The holiday season is a time of generosity, community spirit, and giving back. If you’re wanting to organize a holiday fundraiser — whether for a church, school, charity, or local community group — you don’t need to go door-knocking or build a complex website. With just a Google account, Google Forms, and Payable, you can launch a secure, shareable donation campaign in minutes.
Here’s how to get your holiday fundraiser up and running — and why Payable + Google Forms is a perfect fit for festive giving.
🎅 Why Payable + Google Forms Works Perfectly for a Holiday Fundraiser
- Quick to set up — You can be ready to accept donations in under 10 minutes. All you need is to install the Payable Forms Add-On and configure it.
- Accessible for donors — With your connected payment gateway (like PayPal, Stripe, or Square), people can contribute using cards, or other supported methods like Venmo and CashApp.
- Simple and familiar — Many people know and trust Google Forms, so the barrier to donation is lowered.
- Automatic bookkeeping — Every submission and payment is logged in a linked Google Sheet. That makes tracking who donated (and how much) easy.
🎁 Step-by-Step: Launching Your Christmas Fundraiser
1. Install the Payable Add-On
- Go to the Google Marketplace and install the Payable Forms Add-On.
- Open forms.google.com and create a new Form (or edit an existing one). Then click the puzzle-piece icon and choose “Make this Form Payable.”
- Want a head start? Use our free Fundraising Form Template.
2. Complete the Payable Setup Steps
- If your Google Form interface has a purple Publish button in the toolbar, you must publish your form before completing the following Payable setup steps
- Follow the Getting Started steps in the sidebar (Auto-Configure Form and Sheet, Sync Theme, and Connect a Payment Provider)
- Toggle your form On as Payable
3. Build Donation Options — Holiday Style
- Add questions for donation amounts. For instance, you can have preset “gift packages” (e.g. “Christmas Meal for a Family – $50”, “School Supplies Bundle – $25”) using checkboxes or dropdowns. (Question Formats and Their Uses)
- Turn a short answer question into a pay-what-you-can donation field. (How To)
- Setup subscriptions for year-round giving, or instalments to make donating accessible. (How To)
- Customize the form’s title, description, and theme: you could add a festive header, holiday colours or imagery, and a message about what the fundraiser supports (e.g. “Chanukah Food Drive 2025”, “Warm Coats for Kids — Christmas Campaign”).
5. Test Your Form Before Going Live
- Use “Test Mode” to submit a faux donation and see exactly what your donors will experience. Check that amounts are correct, the checkout works, and payment status shows up in your Google Sheet. (How to Test Your Form)
- Once everything looks good, turn off Test Mode — and you’re live.
6. Share and Promote Your Form for Seasonal Giving
- Grab the shareable link to your form and post it in your community newsletter, social media, email list, or in a holiday flyer.
- As people give, monitor the connected Google Sheet to track who donated and how much. Use that to send personalized thank-you notes or holiday greetings — a small detail that goes a long way.
❄️ A Simple, Secure, Seasonal Way to Spread Joy
With just a few clicks you can build a fully functional fundraiser form, share it widely, and collect donations without fuss — no complex site, no fee-heavy platforms, and no carting around cheques and loose change.
Follow along with our introductory tutorial to start creating your own Payable fundraising form –