Three Ways to Create a DIY Point of Donation
Whether you’re looking to dip your toe in the water with cashless giving or if you’d like to experiment with a more affordable way to collect contactless donations, check our guide to creating a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) point of donation.
16 January 2023In addition to being the software used by a growing number of donation station device manufacturers including CollecTin and Payaz, Give A Little allows charities to create their own point of donation. Simply combine an Android tablet or smartphone and the Give A Little App with a payment card reader to create your own donation station or portable device for street collections. The Give A Little Android app can be downloaded for free on the
There are
1 - Wall mounted point of donation
To create a wall mounted point of donation, for example in a reception foyer, or well used corridor area, design a powerful campaign image with a ‘tap to donate’ call to action. Print your design on a sturdy material like foamex and ask the printer to cut out holes for your Android tablet or smartphone and card reader. You will need:
Android smartphone or tablet (download the Give A Little App from the Playstore)**
smartphone or tablet stand
SumUp Air or Stripe WisePad 3 card reader
some wooden blocks to hold the board away from the wall to allow for the depth of the tablet and card reader
Brackets* to secure your tablet and card reader to the wall
Screws or adhesive to attach board to the wall
A solid and stable internet connection, either via WIFI or via SIM card with data, this connection is very important as it’s what guarantees donations can be processed
Consider where your power supply is located and purchase extension leads and a cable tidy if necessary. Please also consider if you want to give the donor access to the card reader slot at the top for Chip + PIN donations. There is a requirement for the donor to insert their card for donations over £100 and also after the user has tapped their card for contactless payments a number of times.
Once you’ve completed these steps, you are ready to collect donations!
2 - Counter top point of donation
If you have a reception desk or a table at an event where you would like to collect donations, a counter top point of donation is ideal. In order to create your counter top point of donation, you will need:
Android smartphone or tablet (download the Give A Little App from the Playstore)**
smartphone or tablet stand
SumUp Air card reader
SumUp charging dock
Security lock (you can find
Kensington style locksonline that use strong adhesive to attach to the back of the smartphone or tablet with either a key or combination lock.) The lock cable has a loop to allow you to securely attach it around a table leg or pillar. Alternatively ananchor pointcan be purchasedA solid and stable internet connection, either via WIFI or via SIM card with data, this connection is very important as it’s what guarantees donations can be processed
3 - Face to face fundraising on the move
If your charity has relied on cash bucket collections in the past but are looking for a way to also collect contactless donations and make sure you don’t miss out on donations from those who don’t carry cash any more, you can pair an Android smartphone or tablet with a SumUp Air card reader.
You will need:
Android smartphone or tablet (download the Give A Little App from the Playstore)**
SumUp Air card reader
SumUp Air holder and lanyard*
Smartphone/ tablet lanyard holder
Tech considerations when choosing an Android smartphone or tablet
Make sure your device has the following:
A tablet or smartphone that is using an Android version that supports security updates
Bluetooth 4.0
No SumUp app installed on the device
Why use Give A Little?
Give A Little aims to be the most easy-to-use, flexible and affordable way for charities to collect donations in a cashless society. There are over 8,000 charities using Give A Little to collect cashless donations and the platform has helped them raise over £40,000,000.
The Give A Little software platform provides charities with a tool where they can create and customise fundraising campaigns that are displayed on donation stations (or the Give A Little Android App) for contactless donations, or on the web (including QR codes). It provides a way for charities to manage their donation stations, maximise revenues, run detailed reports (Campaigns, Gift Aid etc.), and manage users of their account such as admins, and volunteers.
It’s our mission to to minimise the cost barrier for charities moving to cashless giving and to protect charities from the fast pace of technology change.
Charities who expect to raise £1,000 or less in 12 months have the option to use Give A Little free with Basic features.
*SumUp Air accessories can be found
** choose a tablet or smartphone that is using an Android version that supports security updates
View our technical guide for creating a DIY donation station with a Stripe WisePad 3 card reader: