How to Accept International Donations in WordPress

After building websites for several local nonprofits, I noticed a common, costly problem. These groups were doing incredible work, but their simple donation forms only worked for local supporters. This was turning away passionate donors from other countries.

Unfortunately, this small oversight can result in organizations missing thousands of dollars in donations. When someone from another country wants to contribute, a failed payment method can block their generosity.

I’ve seen how frustrating this is for both the nonprofit and the supporter. That’s why I put together this guide to show you how to accept international donations in WordPress the right way.

I’ll cover the exact plugins I use for clients, the key payment settings you need, and how to make it easy for anyone in the world to support your cause.

You can use these handy links to quickly navigate through the article:

Why Accept International Donations in WordPress?

Accepting international donations through WordPress opens up a world of fundraising opportunities that many nonprofits miss out on. When you expand beyond local supporters, you’re tapping into a global community of people who may feel deeply connected to your cause.

The benefits of going global with your donation strategy are significant:

• Instead of limiting yourself to local supporters, you can reach millions of potential donors worldwide who share your mission and values.
• While local donors may give during specific holidays or events, international supporters operate on different calendars and cultural giving traditions.
• Reaching donors all over the world means you’re less affected by local economic conditions or regional challenges.
• Many causes benefit significantly from supporters who have moved abroad but still care deeply about issues in their home country or region.

I’ve seen nonprofits double their monthly donations simply by making their forms accessible to international supporters. The key is having the right setup to handle different currencies, payment methods, and legal requirements seamlessly.

Why You Need to Plan Your International Donations Page

Before we jump into the plugins, it’s worth taking a moment to think about the donor’s experience. I’ve seen firsthand how a poorly planned donation page can turn away potential supporters just as quickly as a broken payment button.

A little planning goes a long way. Keeping these points in mind will help you avoid common challenges and create a donation process that feels welcoming to everyone, everywhere.

1. Choose the Right Payment Gateways

The first thing I always check is which payment methods are popular in the regions you want to reach. While many people use credit cards, options like PayPal are dominant in some countries, while direct bank transfers are preferred in others.

For this reason, I almost always recommend setting up both Stripe and PayPal. Together, they cover most of the world’s preferred payment methods and automatically handle many of the currency conversions for you.

This gives your donors a choice and makes them more likely to complete the donation.

2. Display Currency and Language Clearly

Imagine wanting to donate $20 but seeing a symbol you don’t recognize, like ¥ or £. You might hesitate, unsure of the actual cost.

The best way to prevent this confusion is to clearly state the currency you accept (for example, ‘All donations are in USD’). This is the most straightforward approach and the one I’ll cover in this guide.

With the tools I recommend, you will set a single currency on your form. When an international donor pays, your payment gateway (like Stripe or PayPal) handles the currency exchange automatically.

Think of it like this: your donation form shows a $20 price tag, and when someone from Germany donates, their bank is charged in Euros for the equivalent amount. You still receive $20. It’s the simplest and most reliable way to start.

Similarly, language can be a barrier. If you expect a high volume of donations from a specific non-English speaking region, then it’s a good idea to translate your donation page.

I’ve used plugins like WPML to create multilingual websites for clients, and it makes a huge difference in building trust with a global audience.

3. Think About Legal & Tax Compliance

Here’s something important to remember: rules for charitable donations are different in every country. Your WordPress plugin can send a receipt right away, but that doesn’t guarantee it can be used for a tax deduction in the donor’s country.

This is one area where I never guess. I always recommend talking to a legal or tax professional to understand the rules for the countries you want to receive donations from.

A simple disclaimer on your donation page, like ‘Please consult a local tax professional regarding donation deductibility,’ can also be very helpful.

For example, you could add a clear statement like: “As a [Your Country]-based organization, your contribution is tax-deductible to the extent allowed by [Your Country]’s law. Please consult with a tax professional in your own country for information on tax deductibility.”

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Method 1: Use Charitable for All-in-One Fundraising Campaigns

For nonprofits that want to run full fundraising campaigns, Charitable is my go-to solution. It’s more than just a donation form. It lets you set goals, show progress bars, and manage your donors all in one place.

I recommend this method if you plan to run multiple campaigns throughout the year and need a powerful tool to track your fundraising success. It connects with both Stripe and PayPal, making international payments easy to handle.

You can learn about my experiences using the plugin in my Charitable review.

Step 1: Install and Activate Charitable

First, you’ll need to install and activate the Charitable plugin. If you need help, then you can follow our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Once it’s activated, you will see a new ‘Charitable’ menu item in your WordPress admin sidebar.

