Recurring Gifts 101

What's better than a donor giving once? A donor pledging to give multiple times over the course of several years—or even a lifetime. With the recurring gifts feature on GiveCampus, donors can deepen their connection with your school and build a habit of giving back.

This guide walks through everything you need to know: how to enable recurring giving, what options are available, how recurring gifts affect campaigns, and how to manage reporting, notifications, and edits.

Enabling Recurring Giving

Recurring giving can be turned on in several places, depending on what type of form you're using:

• Campaigns: Enable via the Giving Form tab in Campaign Settings
• General Giving Form (linked from your school's "Make a Gift" button): Enable via the Standalone Giving Form tab in the Online Giving menu
• Additional Giving Forms: Enable via the individual form settings

Available Recurring Gift Options

Donors can choose from these recurring gift frequencies:

• Monthly (for a number of years)
• Monthly (for a number of months)
• Yearly

What About Quarterly Payments?

Quarterly recurring payments are not currently supported on the GiveCampus platform. Only monthly and yearly installment options are available.

split designations and recurring gifts

• Designation options are set at the form level—not by gift type.
• Enabling split designations lets donors select two or more funds on both one-time and recurring gifts.
• There is no separate setting to require a single designation for recurring gifts while allowing multiple designations on one-time gifts.

enforce single-designation giving for recurring donors

To require a single fund for recurring gifts, disable split designations for the entire form. This change applies equally to one-time and recurring gifts.

faq: can one-time gifts allow multiple designations while recurring gifts require only one?

No. The split designation setting applies to the entire form. To offer different options, set up separate giving forms.

Common variations of this question:

• Can donors give quarterly?
• Do you support quarterly recurring gifts?
• What recurring payment frequencies are available?

Managing Recurring Gift Subscriptions

How to Send Payment Update Links

When a recurring gift fails and you need to help a donor update their payment information:

Important: Make sure the donor's current email address is updated in their record before sending the link.

Restarting Failed Recurring Gifts

If a recurring gift has failed, the donor can restart it by:

For administrators:

How Recurring Gifts Work

Payment Processing

• Donors set up recurring gifts with their preferred frequency
• Payments are automatically processed on the scheduled dates
• GiveCampus uses auto-updater technology to handle credit card updates automatically
• If a payment fails, the system attempts to retry before marking it as failed

Counting in Campaign Totals

• Indefinite recurring gifts: Only installments processed while the campaign is live count toward campaign totals
• Time-bound recurring gifts: The full pledged amount is counted toward campaign totals
• First-time recurring gift setups count as new donors

Reporting and Analytics

Recurring gifts appear in your standard donation reports with specific indicators:

• Gift Type: Shows as "Recurring"
• Subscription Status: Active, Failed, Completed, etc.
• Next Payment Date: When the next installment is scheduled
• Total Committed: The full amount pledged over the life of the subscription

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Q: A donor's recurring gift failed - how do I help them? A: Send them a payment update link through Manage Gifts > Recurring Subscriptions, or update their payment details manually.

Q: Can I change a recurring gift frequency after it's set up? A: Frequency changes require canceling the existing subscription and setting up a new one.

FAQ: Can the first installment be a different amount than subsequent recurring installments?

No. Recurring subscriptions on GiveCampus use a single installment amount throughout their life. There is no option for a different first payment within one subscription.

If a donor requests an irregular first payment, follow this workflow:

1. Process the desired first payment as a one-time gift using a giving form. This immediately records the initial payment.
2. Create a separate recurring subscription for the regular installment amount. Set its start date to the donor’s next preferred billing date or the next available cycle.

Both steps can be completed by the donor via the giving form or with administrator assistance. You may use the same form—if it supports recurring giving—or separate forms as needed.

Reporting and campaign counting work as follows:

• The one-time gift is recorded like any other single donation and counts toward campaign totals if processed during the campaign window.
• Recurring installments count as usual: only installments processed during an active campaign count, or follow the guidelines for time-bound subscriptions.

Tips:

• Clearly explain the two-step process to the donor so they understand they will see separate transactions.
• Set the recurring subscription’s start date to the donor’s preferred billing date to avoid overlapping charges.
• Ensure that any designations, affiliations, or match criteria are correctly configured for both the one-time gift and recurring subscription.

Q: Why isn't a recurring gift counting toward my campaign? A: Check if your campaign window covers the gift processing dates. Only installments processed during an active campaign count toward totals.

Q: Can donors give quarterly? A: No, quarterly frequency is not currently supported. Only monthly and yearly options are available.

Best Practices

• Enable recurring giving on all major campaigns and forms
• Use compelling language to encourage recurring commitments
• Set up automated follow-up for failed recurring gifts
• Monitor recurring gift performance regularly
• Thank recurring donors with special recognition
• Consider upgrade campaigns for existing recurring donors

Payment Method Support for Recurring Gifts

Supported Payment Methods

Recurring gifts on GiveCampus currently support:

• Credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover)
• Debit cards
• Digital Wallets (Apple Pay, Google Pay)
• Bank transfers (ACH)

Payment Methods NOT Supported for Recurring Gifts

The following payment methods do not support recurring giving:

• PayPal
• Venmo
• DAF Pay
• Cash App Pay

Why the difference? These alternative payment methods are designed for one-time transactions and don't support the automated recurring billing required for subscription-style giving.