QR Codes for Donations: A Guide to Driving Donations for Nonprofits

It’s no secret that these are hard times for nonprofits and charities. These organizations are offering more support than ever despite having fewer resources. And digital changes, such as the shift away from cash, make it harder than ever to fill donation boxes.

From raising awareness to online fundraising, QR Codes are a low-cost technology that help you achieve your targets. 

We’ll discuss how QR Codes for nonprofits can speed up donations, collect valuable insights, and enhance marketing materials and events. Plus, we’ve curated six examples of donation QR Codes across different media.

Note: The brands discussed in this article were found during our online research. 

How QR Codes simplify and improve donation collection

According to the Charity Digital Skills Report of 2024, 50% of charities say they have a digital fundraising strategy in place. That’s no surprise: as digital payment methods displace cash and checks, online donations are becoming more important to nonprofits and charities. 

Take the Yeokens fundraising campaign from grocery brand Yeo Valley Organic. There was a time when every supermarket would have a donation jar at the till, but many consumers aren’t using cash any more.

Instead, three charities teamed up with Yeo Valley Organic to fundraise through product packaging. When customers scan a QR Code on the product, it takes them to a portal where they can choose a charity to support, such as the Children’s Air Ambulance. 

Smart, cooperative campaigns like this are just one way that nonprofits can use QR Codes for business growth. Let’s take a look at how it works.

Accept cashless donations

QR Codes allow nonprofits to collect donations in two ways. You can connect users with a mobile payment platform such as PayPal, or you can direct them to a fundraising page. Either way, the payment happens without cash or credit cards.

Contactless payments via QR Code can happen at any time, day or night. While QR Codes are extremely useful as a way for people to donate at fundraising events, they also enable donors to give independently, on their own schedule.

This also means that you don’t need to have a person who is carrying or monitoring a bunch of cash. QR Codes are safe for nonprofit staff on the ground. 

Share requests for donation through any medium

QR Codes don’t have a minimum scan distance, so you can use them on printed materials from small business cards to full-size billboard ads. You just need to ensure that the QR Code image is an appropriate size and image quality.

QR Codes for donation collection work on digital media too.

When you create your QR Code, it automatically comes with a short URL. This short URL reduces long links into a format that’s easy to remember or copy and paste. You can even customize it for additional branding.

Short URLs are ideal for nonprofit fundraising campaigns that operate across multiple channels, such as social media. Through the short URL, the user is still connected to the same QR Code content.

Gain insights that help improve future fundraising campaigns

There are two types of Quick Response Codes: Static and Dynamic. Whether you choose a Static or Dynamic QR Code depends on the kind of campaign you plan to run. 

Dynamic QR Codes have two big benefits: they collect tracking data, and you can edit them later on.

You can view all the times a QR Code was scanned by location, time scanned, mobile device used, and unique vs. total number of scans. This data makes it simple to understand how many donations a particular QR Code brought in, and via which medium.

Unlike Static QR Codes, you can update or edit Dynamic QR Codes at any time, without having to redesign your QR Code. You can even change the type of QR Code. For example, you could update a QR Code so that it links to a donation form instead of a PDF brochure. 

Share insight into the nonprofit’s mission to encourage donations

QR Codes are useful for much more than just donation collection. They enhance the entire fundraising event process.

You can use an Event QR Code to ticket your fundraising event or a Feedback QR Code to get feedback on how satisfied attendees were. With one quick scan, you can get instant insights into whether your events are reaching the right people with the right message.

You can also add interactive elements such as Video QR Codes or Social Media QR Codes to embed more information around the event. Sharing extra information—whether in the form of a landing page, PDF one-sheet, or FAQ—can reassure new donors and encourage them to give. 

How to create a QR Code

Custom QR Codes are fast and easy to create. You don’t need any tech or marketing expertise to generate QR Codes.

Here’s how to create a QR Code:

• Choose a QR Code tool. There are free QR Code generators out there, as well as more sophisticated tools for nonprofits and businesses.
  
  
• Choose what your QR Code will link to. This could be a nonprofit webpage, giving page, PDF, introductory video, or any other digital media you can think of.
  
  
• Drop your content or link into the generator.
  
  
• Choose custom details such as a frame, logo, shape, or brand color. 
  
  
• Download the QR Code in a file format and size that fits your needs.

One of the most common QR Code mistakes is choosing a design or file size that’s hard for your audience to scan. Once you’ve generated a QR Code, make sure you test it so that you can iron out any issues right away.

