How does Recurring Giving work on donation forms?

Donors will be charged on the same date every week, month, quarter, or year. (If they fulfill their pledge on the 10th of the month, they will always be billed on the 10th either monthly, quarterly, or annually.) Recurring Giving is a great way to maximize donations and ensure constant funding from top supporters. Great examples of recurring donation asks would be:

  • "$50 a month sponsors an orphan's meals for that month."
  • "Make a $120 pledge, fulfilled at $10 a month for a year."

After setting up a recurring gift, donors will receive a text notification before their credit card is charged: 

Thanks for giving to <organization name>.
Your <frequency> donation of <amount> will be processed this day.
To change, call 866-976-7999.

Donors will receive a text acknowledgement after their credit card is successfully charged:

Thanks for giving to United Way.
Your monthly donation of $20 has been processed.
AUTH: JFKI8H

Where can I find my Recurring Donations Report?

You can see recurring donations in the recurring donations report. First click on "Reports" in the top menu, then on "Recurring Donations".

Recurring Donation Donor Information

Recurring Report


When is the donor's credit card charged each month?

The first transaction happens the day following the pledge. This means if the pledge transaction is made on the 31st, it would be charged on the 1st, and on the 1st of every month thereafter.

Exception: The automated routine that checks for recurring gift pledges runs at 2:00am Pacific Time every day. Therefore, if a pledge is made between 12am - 2am Pacific time it will be charged the same day the pledge is made.

What if the credit card has expired?

Twenty (20) days before an expired credit card will be charged, donors will receive a text message directing them to a form to update their credit card information. When the donation date is reached, if a recurring transaction has failed with the payment gateway, the transaction is attempted again for 5 consecutive days. After that, the donation is de-activated.

The message a donor will receive if their card has expired is:

Hello <First Name>,
Your credit card ending in <Last 4> has expired. To continue your recurring donation to support <Org Name>, please update your credit card info here <URL to update card information>.

Can I edit/change a Recurring Donation?

Mostly, yes. You cannot change the frequency of the donation or the contact information like email and phone, but most of the rest of the donation you can modify. For more information, review Managing Recurring Donations here.