How to build a donation or fundraising form with auto receipts

Simplify donations with instant receipts and transparency

In this guide, you’ll build a donation or fundraising form that accepts secure payments, personalizes donor messages, and automatically issues receipts. Perfect for nonprofits, schools, or causes that want to build trust and streamline fundraising.
📘 Learn more: Create your first form, app, or portal in a flash

Step 1 — Create your donation form

Start from your workspace and click + New → Form. You can start from scratch or choose a Donation Form template from the Template gallery.

Or use Magic Create, describe your goal:

“A donation form that collects donor info, accepts online payments, and sends auto receipts.”

Why this matters: having a structured donation form builds donor trust and ensures every transaction is tracked properly.
📘 Learn more: How to create any form using Magic Create in Formaloo

Step 2 — Add donor and donation details

Include fields to capture everything you need for tracking and receipts:

• Full name
  
  
• Email address (for sending receipts)
  
  
• Phone number (optional)
  
  
• Donation amount (set amount or custom input)
  
  
• Donation type (One-time / Monthly / Annual)
  
  
• Purpose or campaign (dropdown, e.g., Education, Health, Environment)
  
  
• Message or dedication (optional)
  
  

💡 Tip: Add a short intro text or logo to reinforce your brand and mission.
📘 Learn more: How to customize the content field

Step 3 — Add a payment field

Add a Payment field to securely collect donations via Stripe, PayPal, or other supported gateways.

You can:

• Set fixed amounts (e.g., $10, $25, $50, $100)
  
  
• Allow donors to enter a custom amount
  
  
• Offer recurring payment options for monthly giving
  
  

📘 Learn more: How to create an order form with online payment

Step 4 — Add logic for flexible donation amounts

Use Settings → Advanced logic to adapt the form dynamically:

• If Donation type = Monthly → Set recurring payment method.
  
  
• If Campaign = Education → Redirect to thank-you message with school info.
  
  
• If Donation ≥ 500 → Tag as Major Donor and trigger special acknowledgment.
  
  

📘 Learn more: How to add advanced logic to your form

Step 5 — Automate thank-you emails and receipts

Open Settings → Advanced logic or Notify tab to create automatic donor confirmations:

• To donor: send a personalized thank-you message and attach the receipt.
  
  
• To fundraising team: send a notification for each new donation.
  
  
• To accounting (optional): include donation details for record-keeping.
  
  

Use field IDs like @donor_name, @donation_amount, and @campaign_name for a personalized touch.
📘 Learn more: How to create and send custom email templates

Step 6 — Generate custom donation receipts automatically

Create a PDF template to generate branded receipts for every transaction.
Include fields such as:

• Donor name and date
  
  
• Donation amount
  
  
• Campaign or purpose
  
  
• Transaction ID
  
  
• Organization name, logo, and signature
  
  

Attach it automatically to thank-you emails.
📘 Learn more: How to generate custom PDFs using templates

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Step 7 — Track donations in dashboards

Go to Results → Responses to monitor donations in real time:

• Table view: see all donor details, amounts, and dates.
  
  
• Charts: visualize donation totals per campaign or frequency.
  
  
• Kanban view: group by donation type (One-time, Monthly, Major donor).
  📘 Learn more: How to showcase charts based on form responses
  
  

Step 8 — Create a donor management portal

From your project, create a Donor Portal where your team can manage campaigns and track supporters.

Add pages such as:

• All donations overview
  
  
• Campaign-wise reports
  
  
• Major donors list
  
  
• Receipts and acknowledgment log
  
  

Set access permissions so only staff can view sensitive data.
📘 Learn more: How to create a portal and manage users’ access

Step 9 — Use AI to analyze giving patterns

Enable AI Analyze to reveal insights like:

• “Top campaigns by total donation.”
  
  
• “Average donation amount per donor.”
  
  
• “Most active donor groups or time periods.”
  📘 Learn more: Uncover insights and trends in your data with AI Analyze
  
  

Pro tips

• Use discount logic to offer early-bird or matched donation bonuses.
  
  
• Enable Memory Forms for returning donors to auto-fill details.
  📘 Learn more: What are Memory Forms
  
  

Example scenario

A donor selects “Health Campaign” and contributes $100. The form automatically processes the payment, emails a thank-you message, and attaches a PDF receipt showing their donation details. The campaign dashboard updates instantly, showing progress toward its $10,000 goal.
📘 Learn more: Build personalized and time-saving flows with logic, automations, and AI

FAQ

1. Can I accept donations in different currencies?
   Yes,just choose your preferred currency in the payment settings.
   📘 Learn more: Supported currencies on Formaloo
2. Can I issue tax-compliant receipts automatically?
   Yes, customize your PDF receipt template to include tax or legal information.
3. Can I embed this form on my website?
   Absolutely, you can embed it or use a custom domain.
   📘 Learn more: Share your form or app with your team or audience

Your fundraising system is live, collect, thank, and grow

You’ve built a fully automated donation form that handles payments, receipts, and reporting seamlessly. Keep improving it with dashboards, AI analysis, and branded communication to build lasting donor relationships.
📘 Learn more: How to personalize ending pages and email notifications with AI

Last updated October 2025

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