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Charitable Update: Test Mode Alerts, Elementor Styling Upgrades & Feedback Form

New Charitable Update: Test Mode Alerts, Elementor Styling Upgrades & Feedback Form

Last updated on

  • By
David Bisset

We’ve been listening closely to your feedback, and this maintenance release is all about making your day-to-day experience smoother and more flexible.

We’ve improved your experience with building donation pages with Elementor, testing your payment gateways, and sharing ideas for the future.

With the latest Charitable Pro plugin (1.8.8.4), we aim to bring thoughtful improvements designed to help you stay in control and create even better fundraising experiences.

🔔 Test Mode Banner

No more second-guessing whether you’re testing or running live donations. In the latest Charitable update, whenever Test Mode is enabled for your payment gateways, you’ll see a “Charitable Test Mode Active” alert box appear in the top right corner of your WordPress admin dashboard.

Charitable test mode active alert

Turn Test Mode off, and the alert disappears. Simple, clear, and designed to save you from any mix-ups between test and live donations.

Why does this matter? Test Mode is a crucial step when setting up or troubleshooting your payment gateways—but forgetting to switch back can mean lost donations and frustrated supporters. This new alert acts as a safety net, making sure you always know exactly what mode you’re in before going live.

🎨 Styling for Elementor Widgets

We recently launched Elementor Widgets and sought your feedback. One thing we heard most was that you wanted more styling options. Now they’re here!

We didn’t just add more customization—you’ll also find it easier overall to build donation pages that look and feel like the rest of your site.

Edit campaigns gallery

From the Style tab, you can now customize:

  • Campaign title, description, and meta typography (font size, weight, color, hover effects, underline, and more)
  • Campaign images, spacing, and layout for a polished design
  • Donate button styling, from shape and border radius to hover states
  • Responsive design tweaks to make sure everything looks great on any screen
  • Animations, effects, and even custom CSS for complete control

And here’s the best part: the styling options adjust based on the widget you’re using.

  • Campaign Widget → Typography, background & layout, border & radius, donate button styling, plus custom CSS.
  • Campaigns Widget (Gallery) → Extra options for campaign images, animations & effects, and performance & loading.
  • Donate Button Widget → Dedicated hover styling so your call-to-action stands out.
  • Donation Form → Customize the background, border, and layout.

This way, every widget gives you exactly the right set of tools to customize your campaigns—without clutter.

We believe your donation pages are more than functional—they represent your mission. These styling upgrades let you fine-tune every detail so your campaigns look professional, trustworthy, and seamlessly integrated into your website.

The result? A smoother donor experience that inspires more giving.

💡 Feedback & Suggestions for Elementor Widgets

Your input has always shaped the way Charitable grows, and now we’ve made it even easier to share your ideas. In the latest Charitable Pro update (1.8.8.4), you’ll find a new Feedback & Suggestions option under the Content tab when working with Elementor Widgets.

Feedback

Click it, and you’ll be taken to a simple form where you can submit suggestions for new elements, widgets, or improvements you’d love to see.

The best features come from real-world use. By sharing what you need, you help us build tools that make your fundraising pages more effective and your workflow smoother. Think of this as your direct line to shaping the future of Charitable.

Ready to Try Everything Out?

These features are available right now in the latest version of Charitable. Simply update to the latest version of Charitable

From test mode alerts that keep you on track, to powerful new Elementor styling options, to a direct line for your feedback—we’re making it easier than ever to create donation experiences that truly reflect your mission.

We’d love to hear how you’re using these new features! Stay connected with us:

Your feedback keeps Charitable moving forward. Let’s keep building better fundraising tools—together.

author avatar
David Bisset Project Manager
David is the project manager of Charitable since 2022. David works with several non-profits (one operated by his wife) along with managing and developing features, support, and marketing for Charitable. Has been with WordPress since 2006 and has been lead organizer of multiple conferences, events, and meetups.
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Improvement receipts

🗓️ Annual Receipts 2.0: Send Year-End Receipts to Every Donor in Minutes

You can now send annual receipts in minutes with a few clicks to all your donors.

📧 One-Click Bulk Send Wizard that guides you to sending to hundreds of donors simultaneously directly from your WordPress dashboard.

🔍 Smart “Dry Run” Mode: See exactly who will receive a receipt and who will be skipped (and why) before a single email leaves your server.

🛡️ SMTP-Aware & Limit Protection: Charitable now detects your email setup and automatically adjusts batch sizes and pauses for daily limits to ensure your emails land in inboxes.

✅ Complete Audit Trail: Dedicated system log and on the individual donor’s profile, giving you a clear history for every fiscal year.

