Are you looking for a way to raise funds through crowdfunding using a WordPress website?
Raising funds for a project can be a challenging task. Most people use crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter or Indiegogo to raise money. However, why work on the terms of third-party platforms when you can do it all on your own with a few simple clicks?
This article will show you how to raise money with crowdfunding in WordPress.
What is Crowdfunding?
Crowdfunding is an organized effort by a person to raise funds for a project, an organization, or their own needs.
Often entrepreneurs use crowdfunding to raise startup money by presenting their ideas to potential customers and allowing them to fund the project rather than giving up equity to investors. Instead of receiving equity, each donor gets a reward of some kind.
Usually, these rewards include getting a shirt, stickers, other goodies, or an actual product. The premium each donor receives is based on the amount they donate.
Besides startups, crowdfunding is an excellent way for an individual or even a nonprofit organization to raise money for any cause.
Many people use sites like Kickstarter or Indiegogo to crowdfund, but there are a few downsides to those sites. For example, Kickstarter takes 5% of any money you raise, plus processing fees. And if you donโt meet your fundraising goal, all the donations are returned and you wonโt receive anything.
Thatโs whyย making a WordPress siteย can be a better alternative. It gives you much more control and flexibility over your crowdfunding campaign.
That said, letโs see how you can raise money through crowdfunding using WordPress.
How to Start Crowdfunding with WordPress
The easiest way to start crowdfunding is by using aย WordPress plugin. There are manyย donations and fundraising pluginsย that help you collect online payments from investors and crowdfund your project.
Weโll show you 2 plugins that you can use to kickstart your crowdfunding in WordPress. Simply click the link below to jump ahead to any section:
Create a Crowdfunding Form Using WPForms
The easiest way of starting crowdfunding in WordPress is by usingย WPForms. Itโs theย best contact form plugin for WordPress and is super easy to use.
You can use the drag-and-drop form builder to create any type of form in minutes without editing code. Plus, it easily integrates with payment services like PayPal and Stripe, allowing you to collect online payments from investors.
Weโll use theย WPForms Pro versionย for this tutorial because it includes a nonprofit crowdfunding form template and payment gateway integrations. There is also aย WPForms Liteย version you can try for free.
First, youโll need to install and activate the WPForms plugin on your website. If you need help, then please see our guide onย how to install a WordPress plugin.
Upon installation, you can head toย WPForms ยป Settingsย from your WordPress dashboard and enter your license key. You can easily find the license key in your account.
After that, youโll need to integrate different payment services to raise money through crowdfunding. WPForms supportsย payment providersย likeย PayPal, Stripe, Square, and Authorize.net.
Simply go toย WPForms ยป Addonsย from the WordPress admin panel and click the โInstall Addonโ button for your preferred payment addon.
Once the addon is active, you can now create a crowdfunding form for your WordPress website.
You can go to WPForms ยป Add New from the WordPress dashboard. This will launch the WPForms drag-and-drop form builder.
Next, enter a name for your form at the top and then search for the โNonprofit Crowdfunding Formโ template from the menu on your left. Hover over the form template and click the โUse Template button.
From here, you can use the drag-and-drop form builder to customize the template.
WPForms will already have form fields added to the template. However, you can add more fields by dragging them from the menu on your left or rearranging the existing fields.
You can further customize each individual form field.
Simply select a form field, and youโll see more options in the menu on your left. For instance, you can change the label and format of the field, make it a required field, and more.

Next, you can go to the โPaymentโ tab in the WPForms form builder.
Go ahead and select aย payment gatewayย you want to connect to your crowdfunding form.
For the sake of this tutorial, weโll select PayPal.

After that, click the checkbox for โEnable PayPal Standard paymentsโ in the settings.
You can then provide a PayPal email address and select โDonationโ from the Payment Type dropdown menu.
Below that, there are more options where you can enter the Cancel URL. This is a great opportunity to stay connected with your users if they decide the cancel the checkout process.
You can also customize the shipping address options and ask buyers to include a note with payment.
Donโt forget to click the โSaveโ button at the top.
Next, you can head to the โSettings tab in the form builder and go to Notifications.
Here you can customize theย notification settingsย sent to the site administrator. For example, you can change the email the notifications are sent to, edit the email subject line and message, and more.
Next, you can go to โConfirmationsโ in the Settings tab and ensure your donors receive a confirmation email for funding your project.
You can show a message when someone submits the crowdfunding form or take the user to another page or URL on your site.
When youโre done, donโt forget to click the โSaveโ button at the top.
