Best Ways for PTAs to Collect Donations Online

Most PTAs and PTOs now collect at least some donations online. Families expect to be able to give from their phone, and treasurers would rather reconcile a report than count envelopes. But there are several ways to do it, and each has trade-offs.

Option 1: Payment apps and simple payment links

Many parent groups start with a peer-to-peer payment app or a basic payment link. It’s fast and familiar.

Works well for: small, one-off collections such as a class gift.

Watch out for:

• Personal accounts mixing with organization money, which creates headaches for your treasurer
• Little or no information about who gave and to which campaign
• No campaign page to explain what the money is for
• Receipts that may not suit donors who need one for their records

If your PTA uses payment apps, make sure the account belongs to the organization, not to an individual volunteer.

Option 2: Online forms with a payment field

Form builders can add a card payment to a sign-up form. This captures more detail than a payment link and works for event registrations.

Watch out for: forms are not great at telling a story, showing progress or running several campaigns at once. Records can end up scattered across many forms.

Option 3: Shared fundraising platforms

Fundraising platforms let you create a campaign page quickly, often with progress bars and sharing tools.

Works well for: groups that need something running this week.

Watch out for: your campaign lives on the platform’s website and is shaped by its design and terms. Depending on the service, there may be platform fees or donor “tips”, and your access to donor records and campaign history depends on what the platform allows. Read the terms carefully.

Option 4: Your own PTA fundraising website

A dedicated website on your school’s domain, connected to your PTA’s own payment account, brings everything together:

• Every campaign in one place, from the fun run to the playground fund
• Donations paid directly to your PTA’s own account
• Complete donor records you can search and export
• Progress, milestones and updates that keep families engaged
• A lasting history that new board members inherit

This is the approach RaiseKit takes. We build PTA and PTO fundraising websites as a service, so your volunteers get a professional website without having to build or maintain it.

What to look for, whichever you choose

1. Money goes to the organization, not a volunteer’s personal account.
2. Clear records of who gave, how much, when and to which campaign.
3. Receipts that include your organization’s name and any wording your treasurer needs.
4. Easy giving on a phone. Most parents will give from a mobile device.
5. Continuity. When officers change, the accounts, records and logins should stay with the PTA.

A note on fees

Every option involves some cost. Card processors such as Stripe charge per-transaction processing fees, and some platforms add their own fees on top. Compare the total cost per donation, not just the advertised rate, and check each provider’s current pricing.

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