DONATE Voting
Run a vote
Supporters vote for your candidates, by donation at a fixed price per vote, online or by text, or in a free vote, once per email address. A live board shows the standings on a big screen.
- { "One price per vote": "£1, £3, £5, £10, £20, £30 or £40" }
- Or a free vote, one per email address, with no money
- Votes online and by text
- A code, link and QR code for every candidate
- A live board on phones and on the big screen
- Photo grid to keep the counts secret
- Judges' points added to the public vote
- Podium reveal for the winners
Updated
How it works
Voting lives in your DONATE portal and is open to every organisation. You add candidates, such as dancers, acts or decorated trees. In a vote by donation, every vote for a candidate is a payment at your price per vote. In a free vote, people vote once per email address and no money changes hands. A live board shows the standings on phones and on a big screen at your event.
A vote in six steps
- Create the vote: a name, how the winner is decided, the price per vote and the big screen.
- Add your candidates. Each gets a code, a link and a QR code.
- Preview it, switch the vote Live, and share your links.
- Open voting, by hand or at the time you set. Supporters vote online or by text.
- Close voting, add any judges' points, then reveal the winners on the big screen.
- The money reaches you with your usual DONATE payouts.
A free vote
- Choose Free vote under How people vote when you create the vote. People vote once per email address, confirmed by a code we email them. No money changes hands.
- Use it for anything you want people to choose, such as a school council, an award or a charity of the year.
- Candidates, the live board, the big screen, judges' points and the reveal all work as in a vote by donation. There is no price, no text voting and nothing to pay out.
What supporters see
Supporters scan a QR code or follow your link. They need no account and no app. Each candidate has a VOTE button while voting is open.
Voting online
- Supporters choose how many votes they want, up to 100 in one payment, and pay by card, PayPal, Apple Pay or Google Pay.
- Their votes land on the board when the payment goes through.
- The first time someone opens your voting page, your How the voting works text shows in a popup.
- While voting is open, they can refund their own votes by logging in at easydonate.org/login with the email they paid with (see Fees and refunds).
Voting by text
- Supporters text a candidate's code to the number for your price, for example SCOUTS to 70970 for £5 votes. Each text is one vote.
- For several votes they add the number, for example SCOUTS 3 VOTES. Each vote is charged as its own text, up to £40 in one go. Votes over £10 are one per text.
- Outside voting time, to a switched off candidate, or to the wrong price number, a text gets a free reply and nobody is charged.
Gift Aid
- A paid vote buys the right to vote, so HMRC does not count it as a gift.
- The voting page does not offer Gift Aid, and neither does the thank-you text.
- Do not claim Gift Aid on vote payments yourself.
Voting in a free vote
- Supporters tap VOTE on the candidate they want, enter their email address and tap Send my code.
- We email them a 6-digit code. It works for 15 minutes. They type it in and tap Count my vote.
- One vote per email address. Coming back with the same address changes their vote, until voting closes. The latest vote counts.
- There is no payment and no text voting. A text to a candidate's code is not counted, and nobody is charged.
- DONATE does not keep their email address, and you never see who voted.
- Anyone with your link can vote, so share it where you want votes from. Someone with two email addresses could vote twice.
The board on a phone
Each candidate's bar, count and VOTE button, with when voting closes.
Choose how many votes
VOTE opens the candidate's card. Supporters pick a number of votes and see the total, with the text option underneath.
Create the vote
Click New vote on the Voting page. Every vote starts Not live, so nobody sees it until you switch it on. The rest of the settings are on the vote's Settings tab.
Price per vote
- A free vote has no price. The rest of this panel is for a vote by donation.
- One price for every candidate, online and by text: £1, £3, £5, £10, £20, £30 or £40.
- Each price has its own text number, so set it before you print any codes.
- Change it in Settings until a vote is paid for or the results are revealed. Then it is locked.
The other choices
- How people vote: Vote by donation or Free vote. You can change it until the vote is first published. Then it is fixed.
- Winner decided by: "Number of donations (1 donation = 1 vote)" or "Amount raised". A payment for 3 votes counts as 3. It cannot change after the reveal. A free vote is always decided by the number of votes.
- Big screen: Live graph shows every count as votes come in. Photo grid shows the public no numbers and no running order until you reveal. You always see the counts in the portal.
- Voting window: optional opening and closing times, saved with Save window. Without them you use Open voting and Close voting.
- Number of winners sets the places on the podium. The top three get gold, silver and bronze cups.
- How the voting works is the popup supporters read first. Big screen image puts your event logo at the top of the page.
Name it and set the price
Name the vote, choose how the winner is decided, set the price per vote and choose the big screen.
Settings and voting window
On the Settings tab, the price, the big screen, the number of winners and the voting window.
