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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

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David Bisset
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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 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.

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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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.

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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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!

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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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!

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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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.

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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