How do I choose the information I collect from a supporter?

Customize what information you collect from supporters (donors, backers, contributors, etc.) in the Data Collection section of your campaign’s Edit menu.

Our platforms automatically ask all supporters for their Names and Email addresses. If you don’t require anything further, there is nothing more you need to do!

Important:

Do not ask your supporters for information you don’t require. When raising funds (no matter what for), it is important to remove all potential roadblocks to receiving the contribution, and one of the BIGGEST roadblocks is asking a supporter to provide the information they might not want to give out. So if you don’t need it (i.e. you consider it a ‘nice to have’ but not necessary), don’t ask for it.

For example, why ask for an address if you are not shipping anything to a supporter or providing a tax receipt (which requires an address in some countries and therefore is mandatory for our platforms)?

Food for thought. Onwards!

Are you looking for your Fundraiser information? Click here!

Part 1: Where to find the data collection menu #

STEP 1: Click ‘Edit’ in your sidebar menu.

STEP 2: Click ‘Data collection.’ All of the options we’ll talk about in this guide are under this menu.

Part 2: How to ask for marketing permission (Organizations only). #

In Data Collection menu, you’ll find this option:

Important: Some countries make it illegal to have this option prechecked. Know your laws!

Don’t forget to save!

Part 3: How to prompt unrestricted funds (Organizations only). #

Any funds raised (whether online or otherwise) must go toward what you have communicated to your supporters. Some organizations, mostly nonprofits, require operating funds that may involve many different things and are therefore hindered by these ‘restrictions.’ 

Communicate this to your supporters by turning on this option in your Data collection menu:

Check whether you would like to have the box pre-checked or not.

Don’t forget to save!

Part 4: How to customize information collected from supporters. #

Now for the fun part!

In your Data collection edit menu, you’ll find this option:

When you click either ‘Before payment’ or ‘After payment,’ you’ll see these options open up:

Basic

Turn these features on to ‘Optional’ or ‘Required’ for a quick and easy collection of extra information from your supporters.

Advanced

Here, you can create your own messaging or fields to ask whatever you like of your supporters.

Preamble message: this will appear on the checkout form – handy for any important information you want to ensure your supporters see. 

Compliance message: this will require your supporter to click ‘Accept’ on your custom message before they can complete the checkout process.

Custom fields: this is where you customize information to ask your supporters for any option we haven’t provided an option under ‘Basic.’ If you would like to make this field required for your supporter to move on, check the ‘Required’ box.

*Label is what the column in your Transaction report will be called for this data; only you will see this. 

Don’t forget to save!

Part 5: Where to find this extra information once your supporters have contributed. #

You may notice your supporters’ names, email addresses, and contribution details appear in your Transactions menu, but what about this extra stuff? 

Here’s the secret – it’s in your downloaded Transaction data!

STEP 1: Click ‘Transactions’ in your sidebar menu.

STEP 2: Download your transactions in whatever format you need.

Note: If there are a lot of transactions, this file will be emailed to you rather than downloaded immediately.

Your custom fields can be found if you scroll to the RIGHT of the downloaded file. The column names will be what you wrote for the ‘Label’ of your custom fields. Default data is listed first, and depending on how much information you’ve asked for, you may have to scroll fairly far to the right.

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