Charitable Documentation

Learn how to make the most of Charitable with clear, step-by-step instructions.

Disable the Auto-Created Single Campaign Page

When you create a campaign in Charitable, WordPress automatically gives it its own public URL at /campaigns/[campaign-slug]/. That happens because Charitable registers campaigns as a public custom post type, which is what allows search engines and direct links to reach a campaign’s own page.

That works well if you want every campaign to have its own landing page. But if you only want donors to reach your campaign through a specific page on your site, for example a single /donate/ page where you’ve embedded the campaign with the shortcode or block, the auto-created URL becomes a second, unwanted entry point.

This page covers two ways to remove that entry point. Both options leave your campaign embed working exactly as before, because the embed reads the campaign record directly from the database. It does not rely on the single campaign URL being publicly accessible.

When you’d use this

  • You embed your campaign on a dedicated donate page and want that to be the only place donors land.
  • A campaign URL is showing up in search results or being shared, and you want to send those visitors to your donate page instead.
  • You only run one campaign at a time and the single-campaign URL is redundant.

Why the URL exists in the first place

Charitable registers campaign as a WordPress custom post type with public => true and publicly_queryable => true. Those two flags are what tell WordPress to generate a URL for each campaign and serve it through the single-post template.

The URL pattern is [your-permalink-front]/campaigns/[campaign-slug]/. If your WordPress permalink structure has a front, for example /news/%postname%/, the campaign URL becomes /news/campaigns/[campaign-slug]/. That’s standard WordPress behavior, not a Charitable setting.

There’s no built-in toggle in the Charitable settings to disable the single campaign URL. The two snippets below are the supported ways to turn it off.

Option 1: Redirect single campaign URLs to your donate page (recommended)

This is the option to choose if there’s any chance a campaign URL has already been shared, indexed, or linked from elsewhere. Visitors who land on the campaign URL get sent to your donate page with a 301 redirect, which search engines respect over time.

Add this snippet using a code snippets plugin (such as WPCode) or your child theme’s functions.php:

add_action( 'template_redirect', function() {
    if ( is_singular( 'campaign' ) ) {
        wp_safe_redirect( home_url( '/donate/' ), 301 );
        exit;
    }
} );

Change /donate/ to whatever URL you want to send visitors to. After saving the snippet, open your campaign’s URL in a private browser window to confirm it now lands on your donate page.

Option 2: Make the campaign post type non-public

This option turns off the single campaign URL entirely. Anyone visiting /campaigns/[slug]/ will see a standard WordPress 404. Use this if you’d rather the URL not exist at all than redirect.

Add this snippet using a code snippets plugin or your child theme’s functions.php:

add_filter( 'charitable_campaign_post_type', function( $args ) {
    $args['public']              = false;
    $args['publicly_queryable']  = false;
    $args['exclude_from_search'] = true;
    return $args;
} );

After adding the snippet, flush your permalinks: go to Settings > Permalinks in your WordPress admin and click Save Changes. You don’t need to change anything on that screen. The act of saving regenerates the rewrite rules so the campaign URL stops resolving.

What happens to the campaign embed

Both options leave the campaign embed untouched:

  • The [charitable_campaign] shortcode keeps rendering on your donate page.
  • The Charitable campaign block keeps rendering on your donate page.
  • The campaign’s title, story, goal, and donation form all keep loading.
  • New donations still attach to the campaign and update its progress.

The embed reads the campaign post directly by ID, so it doesn’t matter whether the campaign’s own URL is public, redirected, or returning a 404.

Which option should you pick?

Use Option 1 (redirect) if…Use Option 2 (non-public) if…
A campaign URL might already be shared, indexed, or linked from somewhere.The campaign URL has never been shared and isn’t in search results.
You want a graceful handoff for any visitor who finds the old URL.You’d prefer the URL not to resolve at all.
You want search engines to follow the 301 and drop the old URL over time.You don’t care about preserving the URL’s search presence.

In most cases, Option 1 is the safer choice because it handles both new visitors and anyone who already has the URL.

Frequently asked questions

Will this affect how donations are tracked?

