What is the donation box and how do I get it? — Animal Crossing: New Horizons guide

The expansive Animal Crossing: New Horizons 2.0 update brought a new item to make players’ island lives easier: a Donation box. This wooden furniture piece allows players to collect donations from island visitors.

How to find the donation box

The donation box DIY recipe is available from the Nook Stop ATM in the resident center, under the Redeem Nook Miles section, and it’s available as soon as you download and install the 2.0 update. The Donation box recipe costs 800 Nook Miles, and is delivered to the player immediately.

After learning the recipe, it costs four wood and four softwood to build. The donation box can be customized with three finishes and three adorning stickers, along with a custom design.

Image: Nintendo via Polygon

What is the donation box for?

The donation box can be placed anywhere on your island after construction. When players interact with it, it asks if you’d like to make a 1.000 bell donation. If there is money in the donation box, the player whose island it is can also withdraw the bells inside.

The donation box seems likely to be a solution for players who want to thank others for letting them visit, but worry their gift may not be seen by its intended recipient. (Think of all those times you may have left a tip on during someone’s turnip spike when they were kind enough to open their gates to the world.)

Image: Nintendo via Polygon

Upon testing it, we found a visiting player that came via a Dodo Code could donate 1,000 bells at a time, and upon doing so, would say, “I deposited some bells!” The only downside? There isn’t any way to edit the amount you donate, so leaving a lot of money securely would take a lot of time. Still, this is a more secure option than leaving the bell sack on the ground and hoping for the best.