To show donation alerts during a charity live stream, first publish or activate a campaign with a fundraising service, then connect that campaign to an alert service that can receive its donation events. Add the service’s widget to OBS only after the event and alert are configured: OBS displays the alert but does not process donations.
The exact steps depend on the services and account you use. Streamlabs documents a workflow for Streamlabs Charity, and Tiltify documents its own overlays and a Streamlabs integration; neither establishes that every campaign or service supports the same events or options.
Choose the fundraiser and donation service
Start by deciding where the campaign will live and how donations will be recorded. That is a separate decision from what appears on screen. The fundraiser or donation service is responsible for the campaign and its donation route; an alert service must receive a supported event before it can display an alert. OBS is the scene and broadcast software that can display a provider’s widget.
Before building your scene, answer three practical questions: where will a viewer donate, which service records that donation, and which alert service can connect to that campaign or receive its events? If you also want a running goal total, check whether the fundraiser or alert provider offers a goal widget tied to the same campaign. A general donation alert and a campaign goal are related, but they may be separate widgets or features.
A Streamlabs Charity campaign linked through Streamlabs is one documented route. Tiltify offers its own overlays and alerts, and Streamlabs documents connecting Tiltify donations to its alert box. Those examples are not interchangeable instructions: check the current help material and controls for the combination you intend to use. If you are deciding whether YouTube Live suits your audience and format, this guide to choosing between YouTube Live and Twitch covers the platform question, but it does not determine how a particular charity integration works.
| What you need | Check before setting up | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Fundraiser | Can you create and publish a campaign for this event? | An unpublished or unselected campaign may not be available to the alert connection. |
| Donation route | Where does a viewer complete the donation, and where is it recorded? | A visible alert is not proof that a donation was processed. |
| Alert connection | Does your chosen alert service document support for this campaign or donation event? | Services do not share one universal integration list. |
| On-screen display | Is there an alert widget, a goal widget, or both? | These can be different features with separate setup steps. |
For a continuous channel, keep the charity overlay plan distinct from the main programming plan. The alert should fit the scene without obscuring lyrics, subtitles, a local-news ticker or other information viewers need to read. If your live format uses a planned rotation, the advice on preventing gaps when switching videos may help with the broadcast schedule, but alerts still need their own provider-side configuration.
Publish or activate the charity campaign
Create the fundraiser before attempting to connect it to an alert service. A service may only show campaigns that are already published or otherwise active in the account. For the Streamlabs Charity route, Streamlabs’ guide describes creating the campaign, entering its details and goal, then publishing it. Read the Streamlabs campaign setup guide for its current process.
When you prepare campaign details, check the campaign title, beneficiary information, donation destination and any wording that viewers will see. Make sure the live stream description and spoken explanation point to the same intended fundraiser. Do not treat the alert as a substitute for a clear donation link: someone may watch without seeing a particular alert, or may choose to donate after the stream.
Once published, confirm that the campaign appears as expected in the fundraiser’s own interface. If the provider offers a public campaign page, review it as a viewer would. This is a basic check of the route you intend to share, not a guarantee of eligibility, processing or account behaviour. For questions about campaign availability or donation handling, use that fundraising provider’s current guidance.
If your fundraiser uses a different service, follow its own activation steps. Do not assume a campaign link alone connects it to an alert tool. The campaign may need to be selected from an account integration, authorised, or connected through a documented workflow. Continue only when the alert provider can identify the correct campaign or donation source.
Link the campaign to the alert service
Now connect the published campaign to the alert service that will emit the event. In Streamlabs’ documented workflow, open account integrations, find the Streamlabs Charity entry, choose Manage Campaigns, select the campaign you will raise money for and save. The relevant sequence is campaign first, integration second; an alert box cannot announce an event it has not been configured to receive.
After saving, inspect the integration’s selected campaign rather than relying on memory. This matters if an account has run more than one event. Selecting an old campaign can leave an alert technically working while pointing viewers to the wrong fundraiser. If the current controls differ from the guide, pause and consult the provider’s current instructions rather than improvising with a different integration.
Tiltify uses a different path. Streamlabs’ Tiltify integration tutorial describes authorising Streamlabs from the Tiltify account, then customising Tiltify donation alerts in Alert Box > Tiltify Donations. Follow that route only if it matches your account and intended campaign. Tiltify also documents its own overlay controls, which do not imply that every Tiltify campaign has identical integration options.
The key check is whether the correct campaign and event appear in the alert service. If you cannot find the campaign, check its published state, the account authorised to connect it and the provider’s supported integrations. Do not attempt to solve a missing connection by adding a random widget URL to OBS: OBS cannot create the donation event or repair a provider-side account link.
Select the charity donation event
Once the campaign is connected, choose the specific event that should trigger the alert. In the Streamlabs Charity instructions, the event is called Streamlabs Charity Donation. In the alert settings, expand Global Event Types and select that event to customise it. Its name matters: a generic donation alert or an event for a different service may not represent the campaign you intend to show.
This is also where you decide whether the alert should appear for every supported donation or use any available event conditions. Check the live settings rather than assuming that a threshold or filter exists. Provider documentation describes particular controls, not a universal event model. If there is no event matching your fundraiser, verify the integration and ask the provider whether the campaign can emit an alert before telling viewers to expect one.
Keep a simple record of the route for anyone helping operate the stream: campaign name, connected service and selected event. That small note can prevent confusion during a handover, especially if a charity broadcast is part of a daily or weekly channel schedule. It is not necessary to expose account credentials or private widget links in that note.