No. Donations are attached to the campaign record itself, not the URL. Whether someone donates through your embedded form on /donate/ or (before the redirect) the auto-created campaign page, the donation lands on the same campaign and counts toward the same goal.

Does this remove the campaign from the WordPress admin?

No. The campaign still shows up in Charitable > Campaigns in your admin. You can edit it, archive it, see its donations, and so on. Only the public URL changes.

Can I do this for one campaign but not others?

Yes – narrow the redirect by checking the specific campaign ID:

add_action( 'template_redirect', function() {
    if ( is_singular( 'campaign' ) && get_queried_object_id() === 123 ) {
        wp_safe_redirect( home_url( '/donate/' ), 301 );
        exit;
    }
} );

Replace 123 with the ID of the campaign you want to redirect. Other campaigns will continue to use their normal URLs. (Option 2 is all-or-nothing because it changes the post type registration.)

What about the campaign archive page?

Charitable already has the campaign archive turned off (has_archive => false), so visiting /campaigns/ on its own doesn’t render a Charitable archive. You don’t need to do anything extra to disable it.


Developer reference

The rest of this page is for developers who want more control over the campaign post type registration.

The filter

charitable_campaign_post_type runs on init (priority 5) just before register_post_type() is called. It receives the full arguments array used to register the campaign post type, so you can change any of these:

ArgumentDefaultEffect
publictrueMaster switch for front-end visibility and admin UI.
publicly_queryabletrueWhether /campaigns/[slug]/resolves to a single template.
exclude_from_searchfalseWhether /?s= searches include campaigns.
has_archivefalseThe campaign archive is already off by default.
rewritearray( 'slug' => 'campaigns', 'with_front' => true )The URL slug for single campaigns.
show_in_nav_menustrueWhether campaigns can be added to nav menus from Appearance > Menus.

Changing the URL slug instead of disabling it

If you’d rather keep the single campaign page but change its URL prefix, filter the rewrite slug. For example, to change /campaigns/[slug]/ to /fundraise/[slug]/:

add_filter( 'charitable_campaign_post_type', function( $args ) {
    $args['rewrite']['slug'] = 'fundraise';
    return $args;
} );

Flush permalinks after the change (Settings > Permalinks > Save Changes).

Why with_front matters

The default 'with_front' => true means WordPress prepends your permalink front to the campaign URL. If your WordPress permalink structure is /news/%postname%/, your campaign URLs will be /news/campaigns/[slug]/. Set 'with_front' => false to ignore the permalink front:

add_filter( 'charitable_campaign_post_type', function( $args ) {
    $args['rewrite']['with_front'] = false;
    return $args;
} );

Flush permalinks after the change.

How the embed keeps working

The [charitable_campaign] shortcode and the campaign block both resolve to Charitable_Campaign queries that load the post by ID. Those queries use get_post() and direct meta lookups, which are independent of the public and publicly_queryable flags. The flags only control whether the WordPress front-end controller will route a request to the single campaign template. Disabling them does not block PHP code from reading the post.

Hook reference

HookTypeUse it to
charitable_campaign_post_typeFilterModify the arguments passed to register_post_type() for campaigns. Runs on init priority 5.
template_redirectActionFire your redirect after WordPress has parsed the request and chosen a template, but before the template is loaded. Standard WordPress hook.
is_singular( 'campaign' )ConditionalTrue when the current request is a single campaign URL. Use it inside template_redirect to scope the redirect.

Still have questions? We’re here to help!

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Improvement Payments

💰 Accept Recurring Donations with Windcave and Charitable

A donor sets their gift up once on Windcave’s secure payment page, and Charitable bills every renewal after that on schedule. Why this is important:

🏦 Organizations banked in New Zealand or Australia: monthly giving on the gateway your bank already set you up with, with no second processor to onboard.
⛪ Churches taking regular tithes and offerings: congregants set their own schedule once, which is the simplest way to launch recurring church giving without a separate platform.
🌏 Groups with donors in several currencies: Windcave handles more than 20, so a supporter can give in the currency they actually hold.
📅 Operating funds rather than one-time campaigns: switch on Recurring Only mode and the one-off option disappears, so every gift to that campaign is a subscription.
🧾 Teams with no developer on staff: 3 sets of credentials pasted into a settings page, and no code anywhere.

