DONATE Voting
Run a vote by donation
Supporters vote for your candidates by donating, online or by text, and a live board shows the standings on a big screen at your event.
- Every vote a fixed-price donation
- Votes online and by text
- A code, link and QR code for every candidate
- A live board on phones and on the big screen
- Optional voting window that opens and closes by itself
- Hide the counts for suspense
- Judges' points added to the public vote
- Podium reveal for the winners
Getting started
Voting lives in your DONATE portal and is open to every organisation. You add candidates, such as dancers, acts or decorated trees. Each one gets its own code, and every donation to a candidate is a vote for them. Supporters vote on your voting page or by text, and the page updates live, so you can put it on a big screen at your event.
Your votes in one place
The Voting page lists every vote with its status, its number of candidates, its votes, the amount raised and how the winner is decided.
How a vote works
- Every vote is a donation of a fixed amount, the candidate's vote price. Supporters can vote as many times as they like.
- You choose how the winner is decided: by the number of votes, or by the amount raised.
- Votes only count while voting is open. Outside that time DONATE refuses online and text votes, and nobody is charged.
- Text votes: before you put candidates' text codes on posters, email hello@nationalfundingscheme.org so we can check text voting is ready for each candidate.
Setting up your vote
Give your vote a name and choose how the winner is decided. Then add the words supporters read first and, if you like, a voting window. Every vote starts Not live, so nobody sees it until you switch it on.
Name it and choose
Click New vote, give it a name, and choose whether the number of donations or the amount raised decides the winner. Then click Create.
Tell supporters how it works
How the voting works is shown to supporters in a popup the first time they open your voting page. The QR code beside it opens that page.
Suspense and the voting window
Set the number of winners, choose whether vote counts show on the big screen, and set when voting opens and closes. Click Save window to keep the times.
The voting window
- The window is optional. With opening and closing times saved, a live vote opens and closes by itself on the clock. Without them, you open and close voting with the buttons at the top of the vote.
- The voting page shows the times in UK time, such as "Voting opens on Fri 11 Dec at 18:00".
- Vote counts on the big screen: switch this off for suspense. The public then sees the candidates but no numbers and no running order, until you reveal the results. You still see every count in the portal.
- Number of winners sets how many places show on the podium when you reveal the results. The top three get gold, silver and bronze cups.
- Big screen image: upload a landscape picture, such as your event logo, to show at the top of your voting page and the big screen in place of your organisation's name and the vote name.
Adding your candidates
Add each candidate on the Candidates tab, with a photo, a name, a short description and the price of a vote. Each candidate gets their own code, link and QR code, so they can gather their own supporters.
Add a candidate
Click Add candidate. Add a photo (portrait works best), a name and a description, and choose the Text donation amount, which is the price of one vote.
Every candidate and their code
The Candidates tab lists each candidate with their status and their own code. Reorder sets the order they appear on the board.
A code and QR code each
Open a candidate to see their code, their link and their QR code. Click Request a custom code to ask for a memorable code. An admin approves it.
Help candidates promote themselves
Promote shows a candidate's QR code and text instructions, with the cost line and the statement you must show wherever you promote a code.
Candidates
- The vote price is £1, £3, £5, £10, £20, £30 or £40. Each price has its own text number, for example 70970 for £5. Online, every vote costs the same price.
- Each candidate has a Live switch at the top of their panel. A candidate who is switched off is hidden from your voting page and cannot take online votes.
- If you switch a candidate off, take their code off your posters.
- A candidate can only be deleted if nobody has ever donated to them. Otherwise, switch them off.
- 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: the vote price plus the sender's standard network rate, for example "Texts cost £5 + standard network rates".
Check it before the night
There is no free test mode for votes. Instead, preview your voting page and big screen while the vote is Not live.
Preview every view
Preview opens the voting page that supporters see and the big screen for the venue, each in a new tab, with links to copy.
Safe ways to check
- The preview shows every candidate, including any you have switched off, so you can check them all before the night.
- Your voting page QR code and short link, easydonate.org/ followed by your vote's code, are safe to print now. Until the vote is Live they show an "opens soon" page.
- Once the vote is Live, a text to a candidate's code before voting opens gets a free reply saying voting has not opened yet. Nobody is charged. The reply only shows the code is recognised. It does not check the price or that votes by text will go through, so email us first as in Getting started.
- While the vote is Not live, the same text gets a reply saying voting has closed.
- A real vote costs real money and counts as a real donation. If you open voting early to try one, set your voting window afterwards, so that vote falls outside it and does not count.
Going live and opening voting
Turn the Live switch on to publish your voting page. Supporters can then see the candidates, but they cannot vote until voting opens, by itself at the time you set or when you click Open voting.
