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Legacy: 🕵️ How to Add an Anonymous Bidder for Offline Donations

⚠️Legacy features will be retired at the beginning of 2026. For more details on this change, click here.

Want to track a donation without displaying a real donor's name? You can easily add anonymous bidders or offline donations using ClickBid’s Butler or Text-to-Give tools.

✍️ Method 1: Add an Offline Donation via Butler

Use this option when you want to log a donation for reporting purposes, but don't need to collect payment immediately.

👣 Steps:

  1. Go to Bidders > Manage Bidders.

  2. Click Add Bidder.

  3. In the First Name field, enter Anonymous
    In the Last Name field, enter Bidder (or a name of your choice).

  4. Enter a placeholder phone number and email, like 123-456-7890 and email@example.com. 

  1. Navigate to Event Central > Butler.

  2. In the Bidder field, type the name or bidder number you just created.

  3. In the Item field, enter the name or number of the donation item.

  4. A new field labeled Enter an Amount will appear. Enter the donation amount.

  5. Click Add Bid to save the offline donation.

💡 Type in the Bidder or Item Name or Number to make a selection

📱 Method 2: Add a Donation Using Text-to-Give

This option allows you to display a donor’s name on the Appeal Display, even if they gave via check or cash. You can also use it to create a placeholder donation.

ℹ️ Info: This method is useful if you want a donor name to appear publicly but don't need immediate payment.

👣 Steps:

  1. Go to Donations > Text-to-Give.

  2. Click Settings, then launch the Text-to-Give link shown on the page.

  3. On the first form:

    • Enter the donation amount

    • Provide the first and last name

    • Add a phone number (real or fake)

  1. Click Submit.
    On the next page (which requests payment), do not complete the form. Just exit the page.

💡 Tip: After clicking Submit, the donor's name will still appear on the Appeal Display if it's configured to show Text-to-Give donations.

❌ Don't Have a Donor Phone Number?

If you want to use the Text-to-Give method but don't have a real phone number:

  • Use a fake phone number, such as 123-456-7890.

  • Complete the form as in the steps above.

⚠️ Warning: You won’t be able to re-send a payment request text without a real phone number, so be sure to collect payment through another method.

🧹 After the Event

  • Under Donations/Text to Give > Manage Donations, you can remove any unpaid Text-to-Give donations if they were paid another way.

  • Or click Re-Send next to each unpaid donation to send a reminder text.