How to Collect Contactless Donations For Fundraising From Your Phone

Are you hosting an event to raise funds for charity? Picture this: someone at your bake sale says 'I'd love to donate, but I haven't got any cash.” You hand them your phone. They tap their card. Done. The donation is on your Fundraising Page before they’ve finished their brownie.

That’s exactly what our free Tap to Donate app makes possible - no card reader, no hardware, no faff.

What is the Tap to Donate app?

Why contactless donations?

Fewer people carry cash these days. If you’re only set up to accept notes and coins, you’re leaving money on the table. Contactless giving removes the friction - no more “I’ll donate to your page later” promises that get forgotten. When it’s easy to give, people give more. It really is that simple.

How to get started in four steps:

1. Create your Fundraising Page on Give as you Live Donate - you can support up to 6 charities at once.
2. Download the Tap to Donate app for free from the App Store or Google Play.
3. Log in using the same details you used to set up your account
4. Select your Fundraising Page, and you’re ready to start collecting contactless donations.

That’s it. You’re ready to go.

See it in action: real fundraisers, real results

The best way to understand how powerful this is? See how our members are already using it:

Jude held a bake sale for East Anglian Air Ambulance. Rather than passing around a tin, she passed around her phone and raised over £300. See Jude’s page here.

Margaret wanted to raise money for Dementia UK. Her Soup and Pudding fundraiser brought the community together.

With the Tap to Donate app ready on her phone, no one had to worry about having the right change. She raised over £700. See Margaret’s page here.

Kelly organised a charity quiz night, auction and raffle to support Motor Neurone Disease research. On the night, a tap was all it took to help her raise over £500. See Kelly’s page here.

A soup lunch. A bake sale. A pub quiz. Three very different events, one very easy way to collect donations.

It’s not just for big events

You don’t need to be running a sponsored marathon to make the most of this. The app works just as well for smaller, everyday moments:

• Collecting sponsorship after a training session
• Taking donations at school pick-up
• Raising funds at a community club or faith group
• Accepting last-minute donations from friends and family

How will it work on my phone?

The app uses NFC (Near Field Communication), which is the same technology that lets you tap your own card at a till. It’s built into most modern smartphones already, and it’s what makes the tap-to-donate experience possible.

The app is available on iOS and Android. Not sure if your device is compatible? Get in touch with our team, and we’ll point you in the right direction.

Is it safe?

Yes. All payments are processed securely through Give as you Live Donate. Supporters can give using contactless debit or credit cards, Apple Pay or Google Pay, and every donation goes directly to your Fundraising Page. We’re registered with the Fundraising Regulator, so you and your donors can give with complete confidence.

Supporters can also add Gift Aid to their donation when they tap, meaning charities can claim an extra 25p for every £1 given, at no extra cost to the donor.

Ready to start collecting contactless donations?

If you already have a Give as you Live Donate Fundraising Page, you can be up and running in minutes. Download the Tap to Donate app, log in, pick your page, and start collecting.

No hardware. No complicated setup. Just you, your phone, and a lot more donations.