The next step is to add your crowdfunding form to yourย WordPress blog. You can simply click the โEmbedโ button in the form builder at the top and choose whether youโd like to select an existing page or create a new page for your form.
Letโs select the โCreate New Pageโ option for this tutorial.
After that, enter a name for your new page and click the โLetโs Go!โ button.
WPForms will automatically embed your crowdfunding form to the new page you just created.
Alternatively, you can add a WPForms block in the WordPress content editor and select your form from the dropdown menu.
Go ahead and preview your crowdfunding form.
You can then click the โPublishโ button and visit your website to see the form in action.
You can also see our guide onย how to create a donate form for a nonprofit organization in WordPress.
Raise Money with Crowdfunding using WP Charitable
Another way you can start fundraising for your project is by usingย WP Charitable. It is one of the top-ratedย WordPress donation and fundraising plugins. Over 10,000 nonprofit organizations use WP Charitable to raise money through crowdfunding and donations.
The plugin offers numerous extensions and features that help you kickstart your crowdfunding campaign. For instance, you can set up peer-to-peer fundraising in WordPress and use word-of-mouth marketing to raise funds.
For this tutorial, weโll use theย WP Charitable Proย license because it includes the Ambassador extension for peer-to-peer fundraising and additional payment gateways.
First, youโll need to install and activate theย core WP Charitable plugin. If you need help, then please see our guide onย how to install a WordPress plugin.
Upon activation, youโll see the WP Charitable welcome screen in your WordPress dashboard. You can head toย Charitable ยป Settings from the admin panel and go to the โLicenses tab.
Simply enter your license key and click the โSave Changesโ button.
After that, you can head to the โPayment Gatewaysโ tab.
Go ahead and click the โEnable Gatewayโ button for your preferred payment method.
The default payment gateways offered by WP Charitable will be an offline method or PayPal.
However, you can add more payment methods like Stripe, GoCardless, Payrexx, Mollie, Paystack, Braintree, Authorize.net, and more.
After enabling the payment option, simply click the โGateway Settingsโ button.
For the sake of this tutorial, weโll set up PayPal as the payment gateway.
In the PayPal gateway settings, youโll need to enter your PayPal email address and the API credentials.
You can find the API credentials by going to your PayPal business profile.
When youโre done, click the โSave Changesโ button.
The next step is to create a fundraising campaign in WP Charitable.
Simply go toย Charitable ยป Add Campaignย from your WordPress dashboard and enter a name for your campaign at the top.
There are also options to enter a campaign description, set a goal, and add an end date to the campaign.
You can leave the goal field blank if you donโt have a set target amount youโd like to collect, and also leave the end date fields blank if itโs an ongoing campaign.
Besides that, youโll see โCampaign Settingsโ if you scroll down. Here you can add suggested donation amounts for your campaign. Simply click the โ+ Add a Suggested Amountโ button and enter the amount.
When youโre done, click the โPublishโ button to set your campaign live.
Then you can visit your website to see your crowdfunding campaign in action.
Setting Up Peer-to-Peer Fundraising in WP Charitable
WP Charitable also lets you set up peer-to-peer fundraising in WordPress. This allows your team members and individuals to create their own campaigns and help achieve your overall crowdfunding goal.
First, you can install and activate the Ambassadors extension on your website. Itโs just like adding a new plugin. You can follow our guide onย how to install a WordPress pluginย for more details.
Upon activation, you can go toย Charitable ยป Settings from your WordPress admin area and then click on the โAmbassadors tab. Next, click the checkbox to enable the โFundraisers for existing campaignsโ option.
There is also an option to disable the requirement for users to register an account before submission.
Donโt forget to save your changes when done.
After that, you can edit an existing campaign in WP Charitable or add a new one. Next, you can go to the โPeer to Peer Fundraisingโ tab in the Campaign Settings section.
Go ahead and click the checkbox for the โAllow peer to peer fundraising for this campaignโ option.
You should now see different settings under Peer to Peer Fundraising. You can select who can participate in the fundraiser, customize fundraiser fields, set a goal, add a photo, and more.
Simply publish your new campaign or update an existing one when youโre done.
A fundraiser option should now appear in your campaign. You can also add a fundraiser button anywhere on your website using theย [charitable_fundraise_button]
ย shortcode.
When users click the fundraiser button, they can choose what type of fundraiser they want to create.
After that, users can simply enter details about the fundraiser and confirm theirย email addresses. Once thatโs done, they can help raise money for your crowdfunding project.
We hope this article helped you learn how to raise money with crowdfunding in WordPress. You may also want to see our guide onย how to start an online storeย and theย ultimate guide on WordPress SEO.
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