Check out our announcement here.

automation update

⚡ Visual Automation Builder: Drag and Drop With No Code!

Charitable Automation Connect 2.3.0 introduces the Visual Automation Builder, a full-screen canvas that lays each automation out as a flow of connected cards: a trigger, optional conditions, and a list of actions that run in order.

🧩 Many actions, one trigger: Tag a donor, send an email, add a note, and fire a webhook from a single event, dragged into any order.

✉️ Act inside Charitable: New Send Email, Tag Donor, and Add Donor Note actions run with no external service required.

🔤 Merge tags: Personalize emails and notes with live fields like {first_name}, {total}, and {campaign_name}.

🔁 Apply to existing donors: Run Tag Donor and Add Donor Note against the donors you already have.

🖥️ Canvas or Simple: Switch views anytime, and automations built before 2.3.0 keep working unchanged.

Read more here.

Integration updated

📬 Introducing Brevo for Charitable: Turn Donors into Subscribers Automatically

The moment a supporter makes a gift is when they are most engaged. With the new Brevo integration for Charitable, you can automatically turn those one-time donors into long-term subscribers without touching a single spreadsheet.

Simply collect donor consent right on your donation form and start your welcome series immediately.

What’s New:

🔄 Automated Subscriber Sync: New donors who opt in are added straight to your Brevo contact list as soon as their payment clears—no manual exports or CSV imports required.

🎯 Granular Consent & Opt-In Control: Customize your checkbox label, choose whether it defaults to checked or unchecked, or turn on Brevo double opt-in to keep your list clean and compliant.

📋 Per-Campaign List Mapping: Route supporters to your global email list or map specific campaigns to targeted Brevo lists to tailor your follow-up messaging.

⚡ 5-Minute Setup: Connect instantly by pasting your Brevo API key into the Newsletter settings, map your contact fields, and start building your email list on autopilot.

Ready to grow your mailing list? Brevo is available now starting on the Charitable Plus plan—connect your account today!

recurring donations updated

💳 Introducing Card Updates: Fix Expired Cards Without Losing Subscriptions!

newExpired or updated credit cards are one of the biggest silent leaks in recurring fundraising. With Card Updates in the Recurring Donations extension, donors can now refresh their payment details directly—keeping their subscription, schedule, and giving history completely intact.

No canceled plans, no lost history, and zero administrative headache for your team.

What’s New:

⚡ 30-Second Self-Service: Donors get a dedicated “Update Card” button in their dashboard that opens Stripe’s secure, PCI-compliant Customer Portal to update card details instantly.

🔒 Scoped & Safe Access: Scoped exclusively to card updates by default, donors can’t accidentally cancel or alter their plans from inside the portal, keeping your webhooks and data in sync.

🤝 Admin-Assisted Support: Helping a donor on the phone? Open their secure Stripe portal in one click from your admin screen or generate a single-use update link to email them.

📋 Automatic Audit Trail: Every payment method update is recorded automatically with a timestamp in both system-wide logs and the individual donor’s profile.

Ready to protect your recurring revenue? Get the Plus or Pro plan and update Recurring Donations to 2.3.0+ and enable “Update Payment Method” under your Settings today!

Integration page builder

Divi Fans Rejoice! Native Divi 5 Campaign Progress Bar Module!

With our new native Divi 5 module, you can anchor your microsites with real-time fundraising stats directly on the visual canvas. Here’s how it works, and why it’s worth turning on today.

Create campaign updates that are VISUAL AND LIVE. You can also:

📊 Campaign Progress Bar: Drop a live progress bar into any Divi 5 layout and show goal progress in real time.

🎨 Deep styling controls: Easily customize the bar and track color, height, and radius to match your brand perfectly.

👁️ Visual Builder ready: Configure and preview everything directly on the Divi canvas as a first-class module.

🔁 Identical rendering: The same exact engine powers this module, meaning consistent design without legacy shims.

✅ Faster launches: Never leave the Divi 5 interface to configure shortcodes or guess how your goal labels will look.

Learn more here.