💸 Setting Up Recurring Donations 

 Recurring donations help your organization build consistent, year-round support. Once you enable the feature on a donation item, donors can choose to give monthly and manage their giving directly from their Donor Profile. 

🛠️ What is a Recurring Donation?

 A recurring donation allows a donor to give on a regular monthly schedule instead of a one-time gift. This helps nonprofits build a more sustainable fundraising model without requiring donors to remember to give each month. 

There are 2 different methods for a recurring donation. Through a donation item, and through the Donation/TTG page. 

1. ⚙️ Step 1: Enable Recurring Donations on a Donation Item

   Recurring donations are enabled at the item level. You will need to turn this on for each donation item where you want the option to appear.

   1. In the left-hand navigation, click Items to expand the menu.
   2. Click Manage Items.
   3. Locate the donation item you want to enable recurring donations for and click the edit icon to open it.
   4. Scroll down to the Essentials section> Item Type, and check the box labeled Allow Recurring Donations.
   5. Click Complete and Go Back.
   
   

                          

    

On the Manage Items page, you'll now see a “recurring” tag next to any donation items with recurring enabled

📂 Step 2: View and Manage Recurring Donors

Once donors have set up recurring donations, you can monitor and manage them from the Recurring Donors page.

1. In the left-hand navigation, click Recurring Donors.
2. View each donor's name, donation amount, next donation date, card on file, status, and the event the donation is tied to.
3. Admin contacts will receive a confirmation email each time a recurring donation is successfully processed.
4. If a donor cancels their recurring donation, the admin contact email listed under Software Settings > Event Settings > Event Support Contact will be notified.

📬 Step 3: Send a Donor Their Login Link

Donors manage their recurring giving through their Donor Profile. If they need access, you can send them a login link directly from the Recurring Donors page.

1. On the Recurring Donors page, locate the donor.
2. Click Send Login Link next to their name.
3. The donor will receive an email with a link to access their Donor Profile.

💻 How the Donor Experience Works

On the bidding site:

1. The donor selects a Donation Item during the event.
2. A popup appears giving them the option to Donate Once or view Monthly Options.
3. If they choose monthly, they complete their donation and are enrolled in recurring giving.

After each donation:

Donors receive a receipt email after every processed recurring donation. The email includes their donation details and a link to access and manage their Donor Profile.

🔐 Step 4: Donor Sets Up Their Profile

The first time a donor accesses their Donor Profile, they will go through a brief setup process.

1. The donor clicks the link in their receipt email.
2. A confirmation message appears prompting them to verify their email address.
3. The donor completes verification and creates a password.
4. They log in and are taken to their Donor Profile.

👤 What Donors Can Do in Their Profile

Once logged in, donors have access to two main areas.

Profile tab

Donors can update their contact information, change their login credentials, manage email addresses on file, and manage phone numbers associated with their account. They can also add or remove payment cards and will see Expiring Soon or Expired labels on cards that need attention.

Manage Recurring Donations tab

Donors can view all upcoming donations, update donation details (amount, date, or card on file), pause or cancel a recurring donation, and view their full donation history. They can also export their donation records from this tab.

💬 Enabling Recurring Donations for Text-to-Give

If you want donors to be able to set up recurring giving through Text-to-Give or your online donation link, you will need to turn on the recurring donations setting in the Donations/TTG settings page. This is separate from enabling recurring donations on a specific donation item.

1. In the left-hand navigation, click Donations/TTG to expand the menu.
2. Click Settings.
3. On the Donation Settings page, scroll to the Donation Page Settings section.
4. Locate the Allow Recurring Donations? dropdown.
5. Select Yes.
6. Changes save automatically.

Other Donation/TTG Page Settings worth reviewing while you're here:

• Donation Goal: set a fundraising goal to display a progress bar on your donation page. Leave blank or enter 0 to hide the progress bar.
• Donation Buffer: enter any offline donations (cash, check, mail-in) to factor them into the progress bar.
• Donation Title: add a short title for your campaign. Your organization name is used by default.
• Suggested Amounts: add preset donation amounts that appear as buttons on the donation page. Donors can also enter a custom amount.
• Receipt Email Addresses: select which email addresses receive a copy of donation receipts. If none are selected, receipts go to the emails listed under Event Settings > Event Support Contact.
• Donation Description: describe what the donation drive is about. This text appears on the donation page where donors enter their gift amount.
• Donation Receipt Footer: add custom text that appears at the bottom of every donation receipt.

 📝 Summary

Recurring donations are a powerful way to grow sustainable support for your cause. Enable the feature on your donation items, share login links with donors when needed, and let donors manage the rest directly from their own profile. Everything stays organized in one place for both you and your donors.