How to collect money for a group gift

Teacher gifts, coaches gifts, holiday gifts, thank-you gifts, end-of-year gifts, shower gifts, and so on and so on — the group gift list is endless. And organizing one typically lines up with the busiest times of the year. Learn how to collect money for a group gift with minimal time and minimal effort.

How to collect money for a group gift in 5 minutes (or less)

Step 1

Estimated time: 15 seconds

Create a Cheddar Up account.

It will always be free! And you only have to create an account if you’re the organizer — payers can pay without committing to a thing. (It’s one of our perks.) Sign up here to collect money for a group gift.

Step 2

Estimated time: 2 minutes

On your dashboard, click “Create a Collection.” Give your collection a name, image, and description.

Could you skip this to shave some time? Yes — but we don’t recommend it. The image and description help legitimize your collection and provide transparency to encourage more giving.

Don’t overthink it! The key things to include in your description are:

• What group is collecting money
• Who is receiving the gift
• What gift you are considering
• When money is due

Pro tip: Our data shows that groups that include the term “suggested amount” in their descriptions (followed, of course, with a specified dollar amount) receive an average of $56.90 per giver!

As for banner images, we’re here to help with that too! Start with one of these templates to collect money for a group gift even faster:

 

Step 3

Estimated time: 1 minute

Add an item (or two)

Choose a “Donation” item so payers can decide what amount works for them. Then, name your item “Gift for [recipient’s name]”. We recommend this even if you’re collecting for only one person — it adds more clarity.

Pro tip: We’ve found that open donations on Cheddar Up have raised 45% more than fixed donations!

For a special touch, add an item question for personal messages.

Group gift note field

Step 4

Estimated time: 1 minute, 45 seconds

Share your Cheddar Up collection page with your group!

You can create a custom URL, website button, QR code, or email right there on your collection dashboard. Copy the link and pass along to your people. If you want some example wording to collect money for a group gift, give this template a try. Simply replace the bolded words with your own:

Hi Kyle,

I’m collecting money to buy Mr. Clark a holiday gift from the entire class. I’d love to give him at least $200 in gift cards, which comes out to about $10 per student, but any amount is appreciated! To make a contribution, simply click the link below by December 1. We will present the gift at the classroom holiday party.

(Insert collection link)

Thank you!

Bonus: If you email directly from the Cheddar Up message center, we’ll automatically tack on a link to view the collection. 

Step 5

The occasional momentary glance

Sit back and watch the donations and notifications roll in.

We’ll track everything for you, so you can see, at a quick glance, your total and how many people have paid. When you’re ready to purchase the gift, click “Withdraw” on the “Manage” tab to transfer funds into your bank account or directly to our handy gift card store.

In short, before you go

It takes 5 minutes to collect money for a group gift and rally the team, class, or group — simply create an account, edit your custom web page, and share! It takes even less time (and requires no account) to give. Plus, Cheddar Up automatically categorizes and counts what you receive. You can see, at a glance, how much you’ve raised without manually tallying a thing!

Get gifting

Now it’s your turn to follow these five easy steps. Pick your gift, plan your collection, and pass it on.

Collect for FREE

Whether you’re collecting dues and fees, fundraising, managing an event, creating a sign up, or selling something online or in-person, you can do it with a Cheddar Up collection.