How to collect donations online for your NGO in Kenya

Many Kenyan NGOs, churches and community groups still collect donations by sharing a paybill number in a poster and hoping supporters remember the account number. A donation website does more: it tells your story, shows supporters what their money does, and lets them give in under a minute with M-PESA. This guide covers setting one up on Menengai Cloud.

What a good donation site needs

• A clear mission. What you do, for whom, and where, all in the first screen.
• Specific campaigns. "Help us drill a borehole in Kitui" raises more than "Donate to us".
• Easy giving. M-PESA, suggested amounts, and as few steps as possible.
• Proof of impact. Numbers, photos and stories that show the money is well used.

1. Create a donation site

A donation (NGO) site starts with a home page built for fundraising: a hero, your programmes, your impact, your campaigns and a contact section. Its settings menu is shorter than a shop's, without the catalog and delivery sections. See the Overview.

In General, set your organisation's name and a short description. In the Editor, set your colours and fonts, then fill in each section with your own words and photos.

2. Set up your campaigns

Each campaign is something specific supporters can give to. For each one you can set:

• Title and description. Say what the money is for and who benefits.
• An image. A real photo from your work, not a stock picture.
• A goal amount (optional). The site shows progress towards it as donations come in, and a visible goal encourages people to help close the gap.
• Suggested amounts, for example KES 200, 500 and 1,000. Suggested amounts make it quicker to decide and tend to raise the average gift.
• A custom amount, so supporters can give what they like, with an optional minimum.

Run one main campaign at a time on your home page, and keep the others for specific appeals you share separately.

3. Take donations with M-PESA

Donations are paid like any order, so set up Payments first:

• Manual M-PESA works with your existing till or paybill on every plan. You confirm each gift when it arrives.
• STK push sends the donor a payment prompt on their phone and records the gift automatically once Safaricom confirms it. It needs the Hobby plan and your organisation's own Safaricom Daraja app.

Either way, the money goes directly to your organisation's till or paybill. The M-PESA payments guide explains both.

Donors can also add a dedication, for example in memory of a loved one, and it's saved with their gift.

4. Show your impact

Supporters give again when they can see results:

• Keep the impact section current with real numbers: children supported, meals served, trees planted.
• Post updates on your Blog (Hobby plan and above): progress photos, stories, and thanks when a campaign reaches its goal.
• Share each update with a link back to the campaign.

5. Spread the word

• Put your donation link in your WhatsApp Status, social media bios and email signature.
• Use your own domain, such as yourorganisation.or.ke, so supporters trust the link. See using your own domain.
• Share a link to a specific campaign, not just your home page, when you make an appeal.