Charitable Documentation

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

Add Your Donation Form to a Page

Do you want to embed a donation form in a page?

When you create a donation campaign, Charitable makes it easy to add a simple donation form for that campaign anywhere on your site. This lets you show a simple donation form instead of a full-fledged fundraiser campaign.

Step 1: Create a Fundraiser Campaign

Head over to your WordPress dashboard, and go to Charitable » Add New. Here, you can choose a template and customize your campaign using the drag and drop builder.

Add new campaign in Charitable

Make sure you publish and save your campaign.

If you need more detailed instructions, follow our guide on how to create your first campaign »

Step 2: Get Your Campaign ID

When you create a campaign, Charitable will assign a campaign ID to it. We’ve made this ID easily accessible in Charitable in 2 places.

1. Embed Wizard

Inside the campaign builder, make sure you Publish and Save your campaign in the top menu. Then there’s an Embed button which you can use to open the Embed Wizard.

Embed wizard with shortcode

Click on the ‘Use a shortcode” link and the campaign ID will appear.

2. Campaigns Tab

You can also find the campaign ID by going to Charitable » Campaigns. You will see the ID listed below the campaign name.

campaign ID

Now that you have your campaign ID, all that’s left to do is add it where you want it to appear.

Step 3: Add the Shortcode to the Post or Page

Edit the page or post in your WordPress site where you want to place the donation form.

Now you can add your donation form using this shortcode:

[charitable_donation_form campaign_id=123]

Replace ‘123’ with the ID of your campaign.

That’s it. You now have a simple donation form that you can share with your donors.

Not yet created your donation form? Watch how to create a donation form in Charitable here:

Want to change the donation form template on your site? Follow this guide: How to Switch Donation Form Templates »

Fundraising Tips and Advice

We regularly share practical guides, proven strategies, and insider tips to help you raise more funds and build stronger donor relationships. Join thousands of nonprofits who get our best content delivered straight to them:

FAQs for Charitable Donation Form Templates

What are the available donation form templates in Charitable?

In Charitable, you can choose between two premade donation form templates: the Standard template and the Minimal view template. To switch templates, navigate to the WordPress dashboard and go to Charitable » Settings. Under the General tab, open the Donation Form page, and use the Form Template dropdown menu to select your desired template.

Can I customize the appearance of my donation forms? 

Yes. You can customize colors, form templates (standard or minimal), and field display options. You can also use custom CSS and code snippets.

I made changes to settings but they’re not showing up. What should I do? 

Always click “Save Changes” after making any modifications. If changes still don’t appear, try clearing your website cache if you’re using a caching plugin.

What’s the difference between displaying donation forms “on the same page” vs “on a separate page”?

  • Same page: The donation form appears directly on your campaign page
  • Separate page: Donors are redirected to a dedicated donation page
  • Modal: The form appears in a popup overlay

Choose based on your preference for user experience and page design.

I’m completely new to Charitable. Where should I start? 

Follow this Getting Started guide here and start with the Setup Wizard that appears when you first install Charitable. It takes about 5 minutes and will guide you through the essential configuration steps including payment setup and creating your first campaign. If you missed the wizard, you can access all these settings manually through Charitable » Settings.

Where can I get support if I have issues?

  • Free users: Use the WordPress.org support forums
  • Pro users: Contact support directly for priority assistance
  • Documentation: Check the comprehensive documentation library
  • CommunityJoin the newsletter and follow social channels for tips and updates

Are there video tutorials available? 

Yes! Subscribe to the Charitable YouTube channel for step-by-step tutorials and success stories.

We hope these FAQs help! 

Need support? Have a question? If you are a lite/free user of Charitable, you can reach out to our team on the WordPress.org support forums and our team will respond in a timely fashion. If you have an active license, feel free to reach out us directly for priority support.

You may also want to learn How to Use the Donor Management System »

Still have questions? We’re here to help!

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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.

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.

Integration page builder

👉🏻 New in Charitable: Native Elementor Widgets for Seamless Campaign Building

With native Elementor widgets, you design donation campaigns right alongside the rest of your page without touching code. Here’s how it works, and why it’s worth turning on today.

Create fundraising pages that are VISUAL, NATIVE, AND SHORTCODE-FREE. You can also:

⚡ Mini Donation: Add a compact, high-converting donation widget with preset amounts and full color control.

⏳ Campaign Countdown: Build urgency for a deadline-driven appeal, complete with optional confetti when the goal is hit.

📣 Donation Feed: Prove momentum by showing visitors the social proof of real people giving right now.

🏆 Donor Leaderboard: Celebrate top supporters with gold, silver, and bronze styling to spark friendly giving.

🖼️ Campaign Showcase: Feature multiple campaigns in a landing page grid or carousel, with search, filters, and badges.

Learn more here.