Stop dreading tax season and start spending that time on your mission. Update to Annual Receipts 2.0 and automate your year-end reporting today.

author avatar
David Bisset Project Manager
David is the project manager of Charitable since 2022. David works with several non-profits (one operated by his wife) along with managing and developing features, support, and marketing for Charitable. Has been with WordPress since 2006 and has been lead organizer of multiple conferences, events, and meetups.
See Full Bio
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Addon Donations Improvement

🎈Recurring Donations 2.0: Smarter Automation, Better Recovery, and More Control

We’ve completely rebuilt our Recurring Donations system to help you grow your reliable income stream while giving you (and your donors) more powerful tools than ever before.

What’s New:

🔒 Recurring-Only Campaigns: You can toggle “Recurring Only” mode in the campaign builder to hide the one-time option entirely, ensuring your supporters stay focused on long-term commitment.

📧 Automatic Payment Recovery: Our new Payment Failed Email fires automatically the moment a subscription fails.

🛠️ Self-Service Donor Control:The new Cancel Subscription Button appears directly in the donor dashboard, allowing supporters to pause or end their recurring gifts on their own terms—reducing your admin burden and payment disputes.

📊 Real-Time Revenue Insights: Track your growth, monitor active subscriptions, and see exactly how much predictable support is coming in each month at a glance.

Our new Recurring Donations addon gives you the professional-grade tools you need to grow your mission.

author avatar
David Bisset Project Manager
David is the project manager of Charitable since 2022. David works with several non-profits (one operated by his wife) along with managing and developing features, support, and marketing for Charitable. Has been with WordPress since 2006 and has been lead organizer of multiple conferences, events, and meetups.
See Full Bio
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Campaigns New

🧡 Modal Donate Button: Turn Any Click into a Contribution

Instead of redirecting users to a new URL, the lightweight Modal Donation Button allows donors to complete their gift in a sleek, focused popup, keeping them engaged with your content while they support your cause.

What’s New:

  • ⚡ Zero-Friction Giving: Open your donation form in a responsive modal overlay. Donors stay on the same page, reducing drop-off.

  • 🖱️ Place it Anywhere: Use the dedicated WordPress block or a simple shortcode to drop a donate button into sidebars, footers, or even mid-sentence in your storytelling.

  • 🎨 Full Design Control: Match your brand perfectly with customizable background colors, hover effects, border radius, and font sizes—all without touching a single line of CSS.

Whether you need a simple “Donate Now” link or a high-converting popup button, the Modal Donate Button gives you the flexibility to raise more with less effort.

author avatar
David Bisset Project Manager
David is the project manager of Charitable since 2022. David works with several non-profits (one operated by his wife) along with managing and developing features, support, and marketing for Charitable. Has been with WordPress since 2006 and has been lead organizer of multiple conferences, events, and meetups.
See Full Bio
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donation form Donations New

💵 Mini Donation Widget: Show The Impact Of Every Dollar!

Not every donor who wants to give will navigate to your campaign page. Meet them exactly where they are by placing a fully functional giving experience directly on any page or post.

💬 Show the impact of every dollar: Attach custom messages to each preset amount so donors understand exactly what their gift provides.
🔄 Monthly and one-time giving: Supports a tabbed interface with independent amounts and impact statements for recurring giving programs.
🎨 Match your brand: Easily set accent colors and control size or alignment to fit the widget naturally into your layout without CSS.
⚡ Reduce donor friction: Open the donation form in a modal overlay to keep donors on the page and reduce drop-off.

author avatar
David Bisset Project Manager
David is the project manager of Charitable since 2022. David works with several non-profits (one operated by his wife) along with managing and developing features, support, and marketing for Charitable. Has been with WordPress since 2006 and has been lead organizer of multiple conferences, events, and meetups.
See Full Bio
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Donations Live New

👉🏻 Showcase Real Momentum with the Donations Feed

Give your donors a reason to trust. Our new feed lets you display a living, breathing record of people showing up for your cause.

🤝 Build instant trust: Overcome donor hesitation by showing a proven track record of community support.
💬 Highlight donor stories: Display real donor comments and locations to show the human side of your fundraising.
🛠️ Drop it anywhere: Easily add the block to your homepage, campaign pages, or confirmation screens in seconds.
📈 Curate your feed: Group multiple donations from the same person or sort by highest amounts to encourage larger gifts.

author avatar
David Bisset Project Manager
David is the project manager of Charitable since 2022. David works with several non-profits (one operated by his wife) along with managing and developing features, support, and marketing for Charitable. Has been with WordPress since 2006 and has been lead organizer of multiple conferences, events, and meetups.
See Full Bio
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