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Contactless Donation Kiosks for Cathedrals
A cathedral welcomes thousands through the great west door every week, and almost none of them carry cash. The donation box that once rattled by the entrance now sits quiet, while the cost of keeping a medieval building standing runs to thousands of pounds a day. A DonorDynamics donation kiosk turns that visitor flow back into income, one tap at a time, and captures Gift Aid declarations as it does.
From a minster with seasonal visitor peaks to a cathedral with year-round footfall, every device arrives pre-configured. Unbox it, connect it, and it is taking donations before evensong.
Why Visitor Giving Has to Be Contactless
Cathedral visitors are tourists as much as worshippers, and many arrive from abroad with no sterling at all. Cash now accounts for roughly one in ten UK payments, and for international visitors the figure is lower still. A kiosk by the entrance lets every visitor give in their own currency's card or wallet, in the time it takes to tap.
- Takes Apple Pay, Google Pay, contactless cards from any country, on screen PIN, and QR code donations
- Runs unattended in locked kiosk mode, so stewards and welcomers are never tied to it
- LED edge lighting picks up your campaign colours and draws the eye across a large nave
- GDPR and PCI DSS compliant, so payment details never become your problem to store
Gift Aid Without the Envelope
Each device runs Give A Little fundraising software, which captures digital Gift Aid declarations on screen. A UK taxpayer completes a short declaration and the cathedral claims 25% on top from HMRC, with every declaration stored and exported ready for your claim. At cathedral visitor volumes, the difference between Gift Aided and plain giving is a roof fund in its own right.
Matching a Device to Your Building
A west-end welcome area, a side chapel, a cloister and a cathedral shop all need something different. Five form factors cover them.
CharityStand, £899
The full floor-standing kiosk, made for exactly this setting. Placed in the visitor flow at the entrance or exit, it is impossible to miss and dignified enough for the architecture around it.
CharityWall, £439
A fixed giving point mounted at eye level by the door, in the porch or at the exit through the shop. Noticed on the way in, used on the way out.
CharityPole, £729
A freestanding pole that moves with the calendar: the nave for a carol service, the chapter house for an exhibition, the cloister for a summer event.
CharityTab, £399
Wireless and VESA-mountable, the way to add giving points around the building: one in a side chapel for candles and prayer intentions, one by the treasury, one at the tower entrance.
CharityDesk, £439
Made for the welcome desk and the cathedral shop counter, with a 1.8 m security cable so it stays where you put it.
Live Before the Weekend Visitors Arrive
Give A Little comes pre-installed at the factory. Three things stand between unboxing and your first donation:
- Wi-Fi at the device location, or a mobile dongle where a metre of stone defeats the signal
- A free Give A Little account from givealittle.co
- A Stripe account linked to the cathedral's existing bank account
Connect, sign in, done. No diocesan IT request, no contractor visit.
One Device, Many Funds
Create as many campaigns as you need and customise each one with your own branding, imagery and suggested donation amounts. From the Give A Little dashboard you can change what appears on screen at any time, without anyone touching the device. Switch the general visitor appeal to the fabric fund for a restoration push, put the music foundation on screen for a concert evening, then switch back, all controlled remotely.
Questions Cathedrals Ask Us
Will overseas visitors' cards work?
Yes. Contactless cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay work regardless of where the card was issued, and the donation settles to your account in sterling.
Can we run separate funds for fabric, music and mission?
Yes. Each fund runs as its own campaign in Give A Little, tracked and reported separately, so restricted funds stay restricted from the first tap.
Our walls are a metre of stone. What about Wi-Fi?
Common problem, simple fix. A 4G dongle or a small router near the device gives a reliable connection where the building's network cannot reach. Ask us and we will recommend a setup for your building.
What does it cost to run?
The hardware is a one-off purchase from DonorDynamics with no subscription. Give A Little applies a platform fee and Stripe charges its standard processing rate. That is the whole cost picture.
Turn Footfall Into the Fabric Fund
Compare the full range, or tell us about your building and visitor numbers and we will point you to the right devices and placement.
For the parish end of the spectrum, our churches page covers smaller buildings. Cathedrals that welcome visitors as an attraction will also recognise themselves in our heritage sites and museums pages.