What you will learn
By the end of this tutorial, you should understand how to:
- create a focused giving form for one campaign or donor journey
- choose the right public fundraising features intentionally
- configure one-time and monthly giving clearly
- test the donation flow before launch
- review early donation activity after the page goes live
Scenario
A community nonprofit is running a year-end appeal and needs a branded giving page with:
- one-time and monthly gifts
- a visible public goal
- a matching campaign window
- a donor-selected designation list
- a public honor roll
The team wants the page to feel motivating to donors without becoming cluttered or confusing.
Before you begin
Before building the form, confirm:
- whether this form supports one focused campaign or a broader giving experience
- whether monthly giving should appear
- whether donor designation choice is really needed
- whether public momentum features support the campaign
- how the form should be tracked and reviewed after launch
The strongest giving forms usually support one clear donor journey.
Step 1 — Make the campaign decisions before you build
Before you create the form, decide:
- whether this is a general appeal or a fund-specific appeal
- whether donors should see one-time gifts, monthly gifts, or both
- how recurring receipts should work
- whether the form should be tenant-wide or team-specific
Why this matters
A giving form performs best when the page tells one coherent story.
If the campaign purpose is still unclear, the form usually becomes crowded because teams try to keep every option open.
Good practice
Write down the sentence:
“This form is for donors who want to…”
If that sentence is fuzzy, the form strategy is probably fuzzy too.
Step 2 — Create the giving form
- Open
Giving forms. - Choose
Create. - Complete the
Basicsstep. - Add the name, optional team assignment, and active state.
If you do not need a very specific public URL, leave the slug alone.
Why this matters
The form record becomes the operational home for the campaign page.
This is where staff will return to manage settings, review public behavior, and understand how gifts coming through the campaign should be interpreted later.
Team assignment matters operationally. Use it when the form should be managed by a specific team, not just because the campaign has a department attached to it.
Step 3 — Shape the first impression on the public page
Use the Banner step to build the top of the donor experience with:
- banner image
- heading
- subheading
- longer body copy
Why this matters
This is where the page stops feeling like a transaction form and starts feeling like a fundraising experience.
A strong banner section should help the donor understand:
- what this campaign is about
- why giving matters now
- what their gift will help accomplish
Example
For a scholarship appeal, use the banner to connect the donor to student impact before they reach the gift controls.
Good practice
Keep the message focused. A giving form banner is usually stronger when it supports one clear idea rather than trying to summarize your whole organization.
Step 4 — Choose public engagement features intentionally
Use the Engagement step to decide how campaign momentum and social proof should appear.
Goal and progress bar
Turn on the goal and progress bar when the campaign has a real public target that supporters should rally around.
This is especially useful when:
- the campaign is time-bound
- momentum is motivating
- public progress reinforces urgency or community participation
Matching timer
Turn on the matching timer when gifts are being matched during a defined window.
This can help create urgency, but only when the match is real and clearly explained.
Honor roll
Use the public donor list when recognition helps the campaign build momentum.
Skip it when privacy, discretion, or campaign tone makes public recognition a weaker fit.
Anonymous public gifts are excluded from the honor roll.
Why this step matters
These features can be powerful, but only when they support the donor journey.
Too many momentum features at once can make the page feel noisy or overly promotional.
Example
A Giving Tuesday page may benefit from a visible goal, a matching timer, and public recognition.
A tribute or memorial page usually needs a calmer, simpler experience.
Step 5 — Configure gift options clearly
Use Gift options to review:
- one-time gifts
- monthly gifts
- default gift type
- monthly receipt behavior
- public copy for gift choices
Why this matters
Gift configuration affects both donor clarity and long-term operational handling.
If monthly giving is enabled, the page should explain the recurring commitment in plain language.
Important
When monthly receipts are enabled, each monthly charge receives its own receipt.
When they are not, recurring gifts are consolidated and one annual receipt is emailed in January for the prior calendar year.
Good practice
Make sure the form language matches the actual recurring behavior. A donor should not need to infer whether a gift is recurring from the fine print.
