How to sell fundraiser tickets online

If you're organizing a dinner, gala or benefit night, you can sell tickets online so guests can book through a link and pay by card. They'll receive their ticket by email, so you're not handling each booking by hand.

You'll also need to think about the ticket options to offer, a receipt that shows how much of each ticket is a donation, and the fees you'll pay. For example, if a $100 ticket includes a dinner valued at $40, only $60 is a donation. In the US, the charity has to explain this to the guest in writing.

You can use the same approach for any fundraiser where you sell event tickets, whether it's a church supper or a black-tie gala.

Quick answer: To sell fundraiser tickets online, set up an event page with your ticket options, capacity and booking questions, then share the link with your guests. You can use a fundraising platform that charges a percentage or asks guests for a tip, or take payments through your own checkout on Stripe. Checkout Page runs the event page through your own Stripe account, with 0% per transaction fees. Guests can also choose to cover the processing fee. In the US, any payment over $75 that's partly for a meal or other benefit needs a written statement from the charity.

Where to sell fundraiser tickets

Most organizers choose between a fundraising or ticketing platform and their own checkout. That choice decides how much of each ticket goes to your organization, who sends the receipt and who keeps the guest list.

Fundraising and ticketing platforms take care of the event page and payments for you. In return, they charge a percentage or a fee for each ticket, or ask guests for a tip:

• Eventbrite: a service fee of 3.7% + $1.79 per ticket plus 2.9% payment processing per order, paid by the guest by default.
• Zeffy: no platform or card fees for nonprofits and charities; it asks guests for an optional tip at checkout instead.
• Givebutter: 0% platform and processing fees when guest tips are on, or a 3% platform fee plus card processing when they're off.
• Donorbox Events: a 3.95% platform fee plus Stripe's card fee, with no monthly fee.

With your own checkout, ticket payments go straight into your own Stripe account. The only fee on each ticket is Stripe's card processing fee.

How tax works when you sell fundraiser tickets

In the US, only the part of a ticket price above the fair market value of what the guest receives, such as dinner or a concert, counts as a donation. For a dinner, use what a comparable meal would cost to buy, rather than what you pay per guest. The IRS gives an example of a $100 payment for a ticket worth $40, leaving $60 deductible.

If a payment over $75 is partly a donation and partly for goods or services, the charity must give the guest a written statement. The statement must explain that the deductible amount is limited to what the guest paid above the value received, and include a good-faith estimate of that value. The penalty for leaving it out is $10 per contribution, up to $5,000 per event. The rule applies to qualifying US charities. You can find the full wording in the IRS guidance on quid pro quo contributions.

Some platforms include this statement on the receipt. If you use your own checkout, your organization is the merchant of record, so you can include the statement in the event description and confirmation email.

Fees checked on each provider's own pages on 3 November 2026. Each figure is the total fee on one ticket, whoever pays it. Card processing is at Stripe's standard US rate of 2.9% + 30¢ where a platform passes it on.

Zeffy and Givebutter charge you nothing per ticket when guests leave a tip, although everyone sees the tip request at checkout. With your own checkout, you pay the card processing fee and, once sales pass $3K a month, the cost of a plan. Our guide to event registration software for nonprofits compares more options.

How much to charge for fundraiser tickets

When setting your fundraiser ticket price, allow for the cost of the evening per guest as well as the amount you'd like each ticket to raise for your organization.

First, work out how much the event will cost per guest. Add up the venue, catering, entertainment and printing, then divide the total by the number of guests you expect. For example, a dinner that costs $8,000 to put on for 200 guests costs $40 per person.

Next, add the amount you'd like to raise from each ticket. If you want each ticket to raise $60 above the $40 cost, you'd charge $100. The deductible part is calculated separately, using the fair market value of the dinner, which can be higher or lower than what you pay.

Check it against what your guests expect. Last year's ticket price and what similar events nearby charge are the best guide to what your supporters will pay.

What it costs to sell fundraiser tickets

When you sell fundraiser tickets online, there are three costs to look out for: platform fees or requests for tips, card processing on each payment, and a monthly plan with some services.

Here's how that adds up for 200 tickets at $75, or $15,000 in ticket sales:

Assumes one ticket per order, all sales in one month and Stripe's standard US card rate. Each fee is the total, whoever pays it. Checkout Page's plan is Scale's $20K tier billed monthly. Checked 3 November 2026.

With your own checkout, you'll pay Stripe's card fees and Checkout Page's plan fee. That comes to $664 for this event, or $579.50 with the nonprofit discount below. You can cancel plans anytime, so you only need Scale for the month of the event. If guests choose to cover the processing fee, you get back part or all of the $495.

Free up to $3K in monthly sales. Paid plans are a monthly price based on your sales volume. Stripe's processing fees apply.

On the free plan, your pages pause once you pass $3K in a 30-day period and reopen when the period resets or you upgrade.

If you're a nonprofit, charity or educational institution, you can get 50% off paid plans.

How to sell gala tickets and tables

For a gala, you can offer whole tables, individual seats and sponsor packages as separate ticket types on the same event page.

Sell tables as one ticket type. Create a "Table of 10" ticket at the table price and set its available quantity to the number of tables in the room. If you'd prefer each guest to have their own ticket to scan at the door, sell single seats instead and set the minimum tickets per purchase to 10.

It's also worth offering a single-seat ticket. This gives people attending alone or as a couple a way to book without paying for a whole table.

You can offer sponsor packages as a separate ticket type. A package might include a table, a mention in the program and a logo on the screen. If you don't want the package visible to everyone, hide the ticket and share a link with the sponsors you've approached.