Add your candidates
Add each candidate on the Candidates tab with a photo, a name and a short description. There is no price to set: every candidate takes the vote's price per vote.
Codes and candidates
- Each candidate gets a code, a link and a QR code. Their link opens your voting page with them picked.
- Request a custom code, such as SCOUTS. An admin approves it.
- Choose codes that look different from each other. A mistyped code can mean a vote for the wrong candidate.
- Wherever you show a code, show what a text costs, for example "Texts cost £5 + standard network rates". Promote gives you the words.
- A candidate switched off with their Live switch is hidden from your voting page and takes no votes. Take their code off your posters.
- In a free vote, a candidate's code is only their link. Texting it does nothing, and Promote gives your vote page link and QR code instead.
- A candidate can only be deleted if no payment has ever been made or tried for them, or, in a free vote, nobody has voted for them. Otherwise, switch them off.
- Reorder sets the order on the board. It is not offered once voting has closed.
Add a candidate
A photo (portrait works best), a name and a description. The form shows the vote's price.
A code and QR code
Open a candidate to see their code, link and QR code, or to request a custom code.
Help candidates promote themselves
Promote shows the QR code, the text instructions and the words you must show with every code.
Go live
Check your pages, switch the vote Live, then open voting when the time comes.
Before and on the night
- There is no test vote. A vote is only taken while voting is open, and then it is real, a payment in a vote by donation.
- Preview shows your voting page and big screen before the vote is Live, with every candidate, even ones switched off.
- Your voting page QR code and short link are safe to print now. Until the vote is Live they show a coming soon page.
- The Live switch publishes your voting page at once, with no confirmation box. It needs at least one candidate.
- Live is not open. Supporters see the candidates and when voting opens, but cannot vote yet.
- Open voting starts it now. With a voting window saved, it opens and closes by itself.
Preview every view
Preview opens the voting page and the big screen in new tabs, with links to copy.
Open voting on the night
With the vote Live, click Open voting and confirm. Votes count from that moment.
During the vote
Your Candidates tab is the live board, and the big screen at the venue updates as votes arrive.
The live board and the venue screen
- The portal always shows the real counts, and the amount raised in a vote by donation, even with Photo grid.
- Open the big screen from Big screen links on the Settings tab or from Preview. Your short link does not open the big screen view.
- Plug the venue laptop in, turn off sleep, and put the browser full screen before doors open.
- Close voting stops votes at once, online and by text. Re-open voting starts it again, and then it no longer closes by itself.
Watch the votes arrive
Each candidate's position, votes and amount, updating by itself.
The board on the big screen
No buttons, fitted to the screen. Tap a row to show that candidate beside the board.
Close and reveal
Once voting has closed, add any judges' points, then reveal the winners on the big screen.
Judges and the reveal
- Judges' points add to the public vote in the same units, votes or pounds. One set of points covers all your judges.
- Reveal results is only offered once voting has closed. The final order is public votes plus the judges' points.
- To change the points after the reveal, click Back to live board, save the new points, and reveal again.
- The public votes themselves cannot be changed.
- A revealed vote cannot be taken offline until you click Back to live board.
Add the judges' points
Type each candidate's points, check the order, and click Save judges' points.
Reveal the results
Click Reveal results and confirm. The big screen switches to the final positions.
The podium on screen
The winners on a podium with gold, silver and bronze cups, and everyone else beside them. Each shows public votes plus the judges' points.
Fees and refunds
There is nothing to pay to set up a vote. Fees come off each payment, and the money reaches you through your usual DONATE payouts. For Gift Aid, see What supporters see. A free vote takes no payments, so it has no fees and nothing to pay out.
Fees
- Charities, and companies raising for charities: 4.5 per cent of each payment plus 22p.
- Other organisations: 5 per cent of each payment plus 22p.
- Each text vote is its own payment with its own 22p. Several votes bought online in one payment carry one 22p.
- Charges on each payout: a usage fee of £3 for each week (Monday to Sunday) in which your organisation receives £10 or more (at most £12 a month), and a transfer charge of £7.50 plus 0.5 per cent of the payout for charities and companies raising for charities, or 1.5 per cent for other organisations (at least £3 either way).
Refunds
- Supporters refund their own votes by logging in at easydonate.org/login with the email they paid with and opening Donations, while voting is open and the payment is not yet in a payout to you. This works for card, Apple Pay and Google Pay. The whole payment goes back.
- DONATE emails them "Your refund of £10.00 to Oroojo", with your name in place of Oroojo. Your organisation is not emailed.
- For a vote paid by PayPal, or once voting has closed, the supporter asks you. While the payment is not yet in a payout, email hello@nationalfundingscheme.org and DONATE refunds it.
- Text votes are never refunded.
- Once the payment is in a payout, the supporter sees "This payment has been passed to Oroojo. Ask them about a refund." DONATE cannot refund it then, so you refund them yourself.
