Join your charity’s Zeffy (donations & CRM)
Personal setupTools · about 10 min · Charity owners, treasurers, and volunteers who work with donations
Zeffy is the 100% free donation and fundraising platform FFC recommends — donation forms, ticketing, memberships, and a donor CRM with no platform fees taken out of what supporters give.
Like Cloudflare, this guide has a join-don’t-create rule: the charity has one Zeffy organization, and you get your own login on it by invitation. Signing yourself up fresh at zeffy.com creates a brand-new, empty organization — not access to your charity’s.
Join the charity’s Zeffy — never create a second one
The charity’s Zeffy organization holds its donation forms, donor records, and bank connection, and it already exists (or gets created once, in the organizational guide). You are added to it by invitation, with your own login. If you instead “sign up” on the Zeffy homepage, you create a separate empty organization under your name — donations and donor data end up split, exactly the problem the one-account rule prevents.
- 1
Ask for an invitation
Ask the charity’s Zeffy administrator (or your FFC contact) to invite you, and tell them which email to use — your charity email if you have one (e.g. you@yourcharity.org), otherwise the email tied to your phone.
Zeffy sends an invitation email to that address.
No invitation yet? Don’t go to zeffy.com and sign up — that creates a new organization, not access to your charity’s. Wait for the invite.
- 2
Accept the invite and set your password
Open the invitation email and click Accept / Join. Set a strong, unique password and save it in your password manager (see that guide).
- 3
Turn on two-factor authentication
In Zeffy, open your account/security settings and turn on two-factor authentication. Zeffy guards the charity’s donor data and its connection to the bank — FFC expects MFA here just like everywhere else.
Open one of your authenticator apps — FFC has you install both Google Authenticator and Microsoft Authenticator (see the Multi-Factor Authentication guide). Use the one that matches the account where you can; for sites that aren’t Google or Microsoft, either app works.
When the site shows a QR code, open your authenticator app, tap + / Add, and scan the QR code. The app starts showing a 6-digit code that changes every 30 seconds. Type the current code back into the website to confirm.
Always save the backup / recovery codes the site gives you right after setup — store them in your password manager. They are how you get back in if you lose your phone.
- 4
Find your way around
Once in, you’ll see the charity’s forms (donations, tickets, memberships), payments, and the contacts CRM. Look, learn, and coordinate with the charity owner before changing live forms.
Common questions
Is Zeffy really free?
Yes — Zeffy charges the charity nothing and takes no platform fee from donations; it runs on optional tips donors can add at checkout. That’s why FFC recommends it as the default donations platform.
I accidentally created my own Zeffy organization — what now?
Don’t build anything in it. Tell the charity’s Zeffy admin or your FFC contact; they’ll invite your email to the real organization, and the empty accidental one can be closed.
Which email should my invitation go to?
Your charity email if you have one — donation work is charity business. If your mailbox isn’t provisioned yet, use the email tied to your phone; the important part is that the login is yours, secured with MFA.
Next setup guides
Stuck on any step? Text Clarke Moyer at (520) 222-8104 — every step is meant to be simple, so if something doesn't match what you see, ask.