Using the sponsorship feature to defray Groups.io hosting costs

About sponsorships

Groups.io has a sponsorship feature that group owners can enable to allow group members to help cover the group’s hosting costs, such as the per-member cost in Premium groups. 

Enabling the sponsorship feature

1. Desktop browser: In the left menu on the group’s website, select Admin > Preferences > Settings.
   Mobile device: At the bottom of a group page, tap the More icon, then select Admin > Preferences > Settings on the More menu.
2. On the General panel of the Settings page, select the Allow Sponsorships checkbox.
3. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click or tap the Update Group button.
4. Go to your group’s home page and verify that a Sponsor This Group button appears in the Group Information section of the page.

When members click the Sponsor This Group button, they are taken to a Sponsor Group page where they can specify a sponsorship amount (minimum of $5.00 US) and pay by credit card, debit card, PayPal, Apple Pay, or Google Pay.

Tip: You can create a customized Group Sponsorship notice that is sent automatically to members who sponsor the group. (This notice is in addition to the automated email receipt that members receive.)

Reviewing sponsorship payment activity

1. Desktop browser: In the left menu on the group’s website, select Admin > Activity.
   Mobile device: At the bottom of a group page, tap the More icon, then select Admin > Activity on the More menu.
2. On the Activity page, click or tap the All Activity button and select Payment Activity on the dropdown menu. All activities related to sponsorships are listed.
   Note: If the group is a Premium or Enterprise group that is set up for donation requests, the Payment Activity page lists donation activities as well.
3. To filter the activity results for sponsorships, select Group - Sponsorship failed or Group - Sponsorship made from the actions dropdown list.

Checking the sponsorship reserve amount

To see how much money is in a group’s sponsorship reserve:

1. Desktop browser: Select Admin > Preferences > Billing (in a Premium or Enterprise group) or Admin > Preferences > Upgrade (in a Free group).
   Mobile browser: At the bottom of a group page, tap the More icon, then select Admin > Preferences > Billing (in a Premium or Enterprise group) or Admin > Preferences > Upgrade (in a Free group).
   Note: In the Groups.io mobile app, the Billing and Upgrade entries are not available due to rules imposed by the Apple App Store and Google Play.
2. On the Billing page, review the Current Plan panel. That panel contains a line showing how much money is in reserve to pay hosting fees.

When the sponsorship reserve contains a sufficient amount for your group, you can remove the Sponsor This Group button from your group’s home page by clearing the Allow Sponsorship checkbox in the group’s settings. Remember to click or tap the Update Group button after you clear the checkbox.

Additional sponsorship information

• Group sponsorships generate moderator notifications. Sponsorships also are recorded in the Activity log.
• Sponsorships are nonrefundable. Sponsorship amounts are held by Groups.io and are used to pay hosting fees for the sponsored group as needed.
• The entire amount of a sponsorship is added to the reserve—that is, no processing fees are deducted.
• If a fee is paid solely by sponsorship reserves, you will not be sent a payment receipt; however, you will receive an email notification.
• Free groups can allow sponsorships. Upgrading a Free group to Premium level requires a credit card to be on file at that time, but you can delete the credit card from the Billing page in your Groups.io account after you have upgraded the group and rely solely on sponsorship reserves to pay the fee.
• Any group sponsorships that you have paid are listed on the Billing page in your Groups.io account.
• The sponsorship feature is separate from the Donations feature available in Premium and Enterprise groups.
• Group sponsorship amounts are not tax deductible.