Acknowledgement Email for Recurring Donations

The Recurring Donation Acknowledgement email is your opportunity to encourage your donors and reinforce their commitment to making a recurring donation. Rather than a transactional confirmation, reiterate how their long-term support will have an impact.

This recurring message is sent each time a donor’s contribution is processed. This includes the very first time they donate through your form, and the subsequent monthly or yearly occurrences.

The link, “Manage My Recurring Donation,” included in the footer goes to your Donor Portal, and a donation receipt is attached to the message as a PDF.

💡 Making the Recurring Donation Message Unique

When crafting your message it may be tempting to just copy and paste content and images from the main Acknowledgment message. While using familiar campaign materials is important, remember that this is a distinct type of donation that needs a different message.

The recurring message should include: 

1. A title or description of what they are contributing to.
2. A clear statement that this is a repeating contribution.
3. A thank you that is appropriate for future recurrences.

To configure the recurring donation email for your campaign,

Navigate to Campaigns > Emails & Receipt > Recurring. 

Email Subject

If you modify the Email Subject it’s best to stick with a theme of gratitude with some mention of the recurrence. For example, “Thank you for your commitment!”

You can use one of the Available Variables to include donor info and add a personal touch. For example, “{{donor_firstname}}, thank you for your commitment” would render as “Sheila, thank you for your commitment.”

💡 Using Variables

Variables can be used to personalize messages by pulling in information about the donor or donation. They can be added to the Email Subject, Headline, or Body. 

To add a variable, click one of the Available Variables below the Body field. This will copy the variable shortcode to your clipboard.

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Then, place your cursor in the field where you want to insert the variable and paste. (You can use the keyboard shortcut CTRL+V on Windows, or CMD+V on Mac to quickly paste the variable shortcode.)

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The most frequently used variable is the donor’s first name, but there are several available:

Info: {{Variable}}

• Donor’s first name: {{donor_firstname}}
• Donor’s last name: {{donor_lastname}}
• Amount donated: {{donation_amount}}
• Organization name: {{org_name}}
• Payment method: {{payment_method}}

You can also manually copy the variables above and paste into the applicable fields.

Headline and Header Image

The Headline appears across the top of your email message. Variables can also be included here.

Enable the Header Image and upload an image to add visual appeal and bolster emotional connection. If you use the same image used in the donation form, the reader may more easily recall your message and can reinforce the story.

The image will be cropped to a wide landscape format, so make sure the dimensions are 960 x 440 pixels. Including an image is optional, but recommended.

💡 Header Image Best Practices

• It's best to avoid using text in your image. If you do use text, include very little and ensure the font size is readable on smaller screens. The Header Image will be scaled down and cropped differently for mobile devices, so your text could be too small to be read or out of view entirely.
• Take advantage of the Header and Body fields for your text content.

Body

Enter your message content in the Body field. Remember, the recipient of this email may have not interacted with your campaign or organization recently, so this is a good place to reinforce the story. 

To insert information about the donor or donation in the message, add one of the Available Variables.

💡 If you would like to make changes to the logo or donate button, go back to the email template.

Save and Preview

When finished, click the Save Changes button. Then Email a Preview to see how it looks.

Previewing Messages

At any point during your email set up you can send a test email to yourself. It’s a good idea to preview what a message will look like in your email application—it may look different in various email applications or on mobile devices. You may also notice things you missed while editing.

Before previewing, make sure to Save Changes to ensure you receive an up-to-date test email.

Click the Email a Preview button at the bottom-right of any Email settings page.

Enter one email address, then click Send an Email.

In your email application, have a look to see how the subject reads; imagine it in an inbox surrounded by a bunch of unrelated messages. Would recipients understand what it is and who it’s from without opening it?

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