The Featured Image setting for visual campaigns lets you assign a dedicated thumbnail image to each campaign from the campaign builder. This image is used as the campaign thumbnail in campaign lists, shortcodes, and social sharing, and overrides the first photo in your campaign layout when one is set. It is available starting in the Charitable Pro 1.8.13+ plugin.

Table of Contents

• Getting Started
• Requirements
• Where to Find It
• Configuration Options
• Where the Featured Image Is Used
• Troubleshooting
• Developer Resources

Getting Started

The Featured Image is a campaign-level setting in the Charitable Pro campaign builder. When you set a featured image for a campaign, it becomes the primary image shown whenever that campaign appears in grids, lists, shortcodes (e.g. [campaigns]), and when the campaign is shared on social platforms. If you do not set a featured image, Charitable falls back to the first photo in your campaign layout (if any) or the WordPress post thumbnail for legacy campaigns.

Key Benefits

• Single place to set the campaign thumbnail — No need to rely on layout order; set one image that represents the campaign everywhere.
• Better control for social sharing — Use an image optimized for social (e.g. 1200 × 630px) so shares look consistent.
• Accessibility and SEO — Dedicated alt text field for screen readers and search engines.
• Consistent branding — Same image across campaign loops, shortcodes, and integrations (e.g. Divi, Elementor).

Requirements

• WordPress: 6.2 or higher
• PHP: 7.4 or higher
• Charitable Pro: 1.8.13 or higher

The Featured Image setting is available only for campaigns edited in the campaign builder (non-legacy campaigns).

Where to Find It

1. In WordPress Admin, go to Charitable → Campaigns (or Campaign Builder).
2. Open or create a campaign in the campaign builder.
3. In the left sidebar, click Settings.
4. In the Settings submenu, click Featured Image (below Donation Options).

The Featured Image panel appears in the main content area.

Configuration Options

Image Upload

• Click to upload or select an image — Use the dropzone to open the Media Library or upload a new image. You can also use Replace on an existing preview to choose a different image, or Remove / Remove Image to clear it.
• Image URL — The selected image URL is stored; the uploader field may be hidden by design but is used for saving.
• Upload Image — Alternative button to open the media picker.

Recommended Dimensions

• 1200 × 630px — Recommended for optimal display in campaign grids and social sharing (e.g. Open Graph). Other sizes work but may be cropped or scaled depending on your theme and social platforms.

Alt Text

• Purpose: Alternative text for screen readers and SEO.
• Placeholder: “Describe this image for accessibility.”
• Behavior: If you leave alt text empty and the image is from the Media Library, Charitable can auto-populate from the attachment’s alt text when available.

Where the Featured Image Is Used

When set, the featured image is used as the campaign’s thumbnail in:

• Campaign lists and grids — e.g. campaign archive and shortcodes like [campaigns].
• Campaign loop template — The campaign-loop/thumbnail.php template shows the WordPress post thumbnail when set. When the campaign builder Featured Image is synced to the post thumbnail on save, it appears here.
• Shortcodes — Any shortcode that displays campaign thumbnails (e.g. campaigns grid, campaign block).
• Social sharing — When your theme or plugins use the campaign’s featured/thumbnail image for Open Graph or similar meta tags.
• Page builders — Divi and other integrations that display campaign images use the same thumbnail source (e.g. .campaign-thumbnail, .campaign-featured-image img).

If no featured image is set, Charitable falls back to the first photo in the campaign layout, or the legacy WordPress featured image for older campaigns.

Troubleshooting

Featured Image not showing on the frontend

• Save the campaign — Click Save in the campaign builder after setting or changing the featured image.
• Check campaign type — The setting applies to campaigns edited in the campaign builder. Legacy campaigns use the standard WordPress “Featured Image” in the editor.
• Cache — Clear any site or page cache so the updated thumbnail is visible.
• Theme overrides — If your theme overrides charitable/campaign-loop/thumbnail.php, ensure it uses the campaign’s thumbnail (e.g. get_post_thumbnail_id() or equivalent).

Image looks cropped or low quality

• Use an image that is at least 1200 × 630px for grids and social sharing.
• Upload a high-enough resolution for the sizes your theme and shortcodes use (e.g. “medium”, “large”).

Alt text not saving

• Ensure you click Save after editing the campaign. Alt text is stored with the campaign settings and (when applicable) can be synced from the media attachment if left empty.

Developer Resources

Stored data

• Featured image data is stored in the campaign’s campaign_settings_v2 post meta under settings['featured-image']:
  • featured_image_id — WordPress attachment ID.
  • featured_image_url — Image URL.
  • featured_image_alt — Alt text.
• To display in the campaign loop, the featured image attachment ID can be synced to the post’s _thumbnail_id when the campaign is saved (e.g. via the charitable_campaign_builder_save_campaign_settings filter or charitable_builder_save_campaign action). Then get_post_thumbnail_id( $campaign_id ) and has_post_thumbnail( $campaign_id ) will reflect the campaign featured image.

Template override

• To customize the campaign thumbnail output, override the template in your theme:
  • Copy wp-content/plugins/charitable-pro/templates/campaign-loop/thumbnail.php
  • to your theme: your-theme/charitable/campaign-loop/thumbnail.php.

Hooks and filters

• Settings panel registration — The Featured Image panel is added to the campaign builder Settings sidebar via:
  • Filter: charitable_builder_panels_settings_ (panel slug: featured-image).
• Panel file path — Filter: charitable_builder_panels_settings_file (used to load the Pro panel class).
• Thumbnail display — Filter: charitable_campaign_loop_thumbnail_size to change the image size used in the campaign loop.
• Force featured thumbnail — Filter: charitable_campaign_loop_featured_thumbnail to force use of the featured/thumbnail image in specific contexts.

CSS classes (campaign builder admin)

• Panel section: .charitable-panel-content-section-featured-image
• Preview card: .charitable-featured-image-card
• Dropzone: .charitable-featured-image-dropzone
• Overlay actions: .charitable-featured-image-overlay, .charitable-featured-image-overlay-replace, .charitable-featured-image-overlay-remove

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For additional support with the Featured Image setting, please visit our support documentation or contact our team.