Donations

A one-time donation charges the donor once through Stripe and creates a receipt after payment succeeds. SeasonKit records the campaign, organization, amount, currency, and deductible amount at the time the receipt is issued.

Donors can give as guests when the campaign allows it. Guest checkout is designed for speed, but the receipt email gives the donor a path to claim the donation later.

Coaches should confirm the public campaign story and suggested amounts before sending links to supporters. Clear context reduces abandoned checkout and refund requests.

Monthly recurring donations let supporters keep giving on a predictable schedule. Each monthly donation is managed through Stripe's own secure screens, which means donors can update payment methods or cancel without sending card details to the team.

Recurring donations are best for alumni, extended family, and supporters who want to help throughout the season. Campaign copy should make it clear that the amount repeats monthly.

Donors can review recurring gifts from Your account.

Suggested donation amounts make checkout faster and help donors understand what typical support looks like. They should be realistic for your community and connected to the campaign story.

Sponsor options can have minimum amounts because they often include review, recognition, or fulfillment steps. A sponsor purchase is different from a simple charitable donation and may not be tax-deductible.

If your organization uses both donations and sponsor options, keep the labels direct. Donors should not have to guess whether they are making a gift or buying a sponsorship placement.

Donors see the campaign name, team or organization name, donation amount, optional participant designation, fee-cover choices when enabled, and the tax or non-charitable contribution language for the item they are paying for.

After checkout, donors receive a receipt email. If the organization is configured as a 501(c)(3), qualifying donations can show deductible language. Cart and sponsor purchases should explicitly say Not a charitable contribution.

For more detail on receipt language, see Receipts & tax.

If you donated as a guest, you can claim the donation in your account from the receipt email link. The claim link connects that receipt to your donor portal history after you sign in or create an account.

Claiming a donation does not change the original receipt details. It gives the donor a single place to find giving history, recurring donations, and refund options.

If the receipt link is missing or expired, contact the organization with the donor name, email address used at checkout, campaign name, and payment date.

Coaches should review the donor experience before a link goes to families. A short review protects donor confidence and keeps the first support questions easy to answer.

• Confirm the campaign name, team name, and season are recognizable.
• Check that suggested amounts make sense for your community.
• Confirm whether participant designation is enabled and explain what it means.
• Review sponsor minimums separately from simple donation amounts.
• Confirm tax language and non-charitable contribution language are correct.
• Make sure at least one treasurer knows where donation receipts and refund requests appear.

If a donor asks whether they need an account, the answer is usually no for checkout and yes for ongoing self-service. Guest checkout keeps giving fast, while claiming the receipt makes later account history easier.

If a donor asks whether they can change a monthly gift, send them to the donor portal and Stripe's own secure screens. Do not collect card details over email, text message, or a team spreadsheet.

If a donor asks whether a sponsor purchase is deductible, point them to the receipt language for that specific payment instead of giving a blanket answer.