that organizations meet donors where they are and make it easy to contribute, but too often this leads to individuals using personal Venmo accounts to collect donations or run fundraisers. Even with all the best intentions individuals easily find themselves in troublesome situations as donated dollars go unaccounted for because some Venmo messages were unclear or donations were made after a deadline. The risk of this sort of outcome more frequently has simply led to organizations saying — “We can’t accept Venmo payments at this time.” But this too is not the right answer.

SuccessFund Unlocks Venmo

Through a number of powerful partnerships, SuccessFund has incorporated all modern payment methods (including Venmo) into the checkout experience. Now the donor has no need to open their Venmo app and search for some account handle like “@OurOrganization123.” Instead, the donor will simply visit the campaign or fundraising page on SuccessFund and choose Venmo as their payment method at checkout.

There are a number of benefits to this approach:

• First and foremost, you’ll be able to use the same singular, customized link to share your campaign regardless of how the donor wants to pay.
• Important information will be collected and stored at checkout so that the appropriate receipts can be provided, and any additional details can be accounted for (like student name, classroom, teacher, grade, etc.). No payments happen without clarity on who they are from and what they are for.
• Payments using Venmo, Apple pay, Google Pay, Paypal, etc. all count toward your progress goals on your campaign. You can even track offline cash and check payments too so everyone can see and be motivated by how well you’re doing.
• Venmo payments will not be mistakenly sent to look-alike organizations, and since every little bit helps, no single donation ought ever go missing.

To be clear —with SuccessFund there is no need whatsoever to set up any additional Venmo account(s). Not a single dollar ever goes into any individual’s account either, but rather, each Venmo payment is processed on the SuccessFund platform and then transferred into the organization’s established and centralized account. Only organization administrators can manage the connected bank account, and so visibility and accountability is clear.

While Venmo is only one of the many powerful functions that SuccessFund offers, it’s an important one to understand. If you ever have questions on how it works, please don’t hesitate to reach out the the SuccessFund team. We’re eager to help.

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