Best practices for creating QR Codes

When you create a QR Code, there are two things to keep in mind. First, you need the QR Code to be functional—wherever it’s printed and on whatever material. Second, you want it to be eye-catching.

With QR Code Generator PRO, you can create codes that use your brand colors, logo, or a custom frame. You can add a call to action that encourages people to scan the code. You can also download your codes in a range of file sizes so that they’re ready for print or digital. 

The most important element of a QR Code design is its size. If the code is too small, then people won’t be able to scan it from a distance. Check the recommended minimum QR Code size before you finalize any designs.

For more advice, check out our guide to short URLs and QR Code best practices. 

6 ways to use QR Codes for donation collection

QR Codes are a powerful, cost-effective way to collect donations (especially if you choose a QR Code generator that offers nonprofit plans).

You can also use them to raise awareness, share information, and recruit people as volunteers or subscribers.

To help you get off on the right foot, we’ve outlined some creative ways to collect donations and raise awareness with QR Codes.

#1 Poster ads

Billboards, posters, and other OOH ads can help you reach a huge audience. But, in the past, there was no way to collect donations on the spot.

QR Codes have changed that. 

For example, in 2022, suicide bereavement charity Suicide&Co created a hard-hitting campaign, taking letters written by people who’d lost loved ones to suicide and displaying them on billboards.

Anyone who was touched by the campaign could scan a QR Code to share their own letter, follow the campaign, or donate. 

#2 Brochures

Whether you’re handing them out at a fundraising event, sharing them at other venues, or mailing them directly to your target audience, brochures are the ideal place to use QR Codes.

The utility nonprofit Charity Navigator came up with an innovative letter-writing campaign to re-engage its lapsed donors. The organization posted handwritten cards with information about its work to past donors. Each mini brochure included a QR Code that led directly to its fundraising portal.

You can also use QR Codes to enhance other print material, like impact reports or annual reviews. They can link to multimedia, extra information, or a donation page.

#3 Giveaways

QR Code giveaways are a fun way to boost donations by giving your audience something in return. One affordable way to do this would be to partner with a company that sells products related to your cause.

For example, Coca-Cola linked up with hunger charity FareShare to run a Christmas giveaway and collect donations. Whenever a customer scanned the QR Code on their drink, they joined a prize draw for shopping vouchers—and Coca-Cola donated a meal.

#4 Videos

If you often run online events, you can integrate QR Codes with video conferencing calls through platforms like The Giving Room.

This nonprofit initiative partners with businesses and charities to display QR Codes for donation collection during video calls. People attending the call simply scan the code with their smartphones to donate.

#5 Fundraising events

Traditionally, fundraising events have focused on activities like charitable auctions and pledges. But with QR Codes, you can take things up a notch.

QR Codes on screens and posters around the venue mean that attendees can donate at any time, without needing cash or checks. Donations will come in right away, which means that you can display a live donation count to motivate people to keep giving.

If you’re running an auction (silent or live) as part of your fundraiser, you can use QR Codes to help potential donors quickly learn about the lots before they place bids. For silent auctions, you can introduce another layer of mystery to the proceedings by taking bids via QR Code as well. Bidders won’t know who else is interested when everyone is bidding on their phones!

#6 TV commercials

TV commercials are still one of the most powerful ways to send a message to a global audience. But there’s one problem: getting people to follow up after they’ve watched the ad.

QR Codes make it easier to convert viewers into donors, supporters, or service users because the process is so seamless. You can show a QR Code that leads to a donations portal or landing page at the end of the ad so viewers can get involved while it’s still fresh in their minds.

In 2023, the charity Dementia UK ran a TV ad to raise brand awareness and spread the word about its services. The goal was to help people with dementia recognize that they might need support. As soon as the ad finished, a QR Code showed up so that viewers could contact the charity right away.

The key to launching a successful QR Code donation campaign is a reliable and user-friendly QR Code generator

Nonprofits are always striving to do more with less. So if you’re planning to run a fundraising campaign with QR Codes, you’ll need a reliable QR Code tool with all the features you need in one place.

QR Code Generator PRO helps you create any type of QR Code, customize it, and track the resulting interactions. You can create editable QR Codes so that donors stay updated, resize codes for different media, and include custom branding to increase awareness of your organization. QR Code Generator PRO also offers dedicated pricing packages for nonprofits.

Sign up for QR Code Generator PRO and use QR Codes to drive more donations for your nonprofit.