State the value on the receipt. If a company pays $1,000 for a table and receives dinner for ten, the deductible part is the price minus the fair market value of those dinners. If each dinner is valued at $40, the table includes $400 of value, with the rest treated as a donation. Checkout Page doesn't calculate this for you, so include the estimate in the ticket description and confirmation email.

You can also give people who can't attend a way to support the fundraiser. A pay what you want ticket or a donation page lets supporters contribute without booking a seat.

How buyers get their fundraiser tickets

Once someone books, they'll receive a confirmation email with their ticket, the event details and a QR code. They can show the code from the email or their customer portal when they arrive.

On the night, you or a volunteer can scan guests' tickets using the event check-in app. You can use the app on the Free plan, but team members and event staff who check guests in need a paid plan.

If someone can no longer attend, you can cancel or refund their booking from your dashboard.

How to sell fundraiser tickets from your own checkout

If you've decided to sell tickets from your own checkout, the six steps below take you from a blank event page to a booking link you can share. We've used Checkout Page as the example, so each step shows you the setting to look for.

Step 1: create the event page

Start by creating an event in your dashboard. Add the event name, date, time and venue, along with a short description of the evening and what the money will fund.

Include an estimate of the value of what's included with each ticket. For example, you could write "Dinner and entertainment are valued at $40 per guest". This is the good-faith estimate required for the IRS statement.

Step 2: add ticket types and a capacity

You can offer several ticket types, each with its own price, capacity and sale dates. Our article on event ticket types explains the different options in more detail. For a fundraiser, these are worth considering:

• Early bird: offer a lower price for a set number of tickets or a limited period. With early bird pricing, you can put general tickets on sale once the early bird tickets have sold out.
• Tables: offer one ticket type for a full table. There's more detail on how to set these up in the gala section above.
• A "can't come, but want to give" ticket: set this up as a pay what you want ticket so supporters can choose how much to give. It still issues a ticket, so give it a name that makes clear what it's for.

Set a capacity for each ticket type, as well as for the whole event. This stops bookings once you've reached the number of guests the room can hold.

Step 3: add the questions

Add any questions that will help you prepare for the event, such as meal choices, dietary needs and the table host's name. If someone books a table, ask for the other guests' names too. Keep the form short, since most guests book on their phones.

Step 4: set the fees

Both of these are on every Checkout Page plan, including the Free plan:

• Booking fee: a fixed amount added to every ticket, such as $2 on a $75 ticket. You can add a booking fee to fixed-price, pay what you want or free tickets. In the US, include this fee in the ticket price you display, since mandatory fees have to be part of the price shown.
• Cover processing fees: an option at checkout that lets each guest contribute toward the card fee. You can set the contribution as a percentage, a fixed amount or both. The help article on letting customers cover processing fees explains how the amount is calculated.

If you use both options, guests who choose to cover the processing fee pay the booking fee as well as their contribution. Check the combined amount when working out your totals.

Step 5: run a test booking

Use Make test payment in the event editor to run through a booking with test card details. These test bookings don't count toward your ticket availability.

Check the confirmation screen and the email your guest receives. If you haven't already added the IRS statement to the confirmation email, do it here so every guest receives it with their ticket.

Step 6: share the event

Copy the event link from Share event and include it in your emails, newsletter and social media posts. You can also download a QR code from the same panel to put on posters, or use Add to website to embed the booking form on your site.

Sell more than fundraiser tickets

You can also use the same Checkout Page account to collect other payments for your organization, each on its own page. These could include donations, monthly giving and tickets for other events throughout the year. Our guide to accepting donations with Stripe explains the donation options.

If you're planning another fundraiser, our 30 church fundraiser ideas include costs for each event. You can also find more seasonal suggestions in our Christmas fundraiser ideas.

If you'd like to try it, you can start selling fundraiser tickets on the free plan and upgrade once your sales pass $3K a month.

Sell fundraiser tickets online FAQ

What is the best way to sell tickets for a fundraiser?

An online event page is usually the best way to sell fundraiser tickets. You can offer ticket types such as early bird, general and table, with a capacity for each, and share the booking link by email and social media. For payments over $75, include the IRS statement in the confirmation email.

What is the best platform to sell fundraiser tickets?

It depends on who pays the fees, how much of each ticket reaches you and who sends the tax receipt. Zeffy, and Givebutter with tips on, charge nothing and ask guests to tip. Eventbrite and Donorbox Events take a percentage of each ticket. With Checkout Page, you pay Stripe's card fee, plus a plan once sales pass $3,000 a month.

Is a fundraiser ticket tax-deductible?

Partly. In the US, only the amount above the fair market value of what a guest receives, such as dinner or entertainment, counts as a donation to a qualifying charity. On a $100 ticket for a dinner valued at $40, $60 is deductible. For payments over $75, the charity must give the guest a written statement that includes its estimate.

Should we charge per person or per table?

Both options work on the same event page. A table price suits companies, families and friends who want to sit together, while a single-seat price gives individuals and couples a way to book. You can offer a sponsor package alongside both. Set a capacity for each ticket type so you don't sell more tables or seats than the room holds.

Can we sell fundraiser tickets online for free?

Yes, there are two options. Zeffy charges nonprofits nothing per ticket, and Givebutter charges nothing when guest tips are on. On Checkout Page's Free plan, you pay only Stripe's card fee on sales up to $3,000 a month. Guests can choose to cover that fee, which means the cost to your organization can be nothing.