Step 6 — Decide on fee coverage, designations, and public options
Continue through the form settings based on the donor experience you want to create.
Cover transaction fees
Use this when you want donors to optionally help offset processing costs.
Review the donor-facing wording carefully so it feels transparent and optional.
Designations
Turn on designations only when donor choice is meaningful and your team is ready to manage the resulting reporting and stewardship.
Tribute and anonymity
The public page supports tribute fields and an anonymous public display option.
Use these when they genuinely fit the giving experience and donor expectations.
Why this matters
Every added option increases complexity.
Only enable the options that make the giving experience clearer, more relevant, or more trustworthy.
Example
An education nonprofit may allow donors to choose among Scholarships, Emergency Support, and General Fund.
That is often better than exposing a long list of internal funds that most donors cannot interpret easily.
Step 7 — Add marketing and tracking deliberately
Use marketing consent controls if you want donors to opt into future communications from the public page.
Remember:
- hiding the marketing consent field does not unsubscribe anyone
- donation and receipt workflows are separate from marketing consent
- tracking defaults can be overridden by public link parameters
Why this matters
The same form may be shared across:
- social
- direct mail
- partner outreach
- QR codes
- event follow-up
Tracking helps your team understand what drove gifts later.
Marketing consent helps capture future communication interest, but it should not be confused with donation completion or receipting.
Step 8 — Review the public page before testing payments
Inspect the public page for:
- banner and copy quality
- default gift type
- designation visibility
- goal and progress display
- matching timer behavior
- fee coverage wording
- tribute and anonymity options
Why this matters
A form may be technically configured correctly but still feel confusing from the donor’s perspective.
This is the point where teams often catch:
- cluttered copy
- too many choices
- weak recurring framing
- a timer that is not active yet
- designations that feel too broad or too numerous
Review the page on mobile as if you were a first-time donor arriving from an email or social post.
Step 9 — Test the donation flow
Before sharing the form widely:
- Test one-time giving.
- Test monthly giving if enabled.
- Test designation selection if enabled.
- Review progress, matching, and honor roll presentation.
- Test payment behavior in the correct environment.
Why this matters
This is where donor-facing issues usually appear.
Examples include:
- unclear monthly wording
- too many fund choices
- progress that does not match expectation
- fee coverage wording that feels awkward
- a match window that is not active when expected
Good practice
Test like a donor, not just like an administrator.
Use the page naturally and ask whether the path feels obvious, trustworthy, and aligned with the campaign story.
Step 10 — Launch a focused campaign experience
When the page is ready, launch the form in a way that preserves the clarity of the donor journey.
Example
For a year-end appeal, create one form called Year-End Giving 2026, enable one-time and monthly gifts, add a visible goal, turn on the matching timer only during the board-match window, and keep designation choices limited to a small, clear list.
That is usually stronger than trying to build one form that handles every fundraising scenario at once.
Step 11 — Review early results
Once gifts begin coming in, use Donations to review:
- successful gifts
- pending or incomplete behavior where relevant
- refunds
- receipt status
- exportable donation data
- designation behavior
- recurring gift handling
Why this matters
Early review helps your team spot confusion while the campaign is still active.
That may include:
- donors choosing an unexpected designation
- recurring gifts not being framed clearly enough
- too many anonymous gifts for a campaign that expected public recognition
- mismatch between campaign messaging and donor action
A small adjustment early in the campaign can improve the rest of the fundraising window.
Common mistakes to watch for
Monthly giving should never feel hidden. If the page mostly sounds like a one-time appeal, donors may miss the recurring commitment.
Turning on designations without curating the allowed list can create a cluttered form and weaker conversion.
Adding too many public features at once can make the donor journey feel busy rather than motivating.
If a form underperforms, simplify before adding more options. Cleaner copy and fewer choices usually help more than extra features do.
What to do next
After launching your first giving form, consider these next steps:
- review donations from the form after the first few gifts arrive
- compare one-time and monthly behavior if both are enabled
- refine copy or options based on donor experience
- create separate forms for distinct campaigns instead of stretching one form too far