Go live, then open voting
With the vote Live, click Open voting. Votes count from that moment. With a voting window saved, voting opens by itself at the opening time.
Watch the votes arrive
While voting is open, the Candidates tab is your live board. It shows each candidate's position, votes and amount, and updates by itself.
Live and open
- Going Live needs at least one candidate. There is no confirmation box, and the vote is published at once.
- Live but not open: your voting page shows the candidates and "Voting opens soon", or the opening time if you saved one.
- You can take a vote offline again with the Live switch, unless its results have been revealed.
- The portal always shows the real counts, even when they are hidden from the public.
What supporters see
Supporters open your voting page by scanning the QR code or following your link. On a phone they see the board, a VOTE button for each candidate, and the way to vote by text.
How the voting works
The first time someone opens your voting page, your How the voting works text appears in a popup, with when voting opens.
Before voting opens
Before voting opens, the banner says when it will open. Supporters can tap a candidate to read about them.
The live board
Once voting is open, each candidate has a bar, their count and a VOTE button. The banner says when voting closes.
Choose how many votes
VOTE opens the candidate's card with their photo and story. Supporters choose how many votes they want and see the total. The text option is underneath.
Card, wallet or PayPal
Online, supporters pay by card or PayPal. Chrome also offers Google Pay, and Safari offers Apple Pay.
Email, terms, and pay
Supporters give their email address and agree to the terms, then pay. Their votes land on the board when the payment goes through.
A candidate's own link
A candidate's own link or QR code opens your voting page with that candidate picked, so their supporters vote for the right one.
Voting by text
- Supporters text a candidate's code to the number for their vote price, for example SCOUTS to 70970 for a £5 vote. Each text is one vote.
- For several votes in one go, they add the number and the word VOTES, for example SCOUTS 3 VOTES. Each vote is charged as its own text, up to £40 in one go. Candidates priced over £10 take one vote per text.
- Text voters get a thank-you text. With several votes, they get a text for each one.
- The voting page shows the text option under each candidate's card, with the price per vote plus the standard network rate.
Voting online
- Supporters can buy up to 100 votes in one payment.
- On a laptop or desktop, the board picks out each candidate in turn beside the bars, with a VOTE button.
The big screen
Open the big screen view on the venue laptop or projector. It has no buttons, fits the board to the screen and updates as votes arrive.
The board on the big screen
The big screen shows every candidate's bar and count, and when voting closes. Tap a row to show that candidate beside the board.
The venue screen
- Copy the big screen link from Big screen links on the Settings tab. It looks like easydonate.org/vote/ followed by a long id and ?view=display. Your short link, such as easydonate.org/TREES, does not open the big screen view.
- Plug the laptop in, turn off sleep and the screensaver, and put the browser full screen before your doors open.
- The screen updates live. If the connection drops, it checks again every minute, and straight away when the page is brought back into view.
Closing, judges and the reveal
Voting closes at your closing time or when you click Close voting. If you have judges, add their points. Then reveal the results on the big screen.
Voting has closed
When voting closes, the big screen says the scores are being finalised and shows every candidate, with no numbers.
Add the judges' points
Once voting has closed, Judges' decision appears. 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, public votes plus the judges' points.
The podium on screen
The big screen shows the winners on a podium, first place largest, with gold, silver and bronze cups, and every other candidate beside them. Here the counts are hidden.
The final order in the portal
The portal shows the final positions. To change the judges' points, click Back to live board first.
Closing and revealing
- Once voting closes, DONATE refuses new online and text votes and charges nobody.
- Re-open voting opens it again from that moment. Votes tried while it was closed were refused, so they do not come back. A re-opened vote no longer closes by itself, so click Close voting when you are done.
- Judges' points add to the public vote in the same units, votes or pounds, depending on how your winner is decided. The panel keeps one set of points for all your judges.
- You can only reveal once voting has closed. Revealing locks the order of public votes plus judges' points.
- Back to live board takes the reveal down. The big screen goes back to saying the scores are being finalised, and you can change the judges' points and reveal again.
- After the reveal, how the winner is decided can no longer be changed.
- Using judges' points? Switch off Vote counts on the big screen before you reveal.
Payouts, Gift Aid and fees
Every vote is a donation to your organisation. It is paid out with your other income, through your usual DONATE payouts.
Gift Aid
- Online votes are taken without Gift Aid.
- A text vote's thank-you text has a link where a UK taxpayer can add Gift Aid to their vote. Gift Aid is only claimed for charities.
- DONATE claims it and pays it to you with your payout. Do not claim Gift Aid on these payments yourself as well.
Fees
- There is no set-up fee. Each vote is charged at DONATE's donation rates, the same as a campaign.
- Without Gift Aid: 4.5 per cent of the donation plus 22p for charities, or 5 per cent plus 22p for organisations that are not charities.
