How to collect dues and event fees

A group can collect money from its families: yearly (or term) dues, and a fee for an event like a field trip. Families pay by card, and the money goes straight to the group's own Stripe account. Gatherings takes nothing. Families who pay by cash or check can be marked paid, so everything is tracked in one place on the group's Payments tab.

Connect Stripe (Admins)

1. Open the group's Payments tab and tap Connect Stripe.
2. Make (or sign in to) a Stripe account for the group, with the group's details and the bank account where its money should go.
3. When you're sent back, Card payments says it's connected. If Stripe still needs details, tap Finish setting up Stripe. Stripe sometimes takes a minute or two to check the details; refresh the page to see when cards are on.

Like any payment processor, Stripe asks the person connecting for their name, date of birth and Social Security number to confirm who runs the account, and the group's EIN if it has one. These go only to Stripe. For the website, Stripe needs a page it can open without signing in: turn on your group's public page first (see How to give your group a public page), or use the group's own website or public Facebook page.

Stripe charges about 2.9% + 30¢ for each card payment. Payouts, receipts and refunds are in your Stripe account: tap Open Stripe. You can set up dues and fees before connecting Stripe and mark cash and checks in the meantime.

Membership dues (Admins)

On Payments, tap Set up dues. Give them a name (2026–27 dues), the amount per family, and an optional Due by date. Choose who pays the Card fee:

• The group pays it: families pay the plain amount, and Stripe's fee comes out of what the group receives.
• Families pay it on top: a family paying by card pays a little more, so the group gets the full amount. The form shows exactly how much.

Families see the dues on Payments and at the top of the Feed until they've paid. Nobody is locked out for not paying. When it's time for next year's dues, set up new ones; last year's payments stay on record.

Event fees (Leaders and Admins)

Open the event and tap Collect a fee. Set the amount, whether it's Per family or Per person, and who pays the card fee. Families see the fee on the event and on Payments; for a per-person fee they choose how many people they're paying for.

See who's paid and remind the rest

Payments lists each fee's paid families and the ones who haven't paid: every family for dues, and families who said they're coming for an event. Tap Remind the families who haven't paid to email their parents (once every 12 hours at most). Admins can tap Mark a family paid (cash or check) for money paid another way, and remove a record added by mistake.

Tap Change to edit a fee, or Stop collecting to close it (what's been paid stays on record). Admins can Download payments (CSV) for the treasurer.

Paying (parents)

Tap Pay … by card on the event or on Payments. You'll pay on Stripe's secure page; Gatherings never sees your card number. Stripe emails your receipt, and the fee shows as Paid. For a refund, ask a group Admin: refunds are made in the group's Stripe account and show here as Refunded.