Charitable Documentation

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

How to Switch Donation Form Templates

In Charitable, you can choose between two premade donation form templates. These templates are designed to have all the required fields you need in your donation form.

You can choose to display a standard template or a minimal view. This guide will show you how to find and switch your donation form templates.

Prerequisites

You need to have Charitable 1.8.3.6 version (or above) installed and activated on your WordPress site.

Switching Donation Form Templates

In your WordPress dashboard, open Charitable » Settings tab. Under the General tab, open the Donation Form page.

Find donation form settings page

Here, you’ll see the Form Template field where you can switch templates using the drop down menu.

By default, Charitable displays the Standard form template.

The Minimal view attempts to reduce the space taken up by the donation form. It is designed to give you a donation form that is more compact.

Donation form templates

The minimal look is best suited for when the donation form is on a separate page.

Once you’ve made your selection, scroll down and click on the Save Changes button.

How to Make The Donation Form Shorter

If you find the donation form longer than you’d like on your website, in the same settings page, right below the Donation Form template options, there is a field “Only show required fields”.

Set this to “Yes”.

This will make Charitable’s donation form a “short form”.

Not sure how to create a donation form?

Watch our tutorial here:

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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.

How can I switch between donation form templates in Charitable?

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.

What is the difference between the Standard and Minimal templates?

The Standard template includes all the required fields in a more expansive layout. The Minimal view is a more compact design, reducing space and is ideal for donation forms placed on separate pages.

What version of Charitable do I need to use these templates?

You need to have Charitable version 1.8.3.6 or above installed and activated on your WordPress site.

How can I make the donation form shorter?

In the same settings page where you choose the template, there is a “Only show required fields” option below the Donation Form template options. Set this option to “Yes” to convert Charitable’s donation form into a shorter version.

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
  • Community: Join 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.

Still have questions? We’re here to help!

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Feature New

🎟️ Introducing Charitable Events: Sell Tickets Inside Your Campaigns!

Most nonprofits sell event tickets in one tool and collect donations in another, which leaves two sets of reports and a manual match at the end of the year. Charitable Events brings both together, selling tickets through the same donation forms and payment gateways you already run in Charitable. Why this is important:

  • 🎟️ Every ticket is a donation: Ticket sales run through the gateway you already use and count toward the campaign goal, with everything managed under Charitable » Events.
  • 📱 QR check-in from any phone: Each attendee gets their own QR code on the receipt, and volunteers scan at the door through a check-in link that needs no WordPress account.
  • 🧾 Receipts ready for tax time: Give each ticket type a fair market value, and Charitable puts the correct tax-deductible amount on every donor receipt.
  • 📋 Attendee details at checkout: Ask every guest for a meal choice, shirt size, or access needs, with a separate attendee record created for each ticket.
  • 🗓️ Blocks and calendars included: Three editor blocks plus Sugar Calendar and The Events Calendar support put your events where supporters already look.

Check out our announcement here.

ai New

🚀 Unleash AI Power in Charitable!

Your AI assistant can now build, edit, and manage your Charitable fundraising campaigns directly — just by asking. With Charitable Pro adding write support for the WordPress Abilities API, tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Cursor can handle full administrative actions safely through MCP. Why this is important:

  • 🤖 Campaign creation in plain language: Prompt your assistant with a goal like “Set up a fundraiser for the shelter with a $5,000 goal”, and it builds a real draft campaign complete with suggested donation tiers.
  • 🎨 Instant donation form tweaks: Add custom fields, change button colors, or reorder elements without diving into form settings.
  • 📝 Offline gift logging: Tell your assistant about cash or check gifts, and it will match donor emails and record transactions into your history.
  • 🛡️ Safety and control by default: Write access stays strictly off until turned on in Charitable » Tools » AI MCP, keeping read-only reporting safe by default.
  • 📜 Full audit logging: Every change made by an AI assistant is tracked under Charitable » Tools » Logs, so you always know who (or what) updated your site.

Check out our announcement here.

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!