If you are broadcasting from OBS, remember that its role begins at presentation. The OBS Project says OBS Studio does not directly provide facilities to receive donations; donation processing and alert events depend on the external service. See the OBS Project’s donation FAQ for that distinction. OBS can show a provider’s alert through an appropriate source, but it does not authenticate your fundraiser or record a donation.
Customise the visible or audible alert
Make the alert useful to viewers without letting it take over the programme. Consider how long it stays on screen, where it appears, whether the sound is appropriate, and whether the alert text remains readable against the video. The exact controls depend on the provider and widget. Streamlabs allows its charity donation alert to be customised through the alert settings used for other event types; Tiltify documents options for its overlays and alerts, including appearance and animation controls depending on the widget.
For a devotional stream, a loud sound or a large animated graphic may interrupt a bhajan or prayer. For a study channel, a brief, quiet alert in a corner may be less disruptive. For a local news loop, make sure an alert does not cover a headline, caption or emergency information. These are editorial choices, not technical guarantees: preview the actual scene at the size and layout viewers will see.
If you are using a goal display as well as a donation alert, treat them as separate elements. Streamlabs documents a Charity Donation Goal widget separately from its donation event alert. A goal widget presents campaign progress; the event alert reacts to a donation event. Confirm that the goal corresponds to the same campaign and that any total shown is the one the provider supplies. Do not edit a number on screen to imply a donation total the service has not confirmed.
Set the wording with care. Thank a donor only if the service provides an appropriate name or message and your event’s moderation choices allow it. Avoid promising that every donation will appear instantly or be acknowledged on screen. An alert system can only display the events it receives under its provider’s rules and account conditions.
Add the service’s widget to OBS
When the alert or goal widget is ready, add the provider-supplied widget to the scene in OBS. Streamlabs’ guide for its charity goal widget describes copying the widget URL, adding a Browser source in OBS, pasting the URL into its URL field, then sizing and positioning the source. The same principle applies only when the provider’s instructions specify a Browser source; follow another documented method if your service supplies one.
Choose a scene where the overlay should be visible, then place the source above the video layer so it can be seen. Check its dimensions and position with your actual scene elements in view. A widget that looks tidy on an empty canvas may cover a logo, subtitles or a key part of the picture once the regular programme is running. If you are new to the broadcast workflow, this guide to going live on YouTube explains the broader setup, while the charity provider’s instructions should remain the authority for its widget.
Treat the widget URL as private. Streamlabs specifically warns not to show the charity goal widget URL on stream. Do not paste it into a text source, display it in a browser window during the broadcast, or include it in a public setup screenshot. A person who sees a private widget URL may be able to access or affect the widget, depending on how that provider handles it. Keep it in the source configuration and restrict access to the account and scene files as appropriate.
OBS is not the donation destination. The on-screen source is a display layer supplied by the alert service; it does not accept payment, validate a donor or guarantee that a donation reaches the intended organisation. Keep the campaign page and donation route available to viewers through the channel’s normal description or spoken information, using the exact destination provided by the fundraiser.
Test the alert and explain the donation route
Test before the charity event, in the scene you will actually use. Use the provider’s preview or test function where available, then check the alert’s placement, size, duration and audio level while the normal video is playing. Streamlabs’ alert guidance describes a live preview. A preview checks presentation, but does not necessarily prove that a real donation from a viewer’s account will be processed or that every account-level integration behaves identically.
Check the end-to-end route as far as the providers allow: the campaign is published, the alert service has the correct campaign selected, the intended donation event is enabled, and the widget displays in the OBS scene. If the alert tool offers a test event, use it to confirm that the scene receives and renders the event. Do not make a real donation solely to test unless you understand the provider’s process and are willing to complete that transaction.
Also test the stream’s explanation of how to give. Put the campaign link where viewers can find it, state which fundraiser receives donations, and clarify whether the on-screen alert is a visual acknowledgement rather than the means of donating. This helps avoid a common misunderstanding: viewers may see a name or amount on screen and assume OBS itself handled the transaction. The route is the campaign service; OBS only displays the supplied widget.
Keep a fallback plan for the event. If the alert stops appearing, continue sharing the correct campaign destination and check the alert provider’s account connection after the stream segment, rather than claiming donations are not arriving based only on a missing graphic. Conversely, do not infer donations from an alert alone if the fundraiser’s own records do not confirm them. The fundraising service’s records are the place to check donation status.
StreamNeo can remove the need to keep your own computer running a pre-recorded, always-on YouTube broadcast, which is useful when your charity channel needs to continue overnight; the donation campaign and alert connection still need to be configured with their respective providers. For that longer-running broadcast, make sure your underlying file and scene are prepared separately from the fundraiser widget. If a source video is rejected for a technical reason, this guide to converting prerecorded files in a GStreamer pipeline addresses that separate problem.
Before committing, compare the operating options on the pricing page. When the file and channel are ready, start free — 24-hour trial, no card.
FAQ
Does OBS receive or process charity donations?
No. OBS Studio does not directly provide facilities to receive donations. The fundraiser or donation provider handles the donation route, and an alert service must receive a supported event before OBS can display its widget.
Do all charity platforms work with the same alert service?
No. Integrations, campaign selection and event types vary by provider and may also vary by account or campaign. Check the current documentation and controls for the exact fundraiser and alert service you plan to use.
Can I show a fundraising goal as well as donation alerts?
Possibly, if your provider offers a goal widget for your campaign. It may be configured separately from the event alert, so confirm that both refer to the intended campaign and preview them together in OBS.
How can I tell whether the setup works before going live?
Use the provider’s preview or test event where available, and inspect the complete scene with your regular video playing. That checks how the widget appears, but it does not guarantee that every real donation or account-level integration will behave identically.