The Visual Automation Builder turns Charitable Automation Connect into a full-screen, drag-and-connect canvas where you can see each automation as a flow of connected cards: a Trigger, optional Conditions, and one or more Actions that run in order. Instead of configuring a single webhook in a form, you now build a small pipeline that fires when something happens in Charitable, checks whether your rules match, and then runs every action you have added.

Available in Charitable Automation Connect 2.3.0 and later.

Key Features

• Build automations visually on a full-screen canvas styled to match the Charitable Campaign Builder.
• Run multiple actions per automation, in order, from a single trigger.
• Tag donors automatically inside Charitable with the new Tag Donor action, no external service required.
• Send webhooks to Zapier, Make, n8n, Pabbly Connect, or any endpoint that accepts an HTTP POST.
• Gate every automation with condition groups that match ALL or ANY of your rules.
• Apply an automation to donors who already exist with the Apply to Existing Donors backfill.
• Switch freely between the Simple form editor and the Canvas builder, both editing the same automation.
• Choose from 21 trigger events across donations, donors, recurring donations, and campaigns.
• Test and debug any webhook inline before it ever runs on a real donation.

Why Use the Visual Automation Builder?

Before 2.3.0, each automation was a single webhook fired at a single event. Real fundraising workflows are rarely that simple. You often want one event to do several things at once, for example tag the donor, notify your team in Slack, and push the record to your CRM. The Visual Automation Builder lets you see and manage that whole flow on one screen, add as many actions as you need, and confirm exactly what will run before it goes live. It brings the clarity of a visual workflow tool to your donation automations without asking you to write any code.

See It In Action

Requirements

• Charitable Automation Connect 2.3.0 or later
• An active Charitable Pro plan that includes Automation Connect (delivery is blocked on an insufficient or expired license)
• WordPress 6.2 or later
• Action Scheduler (included with Charitable) for background webhook delivery

Getting Started

Where to find it

1. In your WordPress admin, go to Charitable > Automations.
2. The Automations list shows every automation, its trigger, status, and last delivery.
3. Click Add to create a new automation, or click an existing one to edit it.

New and template-based automations open in the Canvas builder by default. Existing automations open in whichever view suits them, with a button to switch.

The Two Editors: Simple and Canvas

Every automation can be opened in one of two views. Both edit the same underlying automation, and you can switch between them at any time.

Simple

The classic form, embedded in the normal WordPress admin. It is ideal for quick edits: pick a trigger, set conditions, and configure a single delivery. Use the Canvas View link to open the same automation in the visual builder.

Canvas

The full-screen visual builder. It takes over the screen, just like the Campaign Builder, and shows:

• A top bar with the Charitable logo, a live automation name field, a Save button, and a status control.
• A Simple View link that returns to the embedded editor. If you have unsaved changes, it prompts you to save first.
• A left configuration column with four tabs: Trigger, Conditions, Action, and Info.
• The canvas itself: Trigger, Conditions, and Action cards joined by connecting lines, with an Add Action button, zoom controls, snap-to-grid, and a minimap. The line from Trigger to Conditions animates to show the direction of flow.

Building an Automation

1. Choose a trigger. On the Trigger tab, pick the event that starts the automation, for example Donation Created or Recurring Donation Payment Made.
2. Add conditions (optional). On the Conditions tab, build one or more rule groups. Leave it empty to always run.
3. Add actions. Click Add Action to open the action palette, then pick Webhook or Tag Donor. Each action you add appears as a new card in the flow. Actions run top to bottom.
4. Configure each action. Select an action card, then use the Action tab to set its options.
5. Reorder if needed. Drag actions to change the order in which they run.
6. Save. Click Save. The button confirms inline when your changes are stored.

Trigger Events

Automation Connect 2.3.0 ships 21 trigger events spanning the donation lifecycle, donors, recurring donations, and campaigns. Examples include:

• Donation Created
• Donation Completed
• Donor Created (First Donation)
• Recurring Donation Payment Made
• Campaign Goal Reached

The trigger picker lists all events in Title Case. Each event shows help text describing when it fires.

Conditions

Conditions are optional. Build one or more rule groups and choose whether an automation runs when it matches ALL or ANY of the rules in a group. Leave conditions empty to always run. The condition builder mirrors the Campaign Builder’s conditional logic styling, so the experience is familiar.

Actions

An automation runs an ordered list of actions when its trigger fires and its conditions pass. Version 2.3.0 ships two action types.

