Connecting Your Organization's Stripe Account

A step-by-step guide for organization admins setting up online donations in ThankFirst.

What this does & why

ThankFirst uses Stripe Connect so donations settle directly into your organization's own Stripe account. That means:

• You are the merchant of record — donors give to you, not to ThankFirst.
• ThankFirst never holds, touches, or forwards your funds — money flows straight to your bank.
• You issue the tax receipts — the donor's gift is legally to your nonprofit.
• Card details never touch ThankFirst — payments run on Stripe Checkout (Stripe's own secure, hosted page).

Each donation shows the full breakdown with no hidden math: gross → platform fee → Stripe processing fee → net to you.

Before you start — what you'll need

Stripe (not ThankFirst) collects and verifies this securely. Have handy:

• Legal business name and EIN, exactly as they appear on IRS documents (e.g., your Letter 147C or SS‑4).
• Business address and phone number.
• An authorized representative's details — someone permitted to sign on the organization's behalf: legal name, date of birth, home address, and last 4 of SSN (or a government‑issued ID).
• Your organization's bank account — routing and account number (or your online‑banking login).

Step 1 — Start onboarding in ThankFirst

1. Sign in as an Org Admin.
2. Go to Settings → Donations & payments.
3. Click Connect with Stripe.

You'll be redirected to Stripe's secure hosted onboarding. ThankFirst never sees your bank credentials, SSN, or ID — Stripe handles all of it.

Step 2 — Business details

• Legal business name and EIN — enter exactly as on your IRS paperwork (capitalization and punctuation matter).
• Business address and phone number.
• Industry — choose "Charitable and Social Service Organizations" (or the closest nonprofit option).
• Business website — your organization's site (generic placeholder URLs aren't accepted).

Step 3 — Account representative

The authorized person completing the form:

• Legal name (as on government records), email, and job title.
• Date of birth and home address.
• Phone number and last 4 digits of SSN (or choose "Provide a government‑issued ID number instead").

Step 4 — Bank account for payouts

Choose where Stripe deposits your donations:

• Connect through your bank login, or
• Click "Enter bank account credentials instead" and type your routing and account numbers.

Step 5 — Review & submit

• Review the summary and submit. Stripe returns you to ThankFirst.
• Your status will read one of:
  • Pending — Stripe is verifying (can take a few minutes to a couple of business days).
  • Restricted — Stripe needs a bit more info; click Finish Stripe setup to provide it.
  • Connected / Enabled — you're ready to accept donations. ✅

Step 6 — Turn on donations

Back on Settings → Donations & payments:

1. Toggle Enable donations on.
2. Confirm your funds / designations (e.g., General, Zakat) under Settings → Funds & receipts.
3. The platform fee is shown transparently (default 10%).
4. Share your donation page: thankfirst.com/give/your-org-slug (link it from your website, email, or QR code).

Good to know

• Security & PCI: because payments use Stripe Checkout, card data never touches ThankFirst — keeping your PCI scope minimal.
• Fees: a ThankFirst platform fee (shown to you) plus Stripe's standard processing fee. Donors can optionally cover the fees so you receive the full intended amount.
• Refunds & disputes are handled in Stripe and automatically reflected on the gift record in ThankFirst.
• Payouts & reconciliation: track gross, fees, net, and payout dates under Donations & payments → Reconciliation.
• Stuck on "Pending/Restricted"? Click Finish Stripe setup and complete anything Stripe flags. If Stripe requests documents, upload them in the Stripe onboarding flow.

Appendix — Internal testing only (sandbox)

For ThankFirst staff testing in a Stripe sandbox. Real organizations use their actual details above — never these values in live mode.

Tip: Stripe's test onboarding shows red "•••" autofill buttons and "Use test data" / "Test (Non‑OAuth)" shortcuts — use them to breeze through. Avoid any bank tile labeled Down, Error, Invalid, or Requires Reauthentication (those simulate failures).