Charitable Documentation

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

How To Troubleshoot Pending Donations In Stripe

If you are seeing pending donations in Charitable that you believe should be paid, etc. (and you are using Stripe as your payment gateway) here are some suggestions to try for troubleshooting:

Why Are Pending Donations Being Created?

Pending donations usually means that a donation was created when Charitable donation form was filled out and sent the request to Stripe, but the message never got to Stripe or Stripe never got the message/webhook back to Charitable.

Troubleshooting

First thing is to (1) make sure your connection to Stripe is active and likely needs to be on live mode – check gateway settings in Charitable settings then (2) view any pending Donation and look at the “donation log” to see if there are any errors or logs that might hold any clues.

One thing to do also is to check Stripe to see if the donations/payments are getting there and check the webhooks in Stripe (make sure the URL is what your website URL). (Stripe can also tell you if there’s a communication problem with the webhook – and if you see an issue or error you can ask their support for more information).

If Stripe has the donation and the webhook is active and well, then one assumes something is happening on the website side. So turning on your debug logs:

https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-tutorials/how-to-easily-enable-wordpress-debug-mode-to-fix-site-errors

By turning on WP_DEBUG_LOG to true, do a test donation and see if any logs are present in your log file that might hold a clue. Also making sure to check with your host to make sure if there’s any reason why a webhook from Stripe might not be coming through.

Another suggestion would be determine when this started happening (was this always the case? did this recently happen – and if so what happened maybe around that time? was something updated?).

Finally, you can put your gateway settings in Stripe in “test mode”, reconnect to Stripe via test mode, and do a test donation. This would help confirm if webhooks are working properly or if the issue is specific to live mode.

After trying the above, if you still are experiencing issues or if you have questions feel free to reach out to our support team.

Still have questions? We’re here to help!

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Campaigns New

🧡 Modal Donate Button: Turn Any Click into a Contribution

Instead of redirecting users to a new URL, the lightweight Modal Donation Button allows donors to complete their gift in a sleek, focused popup, keeping them engaged with your content while they support your cause.

What’s New:

  • Zero-Friction Giving: Open your donation form in a responsive modal overlay. Donors stay on the same page, reducing drop-off.

  • 🖱️ Place it Anywhere: Use the dedicated WordPress block or a simple shortcode to drop a donate button into sidebars, footers, or even mid-sentence in your storytelling.

  • 🎨 Full Design Control: Match your brand perfectly with customizable background colors, hover effects, border radius, and font sizes—all without touching a single line of CSS.

Whether you need a simple “Donate Now” link or a high-converting popup button, the Modal Donate Button gives you the flexibility to raise more with less effort.

donation form Donations New

💵 Mini Donation Widget: Show The Impact Of Every Dollar!

Not every donor who wants to give will navigate to your campaign page. Meet them exactly where they are by placing a fully functional giving experience directly on any page or post.

💬 Show the impact of every dollar: Attach custom messages to each preset amount so donors understand exactly what their gift provides.
🔄 Monthly and one-time giving: Supports a tabbed interface with independent amounts and impact statements for recurring giving programs.
🎨 Match your brand: Easily set accent colors and control size or alignment to fit the widget naturally into your layout without CSS.
⚡ Reduce donor friction: Open the donation form in a modal overlay to keep donors on the page and reduce drop-off.

Donations Live New

👉🏻 Showcase Real Momentum with the Donations Feed

Give your donors a reason to trust. Our new feed lets you display a living, breathing record of people showing up for your cause.

🤝 Build instant trust: Overcome donor hesitation by showing a proven track record of community support.
💬 Highlight donor stories: Display real donor comments and locations to show the human side of your fundraising.
🛠️ Drop it anywhere: Easily add the block to your homepage, campaign pages, or confirmation screens in seconds.
📈 Curate your feed: Group multiple donations from the same person or sort by highest amounts to encourage larger gifts.

Campaigns New

🎨 Campaign Showcase: Pro Level Display, No Coding Needed.

Display your causes with style and make it easier than ever for donors to find the right campaign. We are excited to announce the brand-new Campaign Showcase, a powerful, no-code tool designed to help you create beautiful, high-converting campaign grids and carousels.

The Ultimate Discovery Experience

Your mission deserves to be seen. With the Campaign Showcase, you can move beyond simple lists and create dynamic displays that highlight your most urgent needs, helping donors connect with the causes they care about most.

⚡ No-Code Customization: Effortlessly change layouts, columns, and styles with a single click. Whether you want a clean grid or an interactive carousel, you can match your organization’s look without any CSS or JavaScript.

🎯 Advanced Search & Filter: Empower your supporters with real-time filtering. Donors can quickly sort through campaigns by tags, popularity, or “ending soon,” making it easy to find exactly where their help is needed.

💰 Quick Donate Integration: Boost your conversions with instant giving. The Showcase allows donors to contribute via a modal popup directly from the display, featuring pre-selected amounts for a faster, friction-free experience.

Addon New

🤯 New Addon: Campaign Updates

Keep your supporters informed and engaged with every step of your progress! Share the ongoing impact of your mission and build lasting trust with your donor community!

The Ultimate Engagement Tool

Fundraising is a journey, not a one-time event. Now, you can easily provide real-time updates directly on your campaign pages, ensuring your donors stay connected to the causes they care about most.

📣 Easy Storytelling: Quickly post text updates, milestones, or field reports to show exactly how donations are being put to work, keeping the momentum alive throughout your fundraiser.

🏗️ Visual Builder Integration: Seamlessly add the Updates block anywhere on your page using our drag-and-drop builder, or use a simple shortcode to display news in widgets and sidebars.

📩 Build Donor Trust: By consistently sharing progress and success stories, you create a transparent giving experience that encourages recurring support and deeper community involvement.