Webhook

Send the event’s data as an HTTP POST to any URL. This is how you connect Charitable to Zapier, Make, n8n, Pabbly Connect, and other tools.

Option	Type	Default	Description
Delivery URL	string	(empty)	Required. The URL that receives the webhook POST. Must start with https://.
Delivery Mode	choice	Async	Async queues the request in the background for better performance.
Content Type	choice	JSON	JSON (application/json) for Zapier, Make, and most modern tools, or Form-encoded (application/x-www-form-urlencoded) for endpoints that expect it.
Secret	string	auto-generated	Optional. Used to sign webhook payloads. Leave blank to auto-generate.
Custom Headers	list	(empty)	Optional request headers such as an API key or bearer token. The Content-Type and signature headers are managed automatically and cannot be overridden.
Payload	fields	all fields	Choose which fields to include and drag them to reorder. Payload editing is available in Simple mode.

Webhook delivery runs in the background by default. Webhooks are not applied during backfill.

Tag Donor

The first action that runs inside Charitable itself, with no external service needed. It changes a donor’s tags when the automation runs.

Option	Type	Default	Description
Mode	choice	Add tag	Add tag (keep existing tags), Remove tag, or Replace group (promote or demote within a named tag group).
Group	string	(empty)	Used only when Mode is Replace group. The tag group to swap within.
Tags	list	(empty)	Required. The tag or tags to apply. Tags are created automatically if they do not exist.

Because Tag Donor writes inside Charitable, it can be applied to existing donors through backfill.

Apply to Existing Donors (Backfill)

For automations whose actions support it, such as Tag Donor, an Apply to Existing Donors control estimates how many donors would be affected, asks you to confirm, then processes them in the background. Only in-WP actions run during a backfill. Webhook actions are skipped, since past donations were not made in real time.

Test and Debug

On the Test tab of a webhook action, use Send Test Payload to send a webhook and see the response inline. You can test with sample data or with a real record so you see exactly what a live delivery will send. The test bypasses async delivery so you get the result immediately. Once an automation is saved, the delivery history and a Resend control help you diagnose failures.

Compatibility

Automations created before 2.3.0 keep working unchanged. A legacy single-webhook automation is treated as an automation with one webhook action, so existing deliveries and Zaps continue to fire exactly as before. No migration step is required on your part.

Troubleshooting

The connecting lines between the cards are missing

This was resolved in 2.3.0. If you are on the current version and still do not see the lines, reload the builder. The flow lines draw automatically when the canvas opens.

An automation is not firing

Check that the automation’s status is active, not paused or disabled. Only active automations dispatch. Also confirm your Charitable Pro license is active and not expired, because delivery is blocked on an insufficient or expired plan.

Webhooks are queued but never sent

Webhooks default to background (async) delivery, which relies on Action Scheduler. Make sure your site’s scheduled tasks are running. For an immediate result during testing, use the Send Test Payload control or set the action to synchronous delivery.

Backfill did not send webhooks to past donors

This is expected. Backfill only runs in-WP actions such as Tag Donor. Webhook actions are skipped for existing donors by design.

Developer Resources

Hooks and Filters

• charitable_automation_connect_actions filters the registered action types, so you can add your own action.
• charitable_automation_connect_events and charitable_automation_connect_event_labels filter the registered trigger events and their labels.
• charitable_automation_connect_events_for_editor filters the event list (and per-event help text) passed to the builder.
• charitable_automation_connect_condition_fields filters the fields available in the condition builder.
• charitable_automation_connect_templates and charitable_automation_connect_zapier_templates filter the starter templates.
• charitable_automation_connect_merge_tags and charitable_automation_connect_payload_fields filter the webhook payload merge tags and fields.
• charitable_automation_connect_default_editor_mode filters which editor opens by default.
• charitable_automation_connect_http_args and charitable_automation_connect_secret_key filter outgoing webhook delivery.
• charitable_webhook_subscription_failure_threshold filters how many failures disable an automation.
• charitable_automation_connect_fire_event fires when an event is dispatched, for custom handling.

Notes for Extending Actions

Actions are registered in the addon’s action registry and each extends a shared abstract action class that declares its slug, label, group, supported events, whether it is backfillable, its configuration schema, and its run method. Register your own action on charitable_automation_connect_actions to have it appear in the Add Action palette.

Additional Resources

• Automation Connect Documentation
• Visual Automation Builder Announcement
• Zapier Documentation