How to Increase Contactless Donations: A Practical Guide for Charities
For charities, making it easy to give matters. Supporters may encounter your organisation in a hospital foyer, at an event, on social media or through a campaign page, and each of those moments is an opportunity to remove friction from the donation journey. Modern charity fundraising ideas increasingly combine in-person activity with contactless donations and online giving, so supporters can contribute in the way that suits them.
In the world of philanthropy, attracting donations is a vital lifeline for charitable organisations. However, the landscape of giving has evolved, and to maximise contributions, charities need to adapt.
The aim is not to add technology for its own sake. It is to create clear, convenient routes to donate, communicate the impact of support and make fundraising easier to manage. The ideas below focus on practical ways to increase charity donations while keeping the supporter experience simple.
1. Make contactless donations easy to access
In today’s increasingly digital world, it’s crucial to offer donors convenient and secure payment options.
Contactless donations can be useful wherever supporters are already spending time, including reception areas, fundraising events, visitor spaces and community venues. A contactless card reader or charity donation kiosk gives people a clear route to donate without having to find a particular member of staff or complete a lengthy process.
Placement matters. Put the giving point somewhere visible, explain what the donation supports and use clear suggested amounts rather than leaving the donor to work out what to do. A strong call to action such as “Tap to support our current appeal” can be more effective than simply placing a device in a busy area and expecting people to notice it.
The Fundraising Regulator advises charities using electronic donation methods to understand the method, assess risks, consider accessibility and make sure the relevant payment provider meets applicable standards. Its current guidance on handling cashless donations is a useful reference when setting up or reviewing a digital fundraising process.
2. Use a charity donation kiosk as a year-round fundraising point
Self-service payment kiosks can provide a hassle-free and efficient way for individuals to contribute.
A fixed or portable charity donation kiosk can turn a physical location into an ongoing fundraising point. Our charity kiosks support secure card and contactless payments, an HD touchscreen and customisable donor interfaces. We can also display custom graphics between donations, including marketing messages, event dates and other campaign information.
That makes the kiosk useful for more than the transaction itself. A charity can use the screen to explain the current appeal, show what different donation amounts could support, promote an upcoming event or keep the visual identity of a campaign consistent. The donation journey should remain the priority, but the surrounding content can help build confidence and give the supporter more context.
Our charity kiosks can also provide transactional data and real-time reports through our bespoke software, helping fundraising teams monitor activity without relying on anecdotal feedback alone.
3. Encourage smaller, spontaneous donations
While large donations are undoubtedly valuable, encouraging smaller donations can significantly expand your donor base.
Not every supporter is ready to make a substantial contribution. A well-designed contactless fundraising setup should make a small donation feel worthwhile rather than insignificant. Suggested amounts can give people an easy starting point, while a larger custom amount can remain available for supporters who want to give more.
People are often more willing to part with smaller amounts of money, and when aggregated, these contributions can make a substantial impact.
Small-donation messaging works best when it is tied to a clear outcome. Instead of asking generally for support, explain what a modest contribution helps the charity do. Keep the wording accurate and specific to your organisation rather than using generic claims.
4. Connect physical fundraising with online fundraising
Good charity fundraising ideas do not have to sit in separate online and offline channels. Posters, event materials, newsletters and venue signage can all direct supporters to a mobile-friendly donation page through a QR code or short URL. This can be particularly useful when somebody notices an appeal but does not want to donate at that exact moment.
The Fundraising Regulator notes that QR codes can provide quick access to donation pages, but also warns that unattended public QR codes can be vulnerable to tampering. Charities should carry out a risk assessment, use trusted code-generation methods and check that codes lead to the intended webpage.
A simple approach is to use one clear campaign landing page, consistent branding and a recognisable domain. That gives supporters confidence that they are donating to the right organisation and makes campaign performance easier to review.
5. Make Gift Aid part of the donation journey where appropriate
For eligible donations, Gift Aid can increase the value received by a UK charity. GOV.UK states that a charity or community amateur sports club can claim 25p for every £1 donated when the relevant conditions are met. A standard Gift Aid claim requires a donor declaration and the charity must keep appropriate records.
This means Gift Aid should be built into the donation experience carefully rather than treated as an afterthought. A digital form or kiosk prompt can make the declaration process easier to complete, but the wording and data collected still need to satisfy HMRC requirements. See the current GOV.UK guidance on Gift Aid declarations before changing your process.
