Designation Groups and Recurring Gifts: What Happens When You Delete Groups

Deleting a designation group at the school level does not disrupt recurring gift subscriptions or alter past or future installment designations. Even after a group is removed, active subscriptions and processed installments retain the fund assignment chosen at checkout.

what happens in practice

• Active subscriptions maintain the fund they were assigned at sign-up. Deleting the group does not change the designation stored on subscriptions or processed gifts.

• Payment processing remains consistent. Removing a group does not stop, pause, or alter installment processing.

• Donor interfaces aren’t affected. Completed and future installments display the original designation without requiring donors to update their payment details.

why this happens

Designation groups help organize funds for forms and campaigns. Once a donor completes checkout, the selected designation is stored with the subscription. Removing the group from your configuration does not rewrite that stored assignment.

before deleting a designation group

• Check campaigns and templates: Confirm the group isn’t referenced in any active campaigns, email templates, or challenges.

• Plan fund organization: Determine how the designations will be managed after the group’s removal, whether by moving them to another group or handling them individually.

• Update form settings: Adjust giving forms or campaign configurations if you want new recurring gifts to offer different designation options.

Deletion blocked by active tiered campaign

If a designation group is assigned to an active tiered campaign, you cannot delete it. You will see the message: "This designation group is in use by a tiered campaign and cannot be removed." To proceed, remove the group from any active tiered campaigns (campaigns that are not marked as successful, failed, archived, or deleted) and then try deleting the group again.