PayPal's "Donate" button, used by hundreds of thousands of charities to accept billions of dollars in online donations, is getting a makeover this fall.
To celebrate the iconic tool’s renewal we spoke with Oktay Dogramaci, head of PayPal’s Global Cause-Related Products team. His group focuses on donors and charities – on their marketing and fundraising needs and their PayPal experience.
Fill us in. What’s the Donate button?
The button is a small electronic graphic embedded on your organization’s web pages or in email or text communications. Donors click it to give money. It gives small and medium-sized nonprofits low-cost access to the absolute latest in payments technology, with no need for an IT staff or any technical expertise. Donors enjoy a giving experience that eliminates the barriers that often stop people from completing their online gifts to charities. Nonprofits get the powerful PayPal backend that makes easy work of accounting, tax compliance and payments tracking.
How does the button work?
Put a button on your website or in emails to supporters. They can give instantly, using a major credit or debit card or a PayPal account. Funds land in your organization’s PayPal account usually within minutes.
Is the button optimized for mobile?
You bet. The Donate button, though, maximizes the effectiveness of your online donate pages because behind it is one of the world’s more sophisticated mobile payments technologies.
This sounds like a good thing. Why change it?
It was time. PayPal launched
The Button Factory, where merchants and nonprofits create custom buttons like "Add to Cart," "Buy Now," and, of course, "Donate,” more than a decade ago.
We’ve refreshed the button’s look and simplified the donation experience. We wanted to make sure people finish their donations. Now the button smoothly handles massive streams of funds to charities.
But some things remain the same: Nonprofits will still see most of the features they’ve gotten to expect from the Donate button.
How does my organization get the new version?
If you already use Donate buttons, do nothing. The update will come to you, automatically. We are making the changes over the next several weeks. One day you’ll notice the experience behind your Donate button is sporting a new look. That's it.
We don't have the Donate button. How do we get it?
It's easy. Here’s how to do it:
1. Find it. Select “Donate” (the fourth choice in the list) at the PayPal Button Factory.
2. Sign up. Enter your organization’s name and select button features you want.
3. Copy and paste. Click “Save and Get Code.” Copy the code and paste it wherever you want to use it.
In about 15 minutes, start to finish, you’ll have a button that’s ready to accept gifts.
What’s the cost?
Charities enjoy a
discounted rate. You are charged only when you accept a donation. Setup, statements, withdrawals and cancellation are free.