- A vote refunded through DONATE no longer counts on the board. A vote you refund yourself still counts.
Settings reference
Settings
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Shown on your voting page and the big screen. | The name you gave at New vote |
| How the voting works | A popup the first time a supporter opens your voting page. | Empty |
| How people vote | Vote by donation or Free vote. Fixed once the vote has been published. | Vote by donation |
| Winner decided by | Number of donations or Amount raised. Locked once the results are revealed. A free vote is decided by the number of votes. | Number of donations |
| Price per vote | £1, £3, £5, £10, £20, £30 or £40, for every candidate, online and by text. Locked once a vote is paid for or the results are revealed. Not used in a free vote. | £10 |
| Big screen | Live graph shows every count. Photo grid shows the public no counts and no running order until the reveal. | Live graph |
| Number of winners | Places on the podium. From 1 to 50. | 3 |
| Voting window | Opening and closing times. Votes only count between them. Saved with Save window. | Empty |
| Big screen image | Shown at the top of the voting page and big screen instead of your names. Landscape works best. | None |
Candidate
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Live | Off hides the candidate and stops online and text votes for them. | On |
| Photo | Shown large on the voting page and the big screen. Portrait works best. | None |
| Name | Shown on the board, the big screen and the podium. | Required |
| Candidate description | Shown on the candidate's card. | Optional |
| Donation code | The code supporters text, and the candidate's own link. Request a custom code; an admin approves it. | Automatic |
Buttons at the top of a vote
| Button | When it shows | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Live switch | Always | Publishes your voting page, or takes it offline. |
| Open voting | Live, before voting opens | Opens voting now. |
| Close voting | While voting is open | Closes voting now. |
| Re-open voting | After voting closes, before the reveal | Opens voting again from now. |
| Reveal results | After voting closes | Shows the final positions on the big screen. |
| Back to live board | After the reveal | Takes the reveal down so you can change the judges' points. |
Questions
- How is a vote different from a raffle?
- In a vote, supporters pay to back the candidate they want to win, and the most votes or money wins, with any judges' points added. In a raffle, people buy tickets for a chance to win a prize, and winners are drawn at random.
- How do I run a vote by donation?
- In your DONATE portal, click Voting, then New vote. Set the price per vote, add your candidates, switch the vote Live and open voting. Supporters vote online or by text, and you reveal the winners on the big screen.
- How much does a vote cost a supporter?
- Your price per vote: £1, £3, £5, £10, £20, £30 or £40, the same for every candidate. A text costs that plus the sender's standard network rate. The price is locked once a vote is paid for or the results are revealed.
- Can someone vote more than once?
- In a vote by donation, yes, as often as they like. Online they can buy up to 100 votes in one payment. By text they add the number, for example SCOUTS 3 VOTES.
- Can people vote before voting opens or after it closes?
- No. Online votes are refused, and a text gets a free reply. Nobody is charged.
- Can I try it before the night?
- Preview your voting page and big screen while the vote is Not live. There is no test vote, because a vote is only taken while voting is open, and then it is a real payment.
- How do I keep the result a secret until the end?
- Choose Photo grid under Big screen. The public then sees no numbers and no running order until you reveal. You still see every count in the portal.
- Can supporters add Gift Aid to their votes?
- A paid vote buys the right to vote, so HMRC does not count it as a gift. The voting page and the thank-you text do not offer Gift Aid. Do not claim it on vote payments yourself.
- Can a vote be refunded?
- Text votes never. While voting is open, a supporter refunds a card, Apple Pay or Google Pay vote themselves at easydonate.org/login, until the money is in a payout to you. For PayPal or after voting closes, email hello@nationalfundingscheme.org while it is not yet in a payout. After that, you refund them yourself.
- Can I run a vote without asking for money?
- Yes. Choose Free vote under How people vote when you create it. People vote once per email address, confirmed by a code we email them, and nothing is paid or charged.
- How does a free vote stop people voting twice?
- Each email address has one vote, confirmed by a code sent to it. Voting again with the same address changes the vote rather than adding one. Someone with two email addresses could vote twice, so share your link where you want votes from.
- Can someone change their vote in a free vote?
- Yes, until voting closes. They vote again with the same email address and a new code, and the latest vote counts.
- Do I see who voted in a free vote?
- No. DONATE does not keep voters' email addresses, and the portal shows only how many votes each candidate has.
- Can I change the result after I reveal it?
- Click Back to live board, change the judges' points, save them, and reveal again. The public votes themselves cannot be changed.
- What does it cost to run a vote with DONATE?
- Nothing to set up. Charities, and companies raising for charities: 4.5 per cent of each payment plus 22p. Other organisations: 5 per cent of each payment plus 22p. Your payouts carry the charges in Fees and refunds.