QR Code for Charity Donations

Following the shift to paperless and contactless transactions in recent years, the popularity of QR Codes has seen a major rise. QR Codes are now used for every purpose imaginable like contact tracing, driving traffic to websites, networking, and even sending money. One way is to use QR Code for charity donations.

If you are a charity or a nonprofit organization looking into ways to utilize this technology to accept donations from your donors, here is a step-by-step guide on creating a PayPal QR Code using QR Cloud.

QR Code for Charity Donations: How Does It Work?

People love to give. According to the psychology of charity, even though we feel happy spending on ourselves, we generally become more joyful when we give money to help others. Giving gives people a “helper’s high” which has countless benefits for our well-being.

As a nonprofit organization that heavily relies on other people’s charity, you can make giving more convenient and secure for your donors and benefactors.

QR Codes are great for these, since they can be easily scanned using any smartphone camera

There are many ways your nonprofit can utilize QR Codes. With Wi-Fi or mobile data, the QR Code will automatically send your donors to your donation link.

Here’s how your donors will benefit from donating through your QR Code:

• No more memorizing. Your donors don’t have to memorize or jot down your account details.
• No more typing. They no longer need to type your account information, and so they don’t need to further proofread what they have typed.
• They’re sure to send the money to the right nonprofit. Once they scan a code from your official website, social media, video, or printed collateral, donors can also be sure that they are sending their hard-earned money to the correct organization, eliminating the risk of being victims of fraudulent accounts.
• They’re sure to send the money to the right account. Manual typing is prone to human error, especially when typing numbers or characters. Now, they can conveniently and safely send money without the risk of typing a wrong link, email address, or account details.

If your charity or nonprofit is considering using QR Codes to receive donations on PayPal, an online payment system that allows people to safely send and receive money, here’s a step-by-step guide to create one using QR Cloud.

How to Create a PayPal QR Code for Charity Donations

Creating a QR Code that makes donating through PayPal is so easy. Here’s how you can do it on QR Cloud.

1. Create an account or log-in at qrcodes.at.
2. On your Dashboard, click the first box with the QR Code icon. Alternatively, you may click on the menu at the upper right corner of your screen. Doing this will open a dropdown where you can see QR Code Generator.
3. Click Create QR. This will open into a screen with two panels. On the left, you will find the form where you will input the information on your QR Code; on the right is the real-time viewer.
4. On the box under Name, write the title of your project. Meanwhile, you can leave the Project field as it is optional.
5. Click the dropdown under QR Type and scroll down to PayPal.
6. Under Type, choose Donation.
7. Encode your PayPal email address under PayPal email.
8. After encoding all the needed information, you may now customize your QR Code. You can change the style (square, round, or dot) and colors, add your logo, and pick the size, margin dimensions and error correction capabilities.
9. Scan your QR Code to test if it works as you intended.
10. Click Create.
11. You can down Print or Download the image in SVG, PNG, JPEG or WEBP format.

Optional Information for PayPal QR Code for Charity Donations

You may also input the following optional information:

• Product Title. You can write a one-word code or name about your donation drive or campaign.
• Currency Code. If left blank, the currency will be what you’ve set on your PayPal. Sample currency codes are USD for US Dollar, CAD for Canadian Dollar, EUR for Euro, etc.
• Price. Indicate a value if you want a fixed amount. Leave blank if you want to give your donors the freedom to donate how much they want.
• Thank You URL. Send your donors to a pre-created thank you page. 
• Cancel URL. Send your donors to a separate form should they wish to cancel their donation or monthly payments.

Now, you can start sharing your new QR Code to your donors. PayPal even allows them to choose if they want to make this a monthly donation. Isn’t that convenient?

Where to Use Your QR Code for Charity Donations

Now that you have a PayPal QR Code, here are some ideas on where to put it to maximize your contactless fundraising drive:

Post it around your office building.

People generally love to give, and now that the world is starting to go back in business, you will have people passing by or visiting your office again. Posting your QR Code in strategic, medium-traffic spots outside your office building will give passersby an opportunity to quickly scan your code to send their donations. The reception desk, waiting area, or VIP lounges are also perfect locations to place your printed QR Code. You can also ask other partner organizations to post them in their offices.

Add it to your video.

Your free infomercials or webinars are also a great vehicle to invite people to donate to your nonprofit. Place it on an unobtrusive corner of the screen so your viewers can see it while watching your video. Because the QR Code is there all the time, viewers don’t have to wait for the video to end to find how they can donate.

Embed it on your website.

If your nonprofit has a webpage, you can install a plug-in or widget that allows you to embed an image on the sidebar. This way, your website visitors will see your PayPal QR Code on all pages that they navigate, giving them fast access to your donation link without looking up a separate donation page.

Paste it on new pubmats posted on your social media page.

Put your PayPal QR Code on the corner of all the publication materials you are posting on your Facebook or Instagram page. An easy access to your scannable donation link will allow your followers to give donations when they see a particular pubmat with a message that connects with them.

Print it on your brochures, magazines, or newspaper advertisements.

Paperless and contactless are now the way to go, but there are people who still love the feel of paper in their hands. These people will love reading from your brochure or magazine or finding your ad on their Sunday paper. Leave brochures on flyers on the reception desk, waiting area, or VIP lounge. You can also give copies of your brochures or magazines to nearby business establishments or government offices such as your nearest public library.

Bottom Line

QR Codes have proven to be effective and useful in the conduct of various business today. These simple 2D images can be scanned using any smartphone camera, making it accessible to most people in the world. If your nonprofit aims to provide an easier, safer, and more convenient way for your donors to send money to your campaigns and causes, definitely give QR Codes a try.

Before You Go…

Before you go, here is some additional information you might want to know.