How to Mobilize Generosity with Apple Pay for Nonprofits

Classy’s annual Why America Gives report found that 20% of donors reconsidered making a gift when their preferred payment method was unavailable. With over 500 million activated accounts, Apple Pay is a must-have payment form for nonprofits nationwide.¹

Many nonprofit organizations that have incorporated digital wallets into their giving experiences have seen a sizable increase in donation volume. In fact, our State of Modern Philanthropy report found an average 11%-14% conversion lift when nonprofits enabled digital wallets on Classy.

The Salvation Army, in particular, saw a 246% year-over-year increase in total mobile donation revenue on Classy after implementing digital wallets.

Below, we explore how Apple Pay can help your nonprofit grow its revenue by meeting supporters with their preferred payment methods. We also cover how Classy’s fundraising platform can help you leverage this payment option for a seamless giving experience.

What Is Apple Pay for Nonprofits?

Apple Pay is a digital wallet option that allows users to store various credit cards and banking information in a central location for faster and easier payments. People with Apple Pay can use it for e-commerce purchases or in-person shopping at participating retailers.

With users’ information securely stored, they can pay with Apple Pay without re-entering billing, shipping, or contact details for each transaction. When shopping in person, they can even pay with a quick tap of their Apple Watch.

Using Apple Pay for fundraising efforts works similarly. Supporters can give via Apple Pay on a nonprofit’s donation site without entering their credit card or bank information. This brings the same frictionless purchasing experience to making donations.

For most, Apple Pay isn’t a new concept. However, its impact on charitable donation volume remains so powerful that it’s worth revisiting. This is why Classy provides a pathway to activate it on your site and offers it now on embedded donation forms (more on that below).

How Do I Set Up Apple Pay for Donations?

To use Apple Pay for donations, you’ll need a payment service that integrates with Apple Pay and an Apple Developer Program membership.

Additionally, before enabling the Donate with Apple Pay button on your donation forms, you must receive approval to accept Apple Pay donations. For nonprofits based in the United States, this involves getting a free Candid Seal of Transparency, which helps prospective donors learn more about your nonprofit before giving. Nonprofits based outside of the United States must get approval through Benevity.

If you’re a Classy customer, you can easily activate Classy’s in-house donation payment processing tool, Classy Pay. This tool automatically includes Apple Pay and allows your nonprofit to bypass this process.

Once you have approval, you can implement the Apple Pay donate button into your apps or websites. To enable the payment method in Classy Pay, toggle the Digital Wallet option on in the Classy Manager payments portal. Doing so adds Apple Pay to your donation forms on Classy’s standard donation websites, crowdfunding pages, and peer-to-peer campaigns, and, most recently, embedded donation forms.

While currently available to a small group of Classy customers, this new embedded donation form feature will soon expand to general availability through a self-service process.

Additionally, supporters wanting to donate on Classy using Apple Pay will need to do so on an iPhone 5s or later model or another compatible iOS Apple device, such as a Mac laptop or iPad. They will also need to use the Safari web browser. There are other digital wallet options available for Windows or Android users.

What Are the Benefits of Using Apple Pay for Nonprofits?

In our State of Modern Philanthropy report, we found that the average one-time gift on Classy Pay is nearly 1.5 times the average one-time gift not made on Classy Pay. Easy digital wallet payment options lead to more donations for several reasons.

1. Apple Pay Offers a Fast, Convenient Donation Experience

Apple Pay users enter their payment information into the app one time, then can access it for all future transactions. This means when they use Apple Pay at checkout, they won’t have to spend time finding their credit card, entering the card number, or filling out their billing address.

As a result, supporters can make donations faster and easier. With fewer barriers to giving, it’s more likely that donors will follow through.

2. Apple Pay for Nonprofits Provides Secure Giving for Donors

Apple Pay includes several built-in security features. For example, users can opt to require a touch ID or face ID to complete transactions using their stored payment methods.

Apple Pay also uses a secure encryption process for all added financial information, such as credit cards and debit cards, and only works with authorized payment networks.

Additionally, Apple never retains transaction data, eliminating the possibility of linking it back to the customer. These security features help build donor trust and encourage greater giving.

3. Apple Pay Supports a Mobile Giving Environment

Apple Pay is conveniently hosted on iPhones and iPads, making it easy for supporters to donate through the service while they’re on the go.

This mobile access is imperative in the current giving landscape, as our Why America Gives report found that 58% of donors who made an online donation did so through a mobile site.

Attract more donors and enhance their giving experience by allowing them to interact with your nonprofit on social media, podcasts, email campaigns, and more through their mobile devices.

Leverage Apple Pay for Nonprofits to Create an Easy Donation Experience

Whether a Giving Tuesday campaign, peer-to-peer fundraiser, or crowdfunding page, Classy Pay supports a frictionless, modern giving experience for nonprofits and their supporters. This helps nonprofits take their campaigns to the next level, always ready to meet donors where they are and with the payment methods that work best for them.

Copy Editor: Ayanna Julien

Article Source:

1. “Apple Pay – Statistics & Facts,” Statista, last modified October 17, 2023, https://www.statista.com/topics/4322/apple-pay/#topicOverview.