You have a few options:
All of your friends would need to have a PayPal Account. Then each could use the send money feature. They would choose the gift option, the funds would then go to your account balance. PayPal does not charge fees for using this feature unless a credit card is used for funding, then either you or the sender will be charged 2.9% plus $.30 for processing the transaction. Note, it may be a bit of a challenge because if your friends don't already have a PayPal account, they would have to open one.
Next, you could setup a donation web page or a Facebook link. This would require you to have either a Premier or Business Account and the account must be verified meaning that you have successfully linked and confirmed both a bank account and a credit card. Having done that, you can create a donation item button using the online button creator from within your PayPal account. Note, for each donation you receive regardless of the funding source, PayPal will charge you 2.9% plus $.30 for processing. See this link for info on creating a donation button: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_donate-intro-outside
Last and easiest, ask your friends to mail checks. Simple and straight forward. No accounts required!
