Organizers in the United States can use Pledge to raise funds for their group(s) via member-contributed donations. All donations are optional. Collected funds can be used at the organizer's discretion to offset subscriptions or event costs, such as venue rentals or catering.
⚠️Currently, it is not possible to apply pledge funds directly to your Meetup bill to offset or lower your Meetup Organizer subscription. You will need to use a credit, debit, or prepaid card to pay your Meetup organizer subscription. Pledge funds cannot be used directly for this purpose.
At present, fundraising via Meetup is limited to organizers and members located in the United States; and groups outside the U.S. and those within a sponsored Meetup Pro network do not yet have access. However, if you’re based elsewhere, you can still raise money by linking to an external fundraising platform in your group’s description.
Linking your Pledge account
If you're the organizer of one or more Meetup groups, you can activate a contributions campaign for each of your groups. Funds can be collected with a Pledge account.
Desktop / Mobile web
- Log into your Meetup account.
- Follow the prompts on your logged-in homepage or your group homepage to Activate Pledge.
- If you don't have a Pledge account, follow the prompts to visit Pledge and create an account.
- Finish setting up fundraising by filling out your banking information on Pledge's website.
- After you activate Pledge, please complete the setup process within 7 days to continue collecting member contributions.
Android & iOS apps
- Log in to your Meetup account and navigate to your group homepage.
- Tap the three dots menu icon in the top right-hand corner.
- Select Group settings.
- Click Fundraising.
- Tap Activate.
- If you don't have a Pledge account, click Go to Pledge and create an account.
- Finish setting up fundraising by filling out your banking information on Pledge's website.
- After you activate Pledge, please complete the setup process within 7 days to continue collecting member contributions.
If you dismiss the prompts to activate Pledge from your main or group homepage, you can always start the process through your group settings (Manage group -> Edit group settings -> Fundraising).
Managing your Pledge campaign
Once you've activated your Pledge account, you may deactivate your contributions campaign, as well as adjust certain settings.
Desktop / Mobile web
On your Meetup group's homepage, click Manage group, then select Edit group settings.
Click Fundraising.
Adjust your Category or financial Goal by decreasing or increasing the amount.
Click Save to apply your changes.
To track your total contributions, edit your banking details, or collect your funds, click the Go to Pledge button in the top right corner of this settings page.
To deactivate your contributions campaign:
On your Meetup group's homepage, click Manage group, then select Edit group settings.
Click Fundraising.
Switch the toggle off.
Click Save to apply your changes.
Transaction fees
A transaction fee of 2.9% + $0.30 is taken from the total amount a member donates. The group receives the remainder of the contribution. If a member decides to add a tip to their donation, the tip goes to Pledge and Meetup.
How members donate
After you’ve activated Pledge, your group members will see donation prompts on your group homepage. Hosts can also choose in the event scheduler to promote your Pledge campaign on event homepages. The donation prompt on the event homepages will be visible only to the event attendees.
Taxes with Pledge fundraising
Please check with a tax professional to categorize the funds you receive as either income or a gift. The tax filings will change based on this designation.