Donation pools
Collect donations for a cause, directly or in someone's honor. The money goes straight to the charity's own account.
The short version. It's free to organize. Each donation goes straight to the charity's own account, KadoPool adds 30% of its fee, and the charity sends the tax receipts.
Start a pool
Where the money goes
- Straight to the charity. Each donation is paid to the charity's own Stripe account as it is made. I never hold the money, and it never sits with KadoPool.
- To its bank when I close the pool. Once I close it and the donations have cleared with Stripe, KadoPool sends them to the charity's bank in one payout, less Stripe's payout fee. The charity gets an e-mail when it's on its way.
- The same fees as any pool. Stripe's card processing and KadoPool's 2%, at most $5 a donation. I choose before anyone gives: fees included in each donation (the default), or added on top so the charity receives every donation in full. See pricing
- KadoPool gives too. 30% of KadoPool's fee goes to the charity with each donation, as KadoPool's own gift, never counted as anyone's donation.
Example: 20 donations of $25
| For the whole pool | Fees included | Fees on top |
|---|---|---|
| Each donor pays | $25.00 | $26.57 |
| Donated in all | $500.00 | $531.40 |
| Stripe's card processing | −$20.60 | −$21.40 |
| KadoPool's fee (2%) | −$10.00 | −$10.00 |
| KadoPool's 30%, back to the charity | +$3.00 | +$3.00 |
| The charity receives | $472.40 | $503.00 |
With US cards, before Stripe's fee for the payout to the charity's bank. Each donor's receipt is for what they paid, fees included.
Tax receipts
- The charity sends them. When the pool closes, KadoPool sends the charity each donor's name, e-mail, ZIP code and amount, so it can thank them and send their receipts. If the charity asks, KadoPool e-mails the receipts in its name.
- For the whole amount, after the pool closes. Donations go to a 501(c)(3), and what each donor paid, fees included, may be tax-deductible as the law allows. The payment confirmation isn't a tax receipt: receipts come once the pool closes and the donations are final.
Who sees what
- No anonymous donations. The charity needs every donor's name for its records and receipts, and the page says so before anyone pays.
- Amounts stay private. Only the charity receives each donor's amount. I see who gave, never how much, and donors never see each other's amounts.
- The charity knows the pool is for it. When I create the pool, KadoPool tells the charity my name, the pool's title and, in someone's honor, that person's name.
In someone's honor
- The person I honor gets a KadoBook. Everyone who gives can leave them a message. When the pool closes, they receive a KadoBook of all the messages. The money goes to the charity: there's nothing for them to claim.
- I choose when they hear about it. KadoPool can tell them right away that people are giving in their honor, or only when the pool closes and their KadoBook is ready.
- Giving directly instead? A direct donation pool raises money for the charity with no messages and no KadoBook.
Which charities
- Verified partners only. A charity can receive donations once it has joined KadoPool, KadoPool has checked with the IRS that donations to it are tax-deductible (a 501(c)(3)), and Stripe has verified it and its bank account. It confirms all this every year.
- Mine isn't listed? Tell it about KadoPool: joining is free. Until then, a gift pool can still help it: link it to a gift.
- I organize as a volunteer. Anyone with the app can start a donation pool for a partner charity, as an unpaid volunteer, never as a paid fundraiser.
Not available yet in {states}: a card billed there is refused before anything is charged, and organizers and charities based there can't use donation pools.
Refunds
- Possible until I close the pool. Donors can refund themselves in the app until the closing date, and I can refund a donor or cancel the pool until I close it. A refunded donation is taken back from the charity and gets no receipt.
- Final once it's closed. When I close the pool, its donations belong to the charity and can't be refunded.
A donation pool, or a gift that gives twice?
Both help an organization. A donation pool gives it the money; a gift pool gives a person a gift, and the organization 30% of KadoPool's fee. About gifts that give twice
| What differs | Donation pool | Gift that gives twice |
|---|---|---|
| The money goes to | The charity | The person I'm thanking |
| The organization receives | Every donation, less the fees, plus 30% of KadoPool's fee | 30% of KadoPool's fee |
| Tax receipts | Yes, from the charity | No: it's a gift |
| Donors' names and amounts | Sent to the charity | Never shared: totals only |
| Which organizations | Verified partners that are 501(c)(3)s | Any US nonprofit the IRS recognizes, even before it joins |
How it works
- I start a donation pool in the app, choose direct or in honor of someone, and pick the charity.
- I share the link or the QR code. Donors give from $10, by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay, with no app needed.
- I close the pool. KadoPool sends the donations to the charity's bank, and the charity sends the receipts.
Are you a charity? See how to join