PayPal Community

Evelena72 · ‎Jun-16-2013

Hello! My fiance and I have set up a Honeymoon registry and would like to use PayPal as a way that our guests can give us gifts. I saw the section for donations, but we aren't a charity...Does anyone have any insite on this? Are there any restrictions to using PayPal in this manner?

Thanks!

snowshoe · ‎Jun-16-2013

In the past this was not an issue as probably 1000's of people currently have donation buttons on their web sites and blogs and they are not nonprofits or registered 501(c)(3) organizations, just individuals.   Things have changed as there's new tax laws to deal with, accounts must be verified, etc.   All US financial institutions such as banks, credit card issues and 3rd party transaction processors such as PayPal are required by law to reasonably verify the identity of the person behind any and all Accounts into which money is collected.

As stated by PayPal.
"This button is intended for fundraising.   If you are not raising money for a cause, please choose another option.   Nonprofits and or must verify their status to withdraw donations they receive.   Users that are not verified nonprofits must demonstrate how their donations will be used, once they raise more than $10,000."

One easy option is to use a Buy Now item button.   You can code it so an amount can be entered right on the PayPal Screen.   You can also use the the Shipping Override Variables so as not to charge any shipping if you have a shipping method setup for other purposes.   Using a Buy Now type button allows people to give you funds without having a PayPal Account.    Note, you would still pay the standard transaction processing fees, same as selling an item and you must have either a Premier or Business Account, a Personal Account won't work.

Another easy option would be to have people use the send money feature.   Of course they would have to have a PayPal Account and if they send the funds as a gift assuming they don't use a credit card, there would be no fees unless the funds are being sent out of the country.

Below are two examples of how to use a Buy Now item button. The first example is a text link and the second example is an HTML Form. Both examples allow you to enter any amount on the PayPal Screens. Just enter the amount and click on "Update". Both examples should provide you with a few coding ideas.

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd">
<html>
<head>

<title>Button Example Code</title>

<!-- START META TAG SECTION -->
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8">
<meta http-equiv="Content-Language" content="en">
<!-- END META TAG SECTION -->



</head>

<body>

<!-- START SAMPLE CODE SECTION -->


<!-- PARAGRAPH 1 -->
Donation Examples

<br><br>

Don't qualify as Nonprofit or 501(c)(3) Organization Option.

<br><br>

Notes:
<br>
In the past this was not an issue as probably 1000's of people currently have donation buttons on their web sites and blogs and they are not nonprofits or registered   501(c)(3) organizations, just individuals.&nbsp;&nbsp; Things have changed as there's new tax laws to deal with, accounts must be verified, etc.&nbsp;&nbsp; All US financial institutions such as banks, credit card issues and 3rd party transaction processors such as PayPal are required by law to reasonably verify the identity of the person behind any and all Accounts into which money is collected.
 
<br><br>

As stated by PayPal.
<br>
&quot;<i>This button is intended for fundraising.&nbsp;&nbsp; If you are not raising money for a cause, please choose another option.&nbsp;&nbsp; Nonprofits and or must verify their status to withdraw donations they receive.&nbsp;&nbsp; Users that are not verified nonprofits must demonstrate how their donations will be used, once they raise more than $10,000.</i>&quot;

<br><br>

One easy option is to use a Buy Now item button.&nbsp;&nbsp; You can code it so an amount can be entered right on the PayPal Screen.&nbsp;&nbsp; You can also use the the Shipping Override Variables so as not to charge any shipping if you have a shipping method setup for other purposes.&nbsp;&nbsp; Using a Buy Now type button allows people to give you funds without having a PayPal Account.&nbsp;&nbsp;  Note, you would still pay the standard transaction processing fees, same as selling an item and you must have either a Premier or Business Account, a Personal Account won't work.

<br><br>

Another easy option would be to have people use the send money feature.&nbsp;&nbsp; Of course they would have to have a PayPal Account and if they send the funds as a gift assuming they don't use a credit card, there would be no fees unless the funds are being sent out of the country.

<br><br>
<hr align="left" width="50%" noshade>
<br>

Below are two examples of how to use a Buy Now item button.&nbsp;&nbsp;  The first example is a text link and the second example is an HTML Form.&nbsp;&nbsp;  Both examples allow you to enter any amount on the PayPal Screens.&nbsp;&nbsp; Just enter the amount and click on &quot;Update&quot;.&nbsp;&nbsp;  Both examples should provide you with a few coding ideas.


<br><br>
<hr align="left" width="50%" noshade>
<br>


<!-- Start Buy Now Text Link Form -->

<a href=
"https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_xclick&business=your email address&item_name=Widget Game Support&item_number=WGS-1001&amount&no_shipping=1&on0=Donation&os0=Game Server &return=http://www.yourwebsite.com/ThankYou.html&cancel_return=http://www.yourwebsite/Cancel.html&shipping=0... &target="_self">Donate - Support our Game Server</a>

<!-- End Buy Now Text Link Form --> 

<br><br>
<hr align="left" width="50%" noshade>
<br>

<!-- Start of Buy Now Form -->
Donate - Support our Game Server
<br><br>
<form target="_self" action="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr" method="post">
<!-- If using a Business or Company Logo Graphic, include the "cpp_header_image" variable in your View Cart code. -->
<input type="hidden" name="cpp_header_image" value="https://yourwebsite.com/logo.jpg">
<input type="hidden" name="cmd" value="_xclick">
<!-- Replace "business" value with your PayPal Email Address or Account ID -->
<input type="hidden" name="business" value="your email address">
<!--  -->
<input type="hidden" name="item_name" value="Widget Game Support">
<input type="hidden" name="item_number" value="WGS-1001">
<input type="hidden" name="on0" value="Donation">
<input type="hidden" name="os0" value="Game Server">
<!-- Allows you to enter Amount on Checkout Screen -->
<input type="hidden" name="amount">
<!--  -->
<input type="hidden" name="no_shipping" value="1">
<input type="hidden" name="shipping" value="0.00">
<input type="hidden" name="tax" value="0.00">
<!-- Replace value with the web page you want the customer to return to after a successful transaction -->
<input type="hidden" name="return" value="http://www.yourwebsite.com/ThankYou.html">
<!-- Replace value with the web page you want the customer to return to after item cancellation -->
<input type="hidden" name="cancel_return" value="http://www.yourwebsite.com/Cancel.html">
<input type="hidden" name="currency_code" value="USD">
<input type="hidden" name="lc" value="US">
<input type="hidden" name="button_subtype" value="products">
<input type="hidden" name="bn" value="PP-DonationsBF:btn_donateCC_LG.gif:NonHosted">
<input type="image" src="https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/btn/btn_donateCC_LG.gif" border="0" name="submit" alt="PayPal - The safer, easier way to pay online!">
<img alt="" border="0" src="https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/scr/pixel.gif" width="1" height="1">
</form>
<!-- End of Buy Now Form -->


<!-- END BUTTON EXAMPLES -->



<!-- END SAMPLE CODE SECTION -->


<br><br><br><br>
<hr align="left" width="50%" noshade>
<br><br>
NOTES:
<br>
In order to test the code, you must replace the &quot;business&quot; value variable with your PayPal Email Address or Account ID.


</body>
</html>

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