Donation Forms
Create, customize, and embed donation forms — hosted pages, widgets, pre-fill parameters, and launch language status.
Every campaign on GiveLink includes a fully customizable donation form. Use it as a hosted page, embed it on your website, pre-fill fields via URL parameters, or build a completely custom experience with the API.
Hosted Donation Pages
Every campaign automatically receives a hosted donation page at:
https://givelink.ai/donate/{campaignSlug}The hosted page includes your campaign description, cover image, goal thermometer, recent donors, and the full donation form — all on a single, mobile-optimized page. No code required.
Share your hosted donation page URL directly in emails, social media posts, text messages, and print materials. It works on every device and loads instantly.
Embeddable Widget
Drop the GiveLink widget into any website to embed a donation form inline:
<script src="https://cdn.givelink.ai/widget.js"></script>
<div
data-givelink-campaign="your-campaign-id"
data-givelink-theme="light"
></div>Widget Configuration Attributes
| Attribute | Values | Description |
|---|---|---|
data-givelink-campaign | Campaign ID | Required. The campaign to collect donations for. |
data-givelink-theme | light, dark, auto | Color theme. auto follows system preference. |
data-givelink-locale | en today | Donor flows are English today. Spanish coming soon for launch. French, Portuguese, and Chinese are translated but unwired. |
data-givelink-amounts | 2500,5000,10000,25000 | Override suggested amounts (in cents). |
data-givelink-recurring | true, false | Show or hide recurring giving options. |
data-givelink-cover-fees | true, false | Pre-check the cover-the-fee toggle. |
The widget works with WordPress, Squarespace, Wix, Webflow, Shopify, and any site that supports custom HTML. It is responsive by default and adapts to its container width.
URL Pre-Fill Parameters
Pre-fill donation form fields by appending query parameters to your hosted page URL. This is useful for personalized email campaigns, direct mail QR codes, and targeted landing pages.
https://givelink.ai/donate/annual-fund?amount=5000&recurring=monthly&name=John%20Smith&email=john@example.comSupported Parameters
| Parameter | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|
amount | 5000 | Pre-selected amount in cents ($50.00) |
recurring | monthly, quarterly, annual | Pre-select recurring frequency |
name | John%20Smith | Pre-fill donor name |
email | john@example.com | Pre-fill donor email |
phone | 5551234567 | Pre-fill phone number |
dedication | memory or honor | Pre-select tribute type |
dedicatee | Jane%20Doe | Pre-fill tribute name |
coverFees | true | Pre-check fee coverage toggle |
utm_source | spring_email | Track referral source |
utm_medium | email | Track referral medium |
utm_campaign | spring_2026 | Track marketing campaign |
ref | ambassador123 | Ambassador or P2P referral code |
Combine pre-fill parameters with your email platform's merge tags. For example: ?name={{first_name}}&email={{email}}&amount=10000 in Mailchimp creates a personalized $100 ask for each recipient.
Suggested Amounts
Configure pre-set donation amounts that appear as quick-select buttons on your form. Donors can always enter a custom amount.
Navigate to your campaign
Go to Dashboard > Campaigns and select the campaign you want to configure.
Open form settings
Click Donation Form > Suggested Amounts.
Set your amounts
Add 4-6 amounts ranging from an accessible entry point to an aspirational major gift. For example: $25, $50, $100, $250, $500, $1,000.
Choose a default selection
Optionally highlight one amount as the default. The middle option typically performs best.
Save and preview
Click Save and preview your form to verify the layout.
Best practice: Start with 4-6 suggested amounts. Too few limits choice; too many creates decision fatigue. Highlight your most common gift amount as the default selection.
Custom Fields
Add custom fields to your donation form to collect additional information from donors.
Available Field Types
| Field Type | Use Case |
|---|---|
| Text | Employer name, T-shirt size, special instructions |
| Dropdown | Graduation year, event preference, chapter affiliation |
| Checkbox | Opt-in to volunteer list, consent for public recognition |
| Date | Preferred event date |
| Textarea | Personal message, prayer request |
Custom field responses are stored on the donation record and included in exports. You can also use custom fields as segmentation criteria in the donor CRM.
