By the end of this guide, you'll have a Stripe account connected to GiveForms and be able to accept live donations through cards, digital wallets, and ACH.

GiveForms runs on Stripe Connect. Stripe processes donations on your behalf, handles compliance, and pays out directly to your nonprofit's bank account. You keep ownership of your Stripe account and can log into Stripe directly at any time.

Before you begin

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

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

If you're creating a new Stripe 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 signer — a board member or officer with legal authority to act for the nonprofit. You'll need 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. Stripe occasionally requests it.

If your nonprofit is brand new and doesn't yet have an EIN or bank account, finish those first. Stripe Connect can't be set up partially.

Steps

1. Open Payment Settings

In the GiveForms admin, go to Settings → Payments.

2. Start the Stripe connection

Click Connect Stripe. You'll be redirected to Stripe's hosted onboarding flow.

3. Sign in to your Stripe account

If your nonprofit already has a Stripe account, sign in with the credentials of someone who has admin or owner access. Standard team members may not have permission to authorize a Connect connection.

If your nonprofit doesn't yet have a Stripe account, click Create a new account and follow the prompts. 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.

4. Provide your nonprofit's details

Stripe will ask for:

Legal business name (must match your IRS records exactly)
EIN
Business address
Business website
Bank routing and account numbers

Use your exact legal name as it appears on your IRS letter of determination. Name mismatches are the single most common reason verifications stall.

5. Provide the authorized signer's information

This is the person with legal authority to act on the nonprofit's behalf — typically an executive director, CFO, or board officer. Stripe will ask for their full legal name, date of birth, home address, and last 4 of their SSN (US) or ID (international).

Stripe is required by federal law to verify the identity of every account's responsible party. The information goes to Stripe, not GiveForms.

6. Submit and return to GiveForms

After submitting, Stripe redirects you back to Settings → Payments. The Stripe section will show one of three states: Connected, Pending verification, or Action required.

Verify the connection

Stripe is connected and ready when:

Settings → Payments shows Stripe: Connected with your linked account ID.
Cards, digital wallets, and ACH appear as available payment methods in the campaign builder.

To confirm the form processes payments end-to-end:

Go to Campaigns and open the campaign you want to test.
Open the form editor (page or popup).
Click the Preview icon (play button) in the top bar.
Use Stripe's test card 4242 4242 4242 4242 with any future expiration and any CVC.
The form should reach the success state without error.

Test transactions don't appear in the Activity Dashboard.

Troubleshooting

State is Pending verification. Stripe is still reviewing your documents. Most verifications complete within 24 hours. If yours takes longer, log into Stripe directly and check the dashboard for additional document requests.

State is Action required. Stripe needs more information — usually a clarification on the legal business name, EIN, or signer. Open the Stripe link in Settings → Payments and follow the prompts.

No Connect Stripe button appears. Confirm your role is Admin. Viewers can't see payment configuration.

Your nonprofit isn't based in the US. Stripe Connect supports many countries, but available payment methods and fees vary. Check Stripe's country support documentation for current coverage.

What happens next

Once connected, your forms can accept:

Cards — Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, Diners Club, and JCB
Digital wallets — Apple Pay and Google Pay, shown automatically on supported devices
ACH bank transfers for US donors
Multi-currency donations with auto-currency detection
Recurring donations — monthly and annual, with Stripe handling subscription billing

On the operational side:

Payouts to your nonprofit's bank account begin on Stripe's default 2-business-day rolling schedule. You can change the schedule in your Stripe dashboard.
Donations, refunds, and payouts appear in the Activity Dashboard in real time.

PayPal connects separately. To accept PayPal donations, follow Connecting PayPal.

Apply for nonprofit pricing

Stripe charges 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction by default. Stripe offers discounted pricing for registered nonprofits — apply once your account is verified by following Stripe's nonprofit fee discount process. The discount applies retroactively only from approval; donations processed before approval pay standard rates.

GiveForms Docs

Connecting Stripe