What can a Paypal “Donate” button do for you? It could cost you lots of money and lots of trouble!  According to Rosiland Gardner (someone I consider a reliable source), if you are using a “Donate” button, yet not a recognized charity, you may want to re-think your strategy. I’ve seen these buttons on quite a few blogs, and have even donated on them. What I found out on her blog, Net Profits Today, was that PayPal has been known to freeze accounts with buttons like these and when that happens, you lose all the revenue in that account, too.

So, is it wrong to ask for donations? Yes, unless you are a recognized charity.

Is it wrong to ask for money? No! You just can’t use the word “DONATE”.

Some suitable replacements could be a Tip Jar, or a ‘Buy me a cup of coffee’ button.  Homeschoolers could create a button or image asking for contributions to their book fund or field trip account . . . or simply:  ‘Help support this blog!” The more I think about it, the more I think it could be a good idea for more bloggers to do this – for themselves, but also for others.

It’s always nice to show gratitude, and God tells us in many different ways how important this is. Have you ever noticed how good you feel when you do a random act of kindness? Much like the early church knew the law told them to wash their hands before eating and to separate those with disease from the rest of the camp, God knew how much it benefits us to be grateful and kind.  A 2005 study from Hebrew University in Israel found a link between kindness and a gene that releases dopamine, a feel-good neurotransmitter in the brain. It’s that warm fuzzy feeling inside when you do something nice for someone. It’s no longer a theory… it’s a fact.

Think about it, how much can one dollar buy these days? Materially, not much. But when you give a dollar to someone because you’ve gotten something out of their blog, it’s not only a really nice thing to do, it can really make someone’s day. And you’ll feel really great for doing it. All for only a $1. (or more)

So, how do you put a Paypal button on your blog?

If you don’t have a Paypal account, then it’s time you did, so sign up at https://www.paypal.com.

Create a “Donate” button, but when you get to “Customize button” click on the radio button  ‘use your own button image’. A video showing you exactly how to do this can be found at:

http://www.blogadr.com/tutorials/free-paypal-tutorial/paypal_donation.html

I haven’t actually tried this, but you could probably use the code they offer for email and attach it to any image.

Or. . . Use A WP Plugin:

Another way that I understand is much easier is explained by Wendy Merritt on The Moxie Mom Blog. She explains exactly how to install what is called the “Buy Me a Beer (or coffee..)” plug in. She has a working example on her blog you can see.

So, now that you know how to make others feel good about themselves, are you going to put one on your blog? Or do you think that’s tacky?

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” ~Matthew 6:19-21

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