Why Your Donation Tracking Doesn’t Always Match What Hits Your Bank

(And Why That’s Not a Bad Thing)

Let’s be honest—when you’re running digital campaigns, it can be a bit jarring to see the donation figures on your dashboard not quite matching the income in your bank account.

Understandably, this raises questions. Is the platform underreporting? Are donations falling through the cracks? Is something broken?

Here’s the good news: in most cases, your actual donation income is higher than what shows in your ads dashboard.

This blog explains why that happens, how ad platforms track donations (or don’t), and why a bit of flexibility in your campaigns goes a long way.

Reported Donations vs. Real-Life Bank Transfers

Let’s break it down. When someone clicks on your ad and donates, platforms like Google or Meta try to track that action. But there are a few reasons why they might miss it:

• Some users don’t accept cookies or tracking
• iOS and Apple devices block tracking by default
• Donations often happen days after an ad is seen
• Platforms rely on modelling, not exact data

That means your tracking reports are just one piece of the puzzle. They’re designed to be conservative to avoid overreporting. So yes, your Google dashboard might say £1,000 came in—but your Stripe account might show £1,300. That missing £300? Likely from donors who weren’t tracked properly but still gave.

The bottom line? Underreporting is normal, and your actual income is often better than it looks on paper.

Why We Don’t Just Stick to One Campaign or Page

You might be thinking, “Why not just push all our traffic to one page and focus the spend there?”

Fair question—but in reality, that limits performance.

Ad platforms like Meta and Google use machine learning to decide which creatives, audiences, and landing pages are performing best. If we only give them one option—and it doesn’t do well—we risk wasting your budget.

Instead, we run a mix of campaigns:

• Awareness ads to build interest
• Traffic ads to guide people in
• Donation ads to close the loop

This approach allows the platform to optimise in real time, prioritising what works best. Flexibility gives us better performance, lower cost per donation, and more value for your budget.

TL;DR – Quick Recap

Conclusion

We know how important it is to see the full picture when it comes to your donations—and we also know how frustrating it can be when the numbers don’t line up exactly the way you expect.

But here’s the thing: just because a donation isn’t tracked, doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. Ad platforms are doing their best with the data they’re allowed to see. Our job is to bridge that gap, help you understand where the blind spots are, and make sure your campaigns are still performing at their best—even when tracking isn’t perfect.

That’s where our platform comes in.

AdShare isn’t just a media buying tool—it’s a full-service, AI-powered ecosystem designed specifically for charities who want to reach Muslim and faith-based audiences. With over 15 years of experience, £35M+ in donations generated every year, and 5 million+ visitors driven to charity websites annually, we know how to get your message in front of the right people—at the right time.

Here’s what you get when you work with us:

• Unparalleled reach across social, search, streaming, and display platforms
• Advanced targeting based on behaviours, interests, location, and faith-aligned values
• Custom dashboards showing real-time donation tracking, ad spend, and conversions
• Full campaign management and ongoing optimisation
• A team that gets it—faith, fundraising, and everything in between

Whether you’re prepping for Ramadan, Qurbani, or your next big fundraising push—now’s the time to get ahead.

Ready to see what smart faith-based advertising looks like? Book a demo and let’s build a campaign that delivers real impact—not just clicks.