How do I set up my $1 Donation or Custom Amount campaign?

Created by Shop for Good Support, Modified on Wed, 16 Apr at 6:03 PM by Shop for Good Support

What is a $1 Donation/Custom Amount campaign?

This campaign type lets your store ask customers to donate a fixed dollar amount—like $1— to support your selected cause(s).

Stores on the Startup Brands plan can request only $1, while those on the Emerging or Scaling Brands plans can customize the donation amount. In this campaign, the donation is made by the customer, not your store.

To set up and connect your first $1 Donation/Custom Amount campaign, follow these steps in the admin dashboard:

Choose, name, and create your campaign

1. Click the + next to "My Campaigns" in the left bar.

2. Select the $1 Donation (Startup Brands) or Custom Amount campaign (Emerging and Scaling Brands).

3. Give your campaign a name and click the Create button.

Important: You will have to click Create before you can continue configuring your campaign.

4. (Optional) Enable your campaign for Shopify Point of Sale (Emerging and Scaling Brands only)

If you're on the Emerging or Scaling Brands plan and want to offer your Custom Amount campaign in your physical store, simply check the box labeled "Campaign will be used in Point of Sale transactions" to make it available in the Shopify Point of Sale app. For instructions on setting up your campaign in the Shopify Point of Sale app, see this helpdesk article.

Please note: In compliance with CA AB488, only nonprofits that have granted explicit permission can be included in Point of Sale campaigns. This means selecting this option may limit the nonprofits available to you. Look for the "Permission Granted" indicator when choosing your nonprofits. For more information on CA AB488, see this article.

Choose the nonprofits you would like to support with your campaign

5. Click "Browse all nonprofits" under "Select nonprofits to support"

6. Search for your nonprofit or use the category filters to browse by giving category.

Click on the nonprofit(s) you’d like to add to your campaign. Once selected, they will be highlighted in pink and marked as “Selected.”

Startup Brands can choose up to 2 nonprofits per campaign.
Emerging and Scaling Brands can select up to 20 nonprofits.

When you're done, click the “Save nonprofits” button to continue.

7. Choose whether to let customers select a nonprofit to support.

By default, donations are split equally among the nonprofits you've added to your campaign.
To give customers the option to choose which nonprofit they’d like their purchase to support, check the box labeled “Allow customers to choose which nonprofit(s) to support.”

Customize your $1 Donation/Custom Amount campaign behavior and appearance

8. Set your requested donation amount (Emerging and Scaling Brands only)
Enter the fixed dollar amount you'd like to ask customers to donate. This amount will be displayed on the donation button in your widget.

If you're on the Startup Brands plan, the donation amount is set to $1 and cannot be customized.

9. (Optional) Enable donation matching

Boost your campaign’s impact by choosing to match your customers’ donations. You can even set a cap on the total amount you’ll match.

Donation matching has been shown to significantly increase engagement, drive sales, and raise average order value (AOV). Consider these powerful insights:

84% of donors say they’re more likely to give if matching is offered.
1 in 3 donors would give a larger amount when they know their donation will be matched.
Simply mentioning donation matching in appeals can lead to a 71% increase in response rate and a 51% boost in average donation size.

Adding donation matching to your customers' online shopping experience not only strengthens customer loyalty but also reinforces your brand’s commitment to the causes your customers care about.

10. (Optional) Highlight your impact with the Impact Contributors Shelf (Emerging and Scaling Brands only)

Show your customers the difference they’re making with the Impact Contributors Shelf—a dynamic feature that displays the growing number of people who’ve donated through your campaign and the amount of $ raised for your cause.

By spotlighting real-time impact, this feature fosters a sense of community and encourages others to join in. It’s a proven way to:

Increase customer engagement by making giving feel tangible
Enhance the shopping experience with social proof and shared purpose
Strengthen brand loyalty by reinforcing your commitment to meaningful causes

You can also set a minimum number of contributors and/or amount donated required before the shelf appears beneath your widget, ensuring it only shows when there’s a strong story to tell.

Here is an example of the widget with the Impact Contributors Shelf visible:

11. Customize the appearance of your $1 Donation / Custom Amount campaign widget

Tailor the look and message of your customer-facing widget to match your brand. You can edit the text to highlight your supported charities—for example: “Give $5, Defend Nature. Help the Environmental Defense Fund fight for climate and conservation solutions.”

You can also adjust the widget’s alignment and spacing on your store page.

Brands on the Emerging and Scaling plans have access to advanced styling options, including custom text, background, link and button colors.

Connect your campaign and view it on your store!

12. Choose where your campaign widget appears on your store

Decide whether your donation widget shows on your product detail pages or in the cart.

Startup Brands can place the widget on either the cart page or all product detail pages.
Emerging and Scaling Brands have additional flexibility—for a more targeted experience, they can display the widget on specific product pages, and even support different nonprofit(s) on different products. See this helpdesk article for more information on Charity-Product Grouping.

13. Launch your campaign now or schedule it for later

Click “Connect Now” to launch your campaign immediately, or schedule specific start and end dates and times.

By default, the widget will automatically appear on your product detail pages or cart. If you’d like more control over its placement, you can manually add it to a specific section of the page using the instructions provided in your dashboard.