Archive Giving Forms: Impact on Recurring Gifts

Archiving a giving form does not affect active recurring gifts. Once a recurring donation is set up, its processing is independent of the form’s current status, and donors can continue to manage their subscriptions as usual.

quick answer

• Archiving a form does not cancel or pause recurring gifts.

• Recurring subscriptions continue processing on their established schedule.

• Donors can update their payment methods or make other changes using their management links.

what this means

When a donor establishes a recurring gift, the subscription operates separately from the giving form. This means you can archive the form without interrupting scheduled payments, and all payouts and reconciliations will proceed as normal.

donor management

Donors with management links can:

• Update payment methods

• Change donation frequency or amounts

• Pause or cancel subscriptions (if supported via donor controls)

Ensure that donor communications and help content include guidance on using these management links.

practical admin notes

• The archive action does not affect active recurring subscriptions.

• If there is an issue with a recurring gift after archiving a form, investigate the subscription record or payment method rather than the archived form.

if you cannot archive a giving form

If the Archive (or Back to Draft) action is grayed out, the form is in use. It may be set as the school-wide destination for the Make a Gift button or designated as the school’s Campaign Backup Form. In both cases, a tooltip on the control provides the specific reason.

Two reasons you may be blocked from archiving

1. The form is the active Make a Gift redirect target

If the school’s Make a Gift or Give Now button points to this form, archiving or reverting it to draft is blocked to ensure a live landing page for donors.

• For campaigns used as the redirect: Superadmins, Fundraising Superadmins, and Advanced Campaign Admins can open the campaign, navigate to its Landing Page settings, and uncheck the Redirect 'Make a gift' button to this campaign box. After saving, the campaign is no longer the redirect target and can be archived.
• For standalone giving forms used as the redirect: This setting is managed at the platform level by GiveCampus staff. The form cannot be archived until the redirect is changed by staff.

2. The form is designated as the Campaign Backup Form

If a campaign is set as the backup giving form, the form cannot be archived. This designation is managed at the platform level; the archive lock remains until a different form is designated as the backup.

steps to address the disabled Archive control

1. Read the tooltip: The message will indicate whether the block is due to the Make a Gift redirect or the Campaign Backup Form designation.

2. For a Make a Gift redirect on a campaign:

   • Open the campaign’s Landing Page settings.
   • Uncheck the Redirect 'Make a gift' button to this campaign box and save the changes.

3. Once the blocking condition is cleared: The Archive or Back to Draft action will become available on the giving form’s listing page.

Note: If the tooltip does not clearly indicate the reason, verify both conditions (the Make a Gift redirect target and the Campaign Backup Form designation). Archiving a form does not affect any active recurring subscriptions.

common scenarios and guidance

• If a donor needs to update their card details, they should use the management link provided with their recurring gift.

• Archiving a form to remove it from public view does not cancel or pause any existing subscriptions.

• If a recurring gift fails or stops, verify the subscription status and check for issues such as card expiration or payment declines. The archived form is not the cause.