You need to navigate to Charitable » Settings and enter your license key.

You can find this in the email you received when you purchased your Charitable plan, and in the account area on the Charitable website.

After entering your license key, simply click the ‘Verify Key’ button to connect your website to your Charitable account.

Step 2: Connect Your Payment Gateway

Before you can accept any donations, you will need to connect a payment processor. For international donations, Stripe is an excellent choice because it handles over 135 currencies automatically.

While you are still on the Charitable » Settings page, click on the ‘Payment Gateways’ tab. You will see several available gateways, with Stripe enabled by default. To connect your account, click the ‘Gateway Settings’ button next to Stripe.

Next, click the ‘Gateway Settings’ button.

Here, you’ll connect your Stripe account by clicking the ‘Connect with Stripe’ button and following the on-screen instructions.

Notice that the credit card payment type has already been activated. If you would like to activate any of the other payment types, such as direct debit, then you can do that now by switching the Status toggle to the On position.

You should also scroll down to the bottom of the page and make sure you are happy with the other settings, and then click the ‘Save Changes’ button.

Once you have finished setting up Stripe, you can return to the Payment Gateways page and enable PayPal and any other gateways you need.

Make sure you click the ‘Save Changes’ button at the bottom of the page when you have finished.

Before you finish, I highly recommend using Test Mode. This super helpful feature lets you run a complete test donation using fake credit card details to make sure your form and payment gateway are working perfectly.

Just don’t make the same mistake a client of mine once did. We spent an hour wondering why real donations weren’t processing, only to realize the campaign was still in ‘Test Mode’. Always double-check that you’ve disabled this setting before you share your campaign with the world.

In time, you may wish to add additional payment integrations. You can view the available options by navigating to the Downloads page in your account area on the Charitable website.

For example, GoCardless offers card-free payments via bank transfers and direct debit in over 30 countries.

You can install these additional integrations as plugins, just as you installed the WP Charitable plugin earlier. They will then automatically appear in the list of available payment gateways.

Step 3: Create and Customize Your First Campaign

You’re now ready to create a campaign. From your WordPress dashboard, navigate to Charitable » Campaigns and click the ‘Add New’ button.

If you haven’t created a campaign before, then you will also see a ‘Create Campaign’ button that does the same thing.

First, give your campaign a clear and compelling title, just like you would for a blog post.

This is your chance to tell a story and connect with potential donors.

Next, you will need to select a template. There are plenty of options, including blank campaigns and ready-made templates that may match the look you are after.

Simply hover your mouse over the template you wish to use and then click the ‘Create Campaign’ button.

Next, you can change the design of your campaign.

You’ll likely need to customize the text, swap out images, and add more blocks to the page.

Next, click on the Settings tab on the left of the screen. On the General Settings page, you will find some key settings to fill out.

You can set a fundraising goal (for example, $20,000) that can motivate donors by showing them how their contribution helps reach a target. You can also set an end date for time-sensitive campaigns.

Next, click on the Donation options page.

Here, you can suggest donation amounts to guide your donors, such as $25, $50, $100. At the bottom of the page, you will notice that the ‘Custom Amounts’ setting is enabled by default, so people can give whatever they choose.

Once you’ve configured these settings, switch the campaign from ‘Draft’ to ‘Publish’ using the drop-down menu and then click the ‘Save’ button.

Step 4: Optimizing for International Donors

To make your campaign welcoming to a global audience, there are two key things to consider: currency and language.

First, let’s set your currency. Go to Charitable » Settings » General and choose your desired currency (such as USD, EUR, AUD) from the dropdown menu. This will be the currency displayed on all your campaign forms.

While you can only display one currency on the form, your payment gateway will automatically handle conversions for international donors.

For example, if you set your currency to USD, a donor from the UK can still pay with their GBP credit card. This is the most straightforward and simplest way to handle international payments.

If you expect many donors from a specific region, then translating your campaign page can significantly increase donations.

The easiest way to do this is with a translation plugin like TranslatePress. It’s one of the best on the market because it lets you translate everything from the front-end of your site, and it is fully compatible with Charitable.

For a full walkthrough, you can follow our step-by-step guide on how to translate your website with TranslatePress.

Step 5: Customizing Donation Receipts

A professional, clear donation receipt is essential, especially for international donors who may need it for tax purposes. Charitable makes it easy to customize these emails.

Navigate to Charitable » Settings » Emails. Here, you can customize various automated emails, including the ‘Donation Receipt’ and ‘Campaign Ended’ notifications.

You can add your logo, modify the subject and body text, and include any specific information your nonprofit needs to provide.

