Fundraising Tools: Donations, Raffles, Sponsorships, and Shop

Overview

CompleteEvent includes four built-in fundraising tools in every event dashboard. Each tool connects to your organization’s Stripe account so funds go directly to you. The platform fee for your plan applies to each paid charge, and Stripe’s processing fee applies on top.

• Donations (Register → Donations) — add an optional donation ask to your registration checkout
• Packages (Sponsors → Packages) — sell structured sponsorship packages to companies
• Raffle (Program → Raffle) — sell numbered raffle tickets and draw a winner
• Shop (Program → Shop) — sell merchandise or add-ons at registration

Donation Add-on

When donation is enabled, a donation section appears at the bottom of your event’s registration form. Attendees choose a preset amount or type a custom value before checking out. The donation appears as a separate line item in Stripe alongside their ticket.

Enabling donations

1. Open your event dashboard and go to Register → Donations.
2. Toggle Enable donation add-on on.
3. Optionally customize the label shown above the donation options (default: Support our mission).
4. Set preset dollar amounts as a comma-separated list (e.g. 10,25,50,100). Attendees can also type a custom amount.
5. Click Save settings.

Donations are recorded in the registrations table under donation_amount and visible in your Stripe dashboard. If your organization has a tax-deductibility note, add it under Settings → Tax-deductibility note for the event. It appears on your public event page and on the registration form. For what the note should say, see how much of a gala ticket is tax-deductible.

Sponsorship Packages

Sponsorship packages let you offer sponsorship levels (Title, Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze, Supporter, In-kind) at fixed prices. Sponsors apply on a public page and pay by card through Stripe Checkout, or request an invoice if the package allows it. Confirmed sponsors are added to your sponsor list and get a link to their sponsor portal, where they upload their logo and details.

Creating a package

1. Go to Sponsors → Packages.
2. Under Add Package, fill in the name, level, price, benefits (one per line), and an optional maximum number of sponsors. Set Included guest tickets for packages that come with a table or seats; the sponsor names their guests in their sponsor portal. Check Let sponsors request an invoice to accept checks and bank transfers.
3. Share the public link (shown at the top of the page) with prospective sponsors.

Free packages ($0) are confirmed immediately. Paid packages redirect the prospect to Stripe Checkout. On payment, the sponsor is added to your Sponsors list and the application is marked Paid under Applications. When a package reaches its maximum, the public page shows it as sold out.

Receipts and benefits

Set Value of benefits on a package to the fair market value of what the sponsor receives, such as dinner seats or an ad. Use 0 for recognition only. When a sponsor pays, by card or by a payment you record, they get an acknowledgment receipt by email and in their sponsor portal. It shows your legal name, EIN and mailing address from your organization settings, the amount, the value of benefits, and the amount above it.

Each confirmed sponsor gets a checklist of the package's benefits. Click Benefits next to the sponsor on the Sponsors page to check items off or add one. The sponsor sees the same list in their portal.

Invoices, checks and bank transfers

1. A sponsor who chooses Request an invoice appears under Applications as Invoice requested, and you get an email. Send them your invoice.
2. Click Confirm sponsor when you accept them. They are added to your sponsor list and emailed their portal link. The application shows Confirmed, unpaid.
3. When the money arrives, click Record payment and enter the amount, method (check, bank transfer, cash or other) and a reference such as the check number.

You can also record a payment straight from Invoice requested, which confirms the sponsor at the same time. Click Decline to turn down a request. Payments made outside Stripe have no platform fee. If you refund a card payment in Stripe, the application changes to Refunded; the sponsor stays listed until you remove them.

Raffle

The raffle tool lets anyone — not just registered attendees — buy numbered raffle tickets via a standalone public page. When you’re ready, draw a winner with one click.

Setting up a raffle

1. Go to Program → Raffle.
2. Toggle Enable raffle on.
3. Set the raffle name, description, per-ticket price, and optional per-person maximum.
4. Click Save settings, then share the public raffle link with your audience.

Ticket numbers are assigned sequentially after each successful payment. When you’re ready to draw, click Draw Winner — the system picks a random ticket number and highlights the winner in the entries table. A winner can only be drawn once.

Event Shop

The event shop adds optional merchandise or add-ons to your registration form. Attendees can add items (with quantity and variant selection) before checking out. Items are charged as separate Stripe line items alongside the ticket price.

Adding shop items

1. Go to Program → Shop.
2. Fill in the item name, price, and optional description.
3. Optionally upload a photo — a product image is shown to attendees on the registration form and in the shop item list.
4. To add size or option variants (e.g. S, M, L, XL), click + Add variant. Each variant gets its own name field and an optional stock count. Leave the stock count blank to allow unlimited orders for that variant.
5. If the item has no variants, you can set a single total stock limit in the Total stock field — leave it blank for unlimited.
6. Click Add item. The item appears on the registration form immediately.

Inventory tracking

Stock is tracked per variant. When a variant sells out, it becomes unavailable to new registrants automatically. The shop item list shows each variant with its remaining stock — a ∞ symbol indicates unlimited. Items with no variants show a single stock count next to the price.

The Orders table at the bottom of the shop page shows every item ordered per attendee, including the selected variant and quantity. Click Mark fulfilled to track which items have been handed out.

Stripe Requirements

All fundraising tools that collect money require your organization to have a connected and fully onboarded Stripe account. Connect Stripe in Organization Settings → Payments. Free packages and $0 donations do not require Stripe.