Some things you need to be aware of when using PayPal for Donations:
You will need either a "verified" PayPal Premier Account or a "verified" PayPal Business Account. Either account will allow you to accept credit card transaction.
PayPal's FAQs state: To Verify your PayPal account, just link your bank account to your PayPal account or be approved for PayPal Smart Connect or the PayPal Plus MasterCard®. (Note, the PayPal Plus MasterCard was introduced in 2001. In 2011 the name was changed to the PayPal Extras MasterCard.)
From experience, we’ve learned that in order to use PayPal without limits, it best to link and confirm a bank account (checking account) plus link and confirm a credit card (not the prepaid type) or register your SSN # or do all three. (Note, when you link and confirm a credit card, this acts as additional proof of ID, a backup funding source and allows you to do instant transfers verses sending eChecks or in the UK eCheques.)
Next concerning the use of PayPal's actual Donation item button code either on a web page or thru email text links:
If using the online button creator to generate the Donation item button code, you will see the following notice:
"This button is intended for fundraising. If you are not raising money for a cause, please choose another option. Nonprofits and or must verify their status to withdraw donations they receive. Users that are not verified nonprofits must demonstrate how their donations will be used, once they raise more than $10,000."
Having said all of that, if you are not a Nonprofit or 501(c)(3) Organization, it appears you can still use the Donation item button code as long as don't think you will ever raise $10,000 or more.
Should you simply want to avoid all of this, one easy option is to use a Buy Now item button. You can code it so an amount can be entered right on the PayPal Screen. You can also use the the Shipping Override Variables so as not to charge any shipping if you have a shipping method setup for other purposes. Using a Buy Now type button allows people to give you funds without having a PayPal Account. Note, you would still pay the standard transaction processing fees, same as selling an item and you must have either a Premier or Business Account, a Personal Account won't work.
Another easy option would be to have people use the send money feature. Of course they would have to have a PayPal Account and if they send the funds as a gift assuming they don't use a credit card, there would be no fees unless the funds are being sent out of the country.
Here's a short into as to How PayPal Works:
https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/helpcenter/article/?articleID=94051&m=SRE
To learn more about how to create the various types of item button code, see the Guides on this link:
https://www.paypal.com/webapps/mpp/standard-integration
And there are are alternative services for fund raising. For example, check out this one:
http://www.gofundme.com/
