Connecting PayPal

By the end of this guide, you'll have a PayPal Business account connected to GiveForms and be able to accept live PayPal and Venmo donations.

PayPal connects in addition to Stripe, not instead of it. Stripe handles cards, digital wallets, ACH, and recurring; PayPal adds PayPal balance and Venmo as donor-facing options. Roughly 10% of GiveForms donations are made through PayPal — connecting it is optional, but most organizations do.

Before you begin

You'll need an Admin role in GiveForms to connect payment processors.

If your nonprofit already has a PayPal Business account, that's the only prerequisite — make sure you can sign in with admin or owner access on PayPal's side. Skip ahead to the steps.

If you're creating a new PayPal Business account, also have these ready:

• Your nonprofit's EIN (or non-US equivalent tax ID).
• A bank account in your nonprofit's name, with routing and account numbers ready.
• An authorized representative with legal authority to act for the nonprofit. PayPal will ask for their full legal name, date of birth, home address, and last 4 of their SSN (US) or government-issued ID (international).
• Optionally, your IRS letter of determination. PayPal occasionally requests it during nonprofit confirmation.

A standard PayPal Personal account won't work — PayPal requires a Business account to integrate with third-party donation platforms.

Steps

1. Open Payment Settings

In the GiveForms admin, go to Settings → Payments.

2. Start the PayPal connection

Click Connect Your PayPal Account. You'll be redirected to PayPal's hosted onboarding flow.

3. Sign in to your PayPal Business account

If your nonprofit already has a PayPal Business account, sign in with the credentials of someone with admin or owner access.

If your nonprofit doesn't yet have a PayPal Business account, follow the prompts to create one. Use a shared inbox or role-based email (finance@yourorg.org) rather than a personal address — the email becomes the owner of the account, and personal emails create access risk if someone leaves.

During signup, choose Nonprofit Organization as the business type when prompted.

4. Authorize GiveForms

PayPal will ask you to grant GiveForms permission to process donations on your behalf. Review the permissions and approve.

5. Return to GiveForms

After authorizing, PayPal redirects you back to Settings → Payments. The PayPal section will show Connected along with your linked PayPal merchant ID.

Verify the connection

PayPal is connected and ready when:

• Settings → Payments shows PayPal: Connected with your merchant ID.
• PayPal and Venmo appear as available payment methods in the campaign builder.

PayPal donations can't currently be tested in preview mode the way Stripe transactions can. To verify the connection works, you'll need to make a small live donation through PayPal once your form is published.

Confirm your nonprofit status with PayPal

PayPal offers discounted pricing for confirmed 501(c)(3) organizations: 1.99% + $0.49 per donation, versus the standard 2.89% + $0.49.

To get the discounted rate, you need to confirm your nonprofit status directly with PayPal. Log into your PayPal account, navigate to your account profile, and follow PayPal's nonprofit confirmation process. PayPal will request your EIN and may ask for your IRS letter of determination.

The discount applies retroactively only from approval. Donations processed before approval pay standard rates.

What happens next

Once connected, your forms can accept:

• PayPal — donors pay from their PayPal balance, linked bank account, or saved cards within PayPal
• Venmo — US donors only, available on supported devices

The donor experience

When a donor selects PayPal on your donation form, a popup window opens and they sign into their PayPal account. They choose their funding source, confirm the transaction, and the popup closes — the donation completes back on your GiveForms form. Donors stay on your form throughout; they're never sent to a separate confirmation page.

Stripe vs. PayPal

If you haven't connected Stripe yet, do that first. Stripe handles the bulk of donation volume — cards, digital wallets, ACH, multi-currency, and recurring donations. PayPal adds PayPal and Venmo as donor-facing options for donors who prefer them. See Connecting Stripe.