For fundraising teams using gift aid contactless donations, the practical objective is to make the declaration clear, optional where appropriate and easy to understand without adding unnecessary friction to the core donation. This article is general information and should not be treated as tax or legal advice.
6. Use campaign content to explain where donations go
Transparency is essential for building trust with donors. Clearly communicate how their contributions are making a difference.
This principle applies just as much to contactless donations as it does to a traditional appeal. When a supporter taps a screen or follows a QR code, give them enough information to understand the purpose of the campaign. That might be a concise impact statement, a short project update or an approved image that shows the work being supported.
Share stories, photos, and videos that highlight the impact of their donations on your cause. Keep the content proportionate to the screen or page. A kiosk does not need a long story before somebody can donate. A brief explanation can sit before or after the payment step, with a link to more detail for people who want it.
7. Use fundraising events as contactless giving opportunities
Events remain useful because they combine community participation with a clear reason to support a cause. A quiz night, sponsored walk, exhibition, open day or seasonal appeal can all be strengthened by making digital giving available throughout the event rather than only at one collection point.
For example, a portable payment device can support staffed donation points, while a fixed kiosk can remain available at an entrance or reception area. QR codes can be included on event signage for supporters who prefer to donate from their own phone.
The important part is consistency. Use the same campaign message, branding and destination across the event so supporters are not presented with several different donation journeys.
8. Review accessibility as well as convenience
A method that is convenient for one donor may be less accessible to another. The Fundraising Regulator specifically advises charities to consider how digital donation methods affect accessibility and people in vulnerable circumstances.
For kiosks, that means thinking about screen height, text size, contrast, clarity of instructions and whether another route to donate is available where needed. For online fundraising, check that pages work well on mobile devices and do not rely on complex steps or unclear error messages.
Accessibility should be considered during planning, not added at the end. It improves the donation experience and reduces the risk of excluding supporters who want to contribute.
9. Use reporting to refine future charity fundraising ideas
Fundraising activity becomes more useful when you can learn from it. Review which locations, campaigns and donation journeys are performing well, then use that information to decide what to repeat or change.
Useful measures might include the number of donations by location, the timing of donations, uptake of Gift Aid where relevant and the performance of individual campaigns. Only use data that your systems genuinely capture, and avoid assuming that a change in donations was caused by one factor without evidence.
Our charity kiosk software can provide transactional data and real-time reports. For organisations using our kiosks, this can support more informed decisions about where devices are placed and which campaigns are displayed.
10. Keep cashless fundraising secure and well governed
Cashless fundraising should be convenient for supporters without weakening payment security or fundraising governance. The Fundraising Regulator’s 2025 Code requires appropriate security measures for card and online transactions and its guidance refers charities to PCI DSS requirements for payment information.
Before adding a new donation method, decide who owns the process, who checks devices or campaign links, how problems are reported and how supporter data is handled. The same principle applies to third-party platforms and payment providers: understand the service, the fees, the data involved and the relevant contractual responsibilities before launch.
11. Build a simple 12-month fundraising plan
Rather than launching many disconnected ideas, choose a manageable mix of ongoing and campaign-based activity. A charity might combine a permanent donation kiosk with several seasonal appeals, an annual event and regular online fundraising activity.
Map each activity to an audience, a clear objective and a donation route. That makes it easier to produce consistent campaign content and gives the fundraising team a realistic schedule for reviewing results.
The right mix will vary by charity. The most useful plan is one your team can operate consistently, measure properly and improve over time.
How we can support contactless charity fundraising
We provide self-service charity payment kiosks with contactless payment options, customisable interfaces and campaign graphics. We also provide Gift Aid support, reporting tools, bespoke software and integration with existing systems and databases.
If you are considering a more permanent contactless donation point, our charity kiosks page provides further detail on the available functionality and support. The appropriate setup will depend on your location, fundraising process and technical requirements, so we recommend confirming those requirements before implementation.
Increasing the amount of donations your charity receives requires adapting to the changing preferences of modern donors.
By combining clear campaign messages, convenient contactless donations, online fundraising and careful reporting, charities can give supporters more opportunities to contribute without making the process unnecessarily complicated.