Venmo donations for nonprofits: How to convert support into fundraising dollars

Venmo and PayPal are two of the most popular mobile apps for sending and receiving money. Since 70% of people say preferred payment methods shape their giving decisions, enabling Venmo donations can help convert more supporters into donors.
Let’s take a closer look at the impact of Venmo for nonprofits, how your organization can power Venmo donations with GoFundMe Pay, and how our community has raised more for their missions by making the switch.
What is Venmo?
Venmo is a popular mobile payment service known for fast and safe social payments between friends and family. It has 92 million active users who use the service as a seamless way to send, spend, share, and manage finances using their phone numbers.
How does Venmo work?
Venmo facilitates peer-to-peer payments. Friends can easily split bills, send money for shared expenses, or pay each other back in seconds. You can keep the money you receive in your Venmo balance or move it to your bank. Instant transfers are available for a small fee.
However, Venmo isn’t only for friends—over 2 million businesses, including brands like Amazon, Starbucks, and Uber, use it as well. In fact, people are 19% more likely to complete a purchase from a business that accepts Venmo.
That’s why more nonprofits offer Venmo as a donation option. It’s a simple way to meet people where they are and make giving easier and more appealing.
3 benefits of using Venmo for nonprofit fundraising
Inviting supporters to use Venmo on your donation forms makes giving more seamless, personal, and user-friendly. When the National Alliance on Mental Illness added Venmo and PayPal through GoFundMe Pay, it raised $256,000 in four months, with 82% of those donors brand new to the organization.
Here are some additional ways Venmo can help nonprofits grow their impact.
1. Increase conversions with Venmo payments
Using familiar payment options like Venmo can help more people follow through with their gift. With a 73% conversion rate across all payments among Venmo users, having the app’s button on your donation form can make a big difference.
How can supporters make Venmo donations?
It’s quick and easy:
Tap the Venmo button at checkout (the Venmo app opens automatically)
- Log in (if needed)
- Pick which account to use
- Confirm the donation amount
Most people already have a Venmo account set up on their phone, so it’s fast and smooth—no digging for credit cards or passwords.
2. Attract new supporters to your nonprofit
Offering Venmo as a donation option can help your nonprofit reach more people, especially those who prefer fast, mobile-friendly ways to give. When supporters see familiar payment methods, they’re more likely to trust the process and follow through with their donation.
Which donors prefer Venmo donations?
Venmo is especially popular with younger donors (66% of users are Gen Z or Millennials). They actively engage with the app, mentioning it on social media every nine seconds—which can include sharing the stories behind their donations.
3. Make giving easier with built-in support
Venmo offers special tools, like Venmo Charity Profiles and Venmo Business accounts, that help nonprofits look professional and build trust with supporters. These features give your organization a polished profile—like PayPal does with its business accounts.
While business accounts have no monthly fees, there are small transaction fees. Seller transaction fees include 1.9% plus $0.10 of the payment total, while contactless payments accepted with Tap to Pay on iPhone or Android devices are 2.29% plus $0.10 of the payment total.
Want to keep it simple? Skip setting up a separate Venmo or PayPal business account by using GoFundMe Pay. It connects both platforms to your donation form in one easy step—no extra accounts to manage.
How to set up Venmo for a nonprofit: FAQs
How can nonprofits accept Venmo donations?
GoFundMe Pay is a trusted payment platform that offers reliable nonprofit payment processing and better donor data. It keeps all your payments, payouts, and reporting in one place.
Plus, GoFundMe Pay integrates with Venmo to give organizations more flexibility and control. This gives supporters one of the best possible donation and checkout experiences through a single fundraising platform.
Venmo is part of GoFundMe Pro’s integration with the PayPal commerce platform. Once a GoFundMe Pro customer activates the PayPal processor, they can enable Venmo with the click of a button.
GoFundMe Pro’s Venmo integration offers individual supporters the choice to donate through their desired payment methods across many fundraising campaign types, including:
- Donation pages
- Embedded giving on your website
- Peer-to-peer fundraising efforts
- Fundraising events (virtual, hybrid, and in-person)
- Crowdfunding campaigns
How do I get started with Venmo on GoFundMe Pro?
Nonprofits that set up GoFundMePay will find PayPal and Venmo automatically turned on. You can also learn more about the steps to do so in our support article. For additional background on turning payment methods for donation pages on or off, review this resource.
However, if you want to get started with GoFundMe Pay for the first time, explore what sets it apart from other payment processing solutions and request a platform demo to see it in action.
What are some of the benefits of using GoFundMe Pay?
GoFundMe Pay simplifies online donations for nonprofits. Key benefits include:
- Flexible payment options: Supporters can donate using credit or debit cards, ACH, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, and Venmo.
- Faster, larger donations: Nonprofits that offer digital wallets can streamline the checkout process, which 2024 GoFundMe Pro platform data has shown leads to 50% faster donations and 64% larger gifts.
- Improved payment success: AI-assisted auto-retry logic enhances acceptance rates for credit card and ACH payments.
- Comprehensive reporting: All transactions, whether from Venmo or another accepted payment type, are viewable in GoFundMe Pro and your customer relationship manager or CRM, providing a unified dashboard for tracking donations.
- Streamlined backend processes: GoFundMe Pro helps you manage cash flow with customizable payout options and handle recurring plans, failed payments, tax receipts, and transaction reconciliation.
- Secure transactions: GoFundMe Pay is a PCI DSS Level 1 certified platform partnered with Stripe and PayPal, offering AI-powered fraud protection informed by $40B raised using GoFundMe’s technology or services.
With GoFundMe Pay, nonprofit organizations can enhance the donation experience for supporters and streamline their fundraising operations.
Accept Venmo donations with GoFundMe Pay to meet supporters where they are
At GoFundMe, we’ve built a community of nearly 200 million people who want to give back. This creates a huge opportunity for nonprofits to reach new supporters, including younger generations, and keep them involved over time.
Our platform provides all the functionality you need:
- Popular payment options like Venmo and PayPal
- Seamless integrations with your CRM for donor management
- Easy-to-design donation forms
- GoFundMe Intelligence to optimize your ask amounts
- Nonprofit Pages to tap into millions of engaged supporters
- And more
GoFundMe Pay lets you connect with supporters on their terms, offering fast checkouts and trusted payment methods. By simplifying the giving process and linking directly to your fundraising tools, we help you turn interest into lasting support.
Copy editor: Ayanna Julien
Accept Venmo Donations on GoFundMe Pro