- With Gift Aid: 40 per cent of the Gift Aid plus 22p, and no percentage is taken from the donation itself.
- Each text vote is its own payment with its own 22p. Several votes bought online in one payment carry one 22p, so they cost less in fees.
- Charges on each payout: a usage fee of £3 for each week (Monday to Sunday) in which your organisation receives £10 or more, and a transfer charge of 0.5 per cent of the payout (at least £3) plus £7.50. Organisations without charity rates pay 1.5 per cent plus £7.50.
Settings reference
New vote
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Shown on your voting page and the big screen. | Required |
| Winner decided by | Number of donations (1 donation = 1 vote), or Amount raised. | Number of donations |
Settings
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Shown on your voting page and the big screen. | The name you gave |
| How the voting works | Shown to supporters in a popup the first time they open your voting page, and from the How the voting works link. | Empty |
| Winner decided by | Number of donations, or Amount raised. Locked once the results are revealed. | Your choice at New vote |
| Number of winners | Places on the podium when you reveal. From 1 to 50. The top three get cups. | 3 |
| Vote counts on the big screen | Off hides every count and the running order from the public until you reveal. The portal always shows them. | Shown |
| Voting window | Opening and closing times. Votes only count between them. Saved with Save window. | Empty |
| Big screen image | Shown on the big screen and voting page instead of your organisation's name and the vote name. Landscape works best. | None |
| Big screen links | Open or copy the voting page and the big screen view. | |
| Voting page QR code | Scans to your vote's short link. Safe to print before you go Live. | Automatic |
Candidate
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Live | Off hides the candidate from your voting page and stops online votes. | 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 on your voting page. | Optional |
| Text donation amount | The price of one vote, online and by text. £1, £3, £5, £10, £20, £30 or £40. | £10 |
| Donation code | The code supporters text, and the candidate's own link. Request a custom code; an admin approves it. | Automatic |
| Donate QR code | Scans to the candidate's own link. | 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 donate to back the candidate they want to win, and the candidate with 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. Add your candidates with a photo and a vote price, switch the vote Live, and open voting. Supporters vote on your voting page or by text, and you reveal the results on the big screen.
- How much does a vote cost a supporter?
- Each candidate has a vote price of £1, £3, £5, £10, £20, £30 or £40. Every vote online costs that price. A text costs the vote price plus the sender's standard network rate.
- Can someone vote more than once?
- Yes. Supporters can vote as many times as they like, and buy up to 100 votes in one online payment. By text, they add the number and the word VOTES after the code, for example SCOUTS 3 VOTES.
- Can people vote before voting opens or after it closes?
- No. DONATE refuses online and text votes outside voting time and nobody is charged. Text voters get a reply saying voting has not opened yet, or has closed.
- Can I try it before the night?
- There is no free test mode for votes. Preview your voting page and big screen while the vote is Not live. Once the vote is Live, a text to a code before voting opens gets a free reply, which shows the code is recognised. A real vote is a real donation. If you open voting early to try one, set your voting window afterwards so it does not count.
- How do I keep the result a secret until the end?
- On the Settings tab, switch off Vote counts on the big screen. The public then sees the candidates but no numbers and no running order until you reveal the results. You still see every count in the portal.
- How do judges' points work?
- Once voting has closed, type each candidate's points in Judges' decision and click Save judges' points. The points add to the public votes, or to the pounds raised, and the total decides the final order.
- How do I show the vote on a big screen?
- Click Big screen links on the Settings tab and open Big screen on the venue laptop. It has no buttons, fits the screen and updates as votes arrive.
- Can I change the result after I reveal it?
- Click Back to live board, change the judges' points and save them, then click Reveal results again. The public votes themselves cannot be changed.
- Can I remove a candidate?
- You can delete a candidate only if nobody has ever donated to them. Otherwise switch them off. A switched off candidate is hidden from your voting page and cannot take online votes. Take their code off your posters too.
- Can supporters add Gift Aid to their votes?
- Online votes are taken without Gift Aid. A text vote's thank-you text has a link where a UK taxpayer can add Gift Aid. Gift Aid is only claimed for charities. DONATE claims it and pays it to you with your payout. Do not claim Gift Aid on these payments yourself as well.
- What does it cost to run a vote with DONATE?
- There is no set-up fee. Each vote carries DONATE's donation fee: 4.5 per cent plus 22p for charities, or 5 per cent plus 22p for other organisations. With Gift Aid it is 40 per cent of the Gift Aid plus 22p. Each payout also carries a usage fee of £3 for each week in which you receive £10 or more, and a transfer charge. See Payouts, Gift Aid and fees.
- When do we receive the money?
- Every vote is a donation to your organisation, paid out with your other income through your usual DONATE payouts.