Autofill pledge payment dates and installment schedules

Yes. You can create a pledge-form link that prefills the payment date for a single payment, or the first payment date, last payment date, and frequency for multiple installments. Use the form's built-in Generate Autofill Links tool; you do not need to construct the URL manually.

Before you begin

Use a Pledge Form. Adding these parameters to an ordinary giving form does not turn it into a pledge form. For multiple payments, the form must allow the intended monthly or yearly installment frequency. Set its maximum pledge payoff date to allow the schedule you want to offer.

Create the link in GiveCampus

1. Open the pledge form's administration area and go to Tracking & Analytics → Links & Appeal Codes. Some interfaces label this page Unique Tracking Links.
2. Find Generate Autofill Links and choose a field from Select a field.
3. Choose value to prefill the total pledge amount, if desired, and enter the amount without a currency symbol or thousands separator.
4. For a single payment, choose payment_date and select the intended date. Leave the multiple-installment fields out of this link.
5. For multiple payments, add first_installment, last_installment, and installment_frequency. Select each date with the date picker and choose an available frequency: monthly or yearly. Do not add payment_date for this schedule.
6. After setting each field, click Insert this field into the URL. Repeat until the displayed URL contains the intended amount and schedule.
7. Copy the complete generated URL. Open it and verify the selected payment type, dates, frequency, total commitment, installment count, and per-payment amount. Launch the form before distributing a public donor link, and test the final link in a private browser window.

The tool formats dates for you. Pledge date and frequency fields cannot be hidden with the builder's hide the pre-filled field checkbox. These values are starting selections: donors can review and change the schedule within the form's allowed options before submitting. Opening the link does not create a pledge or authorize a charge.

Example: a $1,000 reunion pledge over five years

In the link builder, add value of 1000, a first_installment of June 30, 2027, a last_installment of June 30, 2031, and installment_frequency of yearly.

The dates include five annual payments: 2027, 2028, 2029, 2030, and 2031. The pledge totals $1,000, with $200 per installment, rather than $1,000 each year. The form must permit yearly installments and a payoff date through June 30, 2031.

The generated URL's parameter portion will look like this:

?value=1000&first_installment=06-30-2027&last_installment=06-30-2031&installment_frequency=yearly

For a single $1,000 payment on June 30, 2027, the parameter portion is:

?value=1000&payment_date=06-30-2027

These are examples of the parameters, not complete donor links. Use your own form's generated URL. Update the example dates for the actual schedule you are offering.

Can I upload different pledge schedules for different donors?

Yes. On the same page, use Autofill Donation Form Links to download a fresh sample CSV for this pledge form. Its available headers include payment_date and, when installment frequencies are enabled, first_installment, last_installment, and installment_frequency.

Keep the downloaded headers, replace the sample data with one donor's intended values per row, and leave unused schedule cells blank. For a single-payment row, fill payment_date and leave the installment columns blank. For an installment row, fill the first date, last date, and frequency and leave payment_date blank. Use MM-DD-YYYY dates and the exact frequency value monthly or yearly, as permitted by the form.

Upload the file, then use See Existing Autofill Links or Download Existing Autofill Links to retrieve the generated links. The downloaded token column contains the full personalized URL ending in ?aft=.... Test representative links and verify each schedule before distributing them. Do not leave the sample row's dates or frequency in rows that should use a different payment type.

Why is a pledge field missing or not autofilling?

• Confirm the destination is a pledge form and its settings allow the chosen installment frequency. Weekly and semiannual values are not supported by these autofill parameters.
• Dates must be valid, on or after the date the donor opens the link, and no later than the form's maximum pledge payoff date. A link with a date that has become past-due will not keep prefilling that date.
• For multiple installments, the last date must allow at least one payment interval after the first. Review the payment summary rather than assuming any two dates create the intended number of installments.
• Invalid, past, or out-of-range dates and unsupported frequencies are ignored; the form can show its normal defaults or require a new selection. Recheck the actual donor form.
• A valid multiple-installment field selects Multiple Installments. Use only payment_date for a single-payment link; do not mix the two schedules.
• If a link includes both an uploaded aft token and an explicit pledge parameter, the explicit parameter takes precedence for that field. Avoid conflicting values.

If the generated link still does not match the intended schedule, send Support the form, the expected dates and frequency, and the observed result.