Write-in designations: letting donors choose their own fund

What are write-in designations?

Write-in designations let donors type in a custom fund or purpose for their gift when none of the listed designations match their intent. Instead of choosing from a predefined list, the donor can write in something like Professor Smith's Research Lab or Class of 1985 Scholarship Fund.

This feature is useful for institutions with hundreds of funds (where listing every option would overwhelm the form) or campaigns where donors may want to direct gifts to niche areas not on the standard list.

Enabling write-in designations

1. Open your giving form or campaign in the Form Builder
2. Go to the Designations section
3. Look for the Write-In Designation toggle and enable it
4. Optionally customize the placeholder text (e.g., Type the name of the fund you'd like to support)
5. Save your changes

Once enabled, a text field appears alongside your standard designation options.

Write‑in placeholder: where it's set and how to troubleshoot

Configuration and fallback behavior:

• Set the site-wide write‑in placeholder in Content and Settings > Designations. The school setting is labeled "Write‑in Placeholder Text" and includes the description "This text will be displayed inside the write‑in field, and will disappear once the donor starts typing." This control sets the default prompt for every write‑in field.

Troubleshooting checklist:

1. Confirm the school setting: Open Content and Settings > Designations and verify that Write‑in Placeholder Text exactly matches your intended prompt.
2. Save changes and preview the live public form (not just the editor preview) to check the donor experience.
3. Clear your browser cache or test in a private/incognito window to ensure you're seeing the updated placeholder.
4. Compare the Form Builder preview and the live form URL, as they might display placeholders differently.

Recommended placeholder wording:

• Use short, actionable prompts such as "Enter the fund, program, or person you'd like to support." • Optionally include an example like "e.g., Class of 1995 Scholarship" to guide donors.

Validation and requirement behavior for write-in fields

Write-in fields follow the same requirement setting as your other designations. When designations are set as required, donors must either select a predefined option or enter a value in the write-in field before proceeding. If designations are optional, donors can choose the write-in option and leave the text field blank.

Setting up the requirement:

• Open your form and navigate to the designation settings. • Use the designation requirement setting (which applies to all designations) to control whether entering a write-in value is required.

Donor experience:

• If designations are required, donors must provide either a selection or a custom entry for the write-in option. • If designations remain optional, the write-in field will accept an empty entry without blocking submission.

Review your changes by previewing the form and testing both scenarios to ensure the validation behaves as expected.

How write-in designations appear in reporting

When a donor writes in a custom designation, it appears in your All Gifts Report exactly as the donor typed it. This means you may see spelling variations or different naming for the same fund. Review write-in designations regularly and reconcile them with your official fund names in your CRM.

When to use write-in designations

• Annual fund campaigns — Maximum flexibility for donors to direct their gift
• Reunion giving — Class-specific funds that may not all be listed
• Faculty/staff campaigns — Employees often want to give to specific departments
• Memorial and tribute gifts — Donors may want to specify a particular memorial fund

When to avoid write-in designations

• Giving Days with clear fund priorities — A curated list keeps giving focused and simplifies reporting
• Campaigns with designation-specific matches — Write-in designations may not automatically count toward matches tied to specific fund names. If your match targets Scholarship Fund and a donor writes Scholarships, the match logic may not recognize it.

Combining write-in with standard designations

You don't have to choose one or the other. Many Partners list their top five to ten designations as standard options and include a write-in field as a fallback. This gives guided giving for most donors and flexibility for those with a specific intent.

Tips

• Review write-ins after your campaign. Export your gifts report and map write-in entries to official fund codes in your system.
• Use placeholder text wisely. A clear prompt like Enter the fund, program, or area you'd like to support helps donors provide useful information.
• Set a default designation. If a donor skips both standard and write-in options, a default ensures no gift goes undesignated.

Questions? Reach out to your Partner Success Manager or contact us at info@givecampus.com.

Blank write‑ins: how they work and how to prevent them

Donors who select the write‑in option but leave the accompanying text box blank will submit an empty designation. This can cause confusion in reporting and reconciliation because blank entries appear in your gift reports.

Key points:

• Write‑in text fields follow the overall designation requirement setting. If designations are required, donors must either select a predefined option or provide text; if optional, the form accepts an empty write‑in submission.
• Blank write‑in entries are recorded as empty values in reports, which may require manual reconciliation with your official fund names.

Best practices to prevent blank write‑ins:

• Require designations: Set the designation field as required so donors must either choose a listed designation or provide a write‑in value.
• Use clear placeholder text: A prompt like “Enter the fund, program, or person you'd like to support (e.g., Class of 1995 Scholarship)” encourages donors to fill in the field.
• Set a default designation: If a gift without a defined designation is acceptable, using a default fund can ensure that reports do not display blank entries.

Testing your settings:

1. Preview the form in the Form Builder.
2. Test with designations set to optional: select the write‑in option, leave the text box empty, and verify that the submission is accepted with a blank designation in the All Gifts Report.
3. Test with designations set to required: select the write‑in option, leave the text box empty, and confirm the form blocks the submission until a value is provided.
4. Export the All Gifts Report to check how blank write‑ins appear.

These steps help ensure your form’s behavior aligns with your reporting and accounting needs.