Getting Approved to Go Live
Creating a fundraiser on Raised is quick, and you can do it before any verification is complete. The checks below are what stand between a saved campaign and one that is live and accepting payments. They protect your supporters and keep everything above board.
Your dashboard shows a setup checklist that guides you through whichever of these steps apply to you.
Steps That Apply to Every Fundraiser
1. Verify Your Email Address
You'll be asked to confirm your email address. A fundraiser can't accept any orders or donations until your email is verified. Check your inbox (and spam folder) for the verification email.
2. Fundraiser Approval
Every fundraiser is reviewed by a Raised admin before it goes live. When you create a campaign it starts as Pending, and a member of our team reviews it, usually within a few business hours. Once approved, your campaign is unpaused and ready to share.
If we need something changed first, the status becomes Changes Requested with a note explaining what to update. Make the change and resubmit, and it returns to Pending for another review.
Extra Steps for Crowdfunding Campaigns
Crowdfunding campaigns collect donations, so they have two additional requirements before going live:
- Identity verification: you complete a quick identity check (KYC) so we can confirm who is raising the funds.
- Organisation verification: if you're fundraising as an organisation (rather than as an individual), we confirm your authority to fundraise on its behalf. See Fundraising on Behalf of an Organisation.
- Stripe connected: because crowdfunding donations are card-only, a connected Stripe account is required.
Product fundraisers don't require identity or organisation verification by default, and identity checks are only requested in specific cases.
Stripe: "Connected" vs "Payouts Enabled"
These are two different things, and it helps to know the difference:
- Connected (charges enabled) means your account can take card payments. This is required for crowdfunding to go live. Product fundraisers can also accept cash and bank transfer, so Stripe is optional but recommended for them.
- Payouts enabled means Stripe has finished verifying your details and can pay funds out to your bank account. Card payments can be live while payouts are still pending, and you'll receive the money once Stripe completes its checks.
For more on this, see How Stripe Payments Work.
The Short Version
- Product fundraiser: verify your email, get admin approval, and you're live (cash and bank transfer work straight away; connect Stripe to take card payments).
- Crowdfunding campaign: verify your email, complete identity and organisation verification, connect Stripe, and get admin approval.
Related Help Articles
- Fundraising on Behalf of an Organisation - Verification for organisations
- How Stripe Payments Work - Connecting Stripe and getting paid
- Running a Crowdfunding Campaign - Crowdfunding overview
Need Help?
If you're stuck on any step or your campaign hasn't been approved when you expected, contact our support team and we'll take a look.