Fee Coverage Toggle
The cover-the-fee toggle lets donors optionally pay the Stripe processing fee and GiveLink's 1% platform fee so your organization receives 100% of the intended gift.
When a donor checks the "Cover the fees" box, the total charge is adjusted upward to account for both the platform fee and the payment processing fee. The math is calculated in real time and displayed to the donor before they complete the donation.
Example — $100 card donation:
- Base gift: $100.00
- Processing fee (2.2% + $0.30): $2.50
- Platform fee (1%): $1.00
- Donor pays: $103.62 (adjusted to net exactly $100.00 to the nonprofit)
- Enabled by default on all new campaigns
- Toggle the default state (checked or unchecked) in Campaign > Donation Form > Fee Coverage
- Customize the label text displayed to donors
- The toggle can be hidden entirely if you prefer to absorb fees without presenting the option
Multi-Language Support
Donor flows are English today. Spanish coming soon for launch. French, Portuguese, and Chinese are translated but unwired.
| Language | Code | Coverage |
|---|---|---|
| English | en | Live today |
| Spanish | es | Spanish coming soon for launch |
| French | fr | Translated but unwired |
| Portuguese | pt | Translated but unwired |
| Chinese (Simplified) | zh | Translated but unwired |
Set the launch language
Use English for donor flows today while Spanish is in active development for launch.
Language selector
Language selector wiring is part of the pre-launch localization work and should not be treated as live for all locales yet.
Browser language detection
Browser language detection is not the launch behavior for donor money flows.
Campaign descriptions and custom field labels are not auto-translated. Provide your own translations for these fields in the campaign editor.
Matching Gift Employer Lookup
GiveLink includes a built-in employer matching gift lookup powered by a database of 25,000+ companies with matching gift programs. Donors can search for their employer during checkout to see if their gift qualifies for a corporate match.
- Inline search appears on the donation form after the donor enters their gift amount
- Company results show match ratio (1:1, 2:1, 3:1), minimum/maximum amounts, and submission instructions
- DAF-eligible employers are flagged automatically
- Post-donation email includes matching gift instructions specific to the donor's employer
Matching gifts can double or triple a donation at no cost to the donor. Organizations that promote matching gifts see an average 71% increase in donation revenue from matched gifts.
Tribute and Memorial Giving
Allow donors to make gifts in honor or in memory of someone. When enabled, the donation form presents tribute options after the donor selects their amount.
Tribute Features
- In Honor Of — Celebrate a living person (birthday, anniversary, achievement)
- In Memory Of — Honor someone who has passed
- Notification card — Optionally send an email or physical card to the honoree or their family
- Notification fields — Donor provides the recipient's name, email, and optional personal message
- Tribute display — Tribute gifts appear on the campaign's public donor roll as "In honor of [Name]" or "In memory of [Name]"
Enable tributes in Campaign > Donation Form > Tribute Giving.
When a donor provides a notification recipient, GiveLink automatically sends a dedication notification email to the honoree or their family. The email includes the donor's name (or "Anonymous"), the dedication type, and any personal message.
DAF Pledge Form
Donor Advised Fund (DAF) gifts are processed differently from credit card or ACH donations. GiveLink provides a dedicated DAF pledge form that captures the donor's intent and fund information.
Donor selects DAF as payment method
On the donation form, the donor chooses "Donor Advised Fund" from the payment options.
Donor enters fund details
The form collects the DAF sponsor organization (Fidelity Charitable, Schwab Charitable, etc.), fund name or account number, and pledge amount.
Pledge is recorded
GiveLink creates a pending pledge record. The donation is marked as "Pledged" until the DAF distribution is received.
Reconciliation
When the DAF distribution arrives (typically via check or EFT), mark the pledge as fulfilled in the dashboard. The donation is then counted toward campaign totals.
DAF gifts bypass Stripe entirely — there are no processing fees on DAF distributions. GiveLink's 1% platform fee still applies to the fulfilled pledge amount.
Mobile-Optimized Design
Every donation form is designed mobile-first. Over 60% of nonprofit website traffic comes