For an international audience, it’s a great idea to add a note that includes your organization’s registration or charity number for their records.

Step 6: Share Your Campaign with the World

The great news is that when you published your campaign, Charitable already did the heavy lifting and automatically created a dedicated page for it on your website.

You can find it by clicking the ‘View Campaign’ link on the campaign editor page. This page is live and ready to be shared with your audience. You can post the link on social media, add it to your email newsletter, or include it in a web push notification.

Optional: Add Your Campaign to Other Pages

You can also add the donation form to any other page, post, or widget area. This gives you complete control over where the form appears on your website, like on your homepage or a dedicated ‘Donate’ page.

The easiest way is to edit a page where you want the form to appear. Simply click the plus (+) icon to add a new block, search for the ‘Charitable Campaign’ block, and then select your campaign from the dropdown menu.

You can also find a unique shortcode for your campaign on the right-hand side of the campaign editor page, which you can paste anywhere on your site.

Optional: Display Multiple Campaigns in a Widget

If you plan on running multiple campaigns at once, then Charitable has a handy ‘Campaigns’ widget. You can add this to your sidebar or footer to link all your different donation forms together in one convenient place.

The widget automatically updates as you add or end campaigns.

The best part? No matter how you display your campaign, Charitable automatically styles it to match your WordPress theme, so you don’t need to worry about hiring a designer.

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Method 2: Use WP Simple Pay for Dedicated Stripe Donation Forms

If you primarily use Stripe as your payment gateway and want a powerful, streamlined way to create donation forms, then WP Simple Pay is an excellent choice.

It’s the best option if you want to accept Stripe payments without the complexity of a full donor management platform like Charitable. You can learn about my experiences with the plugin in my detailed WP Simple Pay review.

Step 1: Install and Activate WP Simple Pay

First, you will need to install and activate the WP Simple Pay plugin. Since it is a premium plugin, you will need to upload it from your account on their website. If you need help, you can follow our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Once activated, the setup wizard will prompt you to enter your license key. You can find this in your WP Simple Pay account.

Step 2: Connect Your Stripe Account

The next step in the setup wizard is to connect your Stripe account.

Simply click the ‘Connect with Stripe’ button. This will take you to Stripe’s website, where you can log in to your existing account or create a new one.

The wizard will also help you configure the basic email settings.

After completing the wizard, you’re ready to start accepting payments in WordPress.

Step 3: Create a Donation Payment Form

After connecting Stripe, you can create your form. Navigate to WP Simple Pay » Add New Payment Form from your WordPress dashboard.

You’ll see a library of pre-built form templates. Simply find a ‘Donation Form’ template and click on it. In my example, I’m using the ‘Mission Trip Fundraising Form’.

Step 4: Customize Your Form and Currency

This will open the form builder.

On the ‘General’ tab, you can change the Title and Description of your form.

Next, click on the ‘Payment’ tab on the left. This is where you’ll set up all the important donation details.

The very first option is ‘Payment Mode.’ I highly recommend setting this to Test Mode to start. This is a super helpful feature that lets you submit the form with fake credit card details to make sure everything is working perfectly before you go live.

When you’re ready to accept real donations, just switch this back to Live Mode.

Now, let’s configure the donation amounts in the ‘Price Options’ section.

To offer donors a few preset options, click the ‘Add Price’ button for each new amount you want to add. For each price, you can set the currency, the amount, and choose whether it’s a one-time or recurring subscription payment.

For this example, I’ll add three one-time payment options: $25, $50, and $100.

Finally, to give donors the freedom to contribute a different amount, simply add a fourth price. Then give the price a label like ‘Other’ and check the box that says ‘Allow amount to be determined by user’.

This will allow donors to enter their own custom amount.

This combination of settings is perfect for a donation form because it guides donors with suggested amounts while also providing flexibility.

At the bottom of the page, you can select the payment methods you would like to accept.

Add all of the payment methods that your donors are likely to want to use. By offering their preferred method, you can improve your conversion rates.

You may also see a checkbox for ‘Tax Collection.’ For a standard donation form, you should leave this box unchecked.

In most countries, donations where the donor doesn’t receive any goods or services in return are considered gifts and are not subject to sales tax or VAT.

This setting is typically used only in complex situations, like selling tickets to a fundraising event where a product or service is provided in exchange for payment.

Now that your payment options are set, you can customize the information you collect from donors. The donation template already includes essential fields like ‘Name’ and ‘Email,’ but you may want to add more.

Click on the ‘Form Fields’ tab. Here, you can click ‘Add Field’ to include new fields from a dropdown list.

For instance, you might want to add a ‘Phone Number’ field to contact donors, or a ‘Billing Address’ field, which can be helpful for your records.

Finally, I recommend you set up a confirmation message. A thoughtful thank-you message is a great way to show your appreciation and confirm that the donation was successful. It gives donors confidence that their funds have been received.

Just go to the ‘Confirmation Page’ tab. Here, you can choose to display an on-page message. I recommend customizing the text to thank the donor personally and let them know a receipt is on its way.

Alternatively, you can choose the ‘Custom Page’ option to redirect the user to a dedicated Thank You page on your site. This is a great option if you want to include a video, share links to your social media, or tell the donor more about the impact of their gift.

Once you are happy with the settings, click the ‘Publish’ button on the right side of the screen.

Step 5: Add the Form to Your Website

Your form is now ready to be added to your site. You can add it to any page or post. Simply edit the page where you want to display the donation form.

Click the plus (+) icon to add a new block and search for the ‘WP Simple Pay’ block. Select it to add it to your page.

Then, choose your newly created donation form from the dropdown menu. The form will automatically load in the editor.

Step 6: Test Your Donation Form

Before you start accepting real money, it’s essential to run a quick test to make sure everything is working correctly. Since your form is still in Test Mode, you can do this safely without any real transactions.

Visit the page where you just added your form on the front-end of your website. It should look something like this:

Now, fill out the form with some dummy information. For the credit card field, you can use one of Stripe’s official test card numbers.

Here are a few common ones:

• Visa: 4242 4242 4242 4242
• Mastercard: 5555 5555 5555 5555

You can use any future date for the expiry and any 3 digits for the CVC.

Click the ‘Donate’ button to submit the form. You should see the confirmation message you configured earlier. This means your form is working perfectly.

The final step is to go back to the form editor at WP Simple Pay » Payment Forms. Navigate to the ‘Payment’ tab, and switch the ‘Payment Mode’ back to Live Mode. Don’t forget to save your form again.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Accepting International Donations in WordPress

When I help nonprofits set up global donations, a few questions always come up. To make things easier for you, I’ve put together answers to the most common ones right here.

This should help clear up any confusion about currencies, legal rules, and the best tools for the job.

What are the best payment gateways for international donors?

Stripe and PayPal are the most reliable payment gateways for international donations because they support the widest range of countries and currencies. Stripe operates in dozens of countries (nearly 50 at last count) and accepts more than 135 currencies, while PayPal is available in over 200 countries and markets worldwide.

How is currency conversion handled?

Your payment gateway (like Stripe or PayPal) automatically handles the currency conversion. This means that while your form might display donation amounts in USD, a donor from the UK can still pay using their GBP-based card.

The gateway processes the conversion during the transaction. You receive the funds in your currency, and the donor sees the charge in theirs. Keep in mind that conversion fees (usually 1-2%) may apply on top of standard processing fees.

Do I need to register my nonprofit in other countries?

The rules for accepting donations are different in every country. Some nations may require your nonprofit to register with them before you can ask their citizens for money. Because these rules can be complex, it’s always best to consult with a legal professional to ensure you’re following the correct procedures.

Which WordPress donation plugin is best for international giving?

Charitable is best for comprehensive fundraising campaigns with multiple payment gateway options (Stripe, PayPal, and more). On the other hand, WP Simple Pay is the perfect choice if you primarily use Stripe and want a simple, powerful tool dedicated to creating streamlined donation and payment forms.

Both handle international transactions well.

Can I show donation amounts in the visitor’s local currency?

The methods described in this guide use a single currency on the donation form (for example, USD). This is the simplest and clearest approach.

For a more advanced setup that automatically shows amounts in a visitor’s local currency, you would typically need a special multi-currency plugin or a premium addon for your forms plugin. For most nonprofits starting out, I recommend sticking with a single, clearly stated currency.

Can I issue tax-deductible receipts for international donations?

Your WordPress plugins can generate donation receipts automatically, but their validity for tax deductions varies by the donor’s country of residence. You should include a disclaimer on your receipts noting that tax deductibility depends on local laws, and donors should consult their tax advisors for specific guidance.

Next Steps to Grow Your Nonprofit Website

Setting up your WordPress site to accept international donations is achievable with the right tools. Whether you use a full campaign system like Charitable or a dedicated Stripe payment form from WP Simple Pay, you can connect your cause with worldwide supporters.

By opening your website to international payments, you can build a more reliable fundraising foundation and welcome a world of new donors.

Now that you can accept donations from around the world, here are a few more guides to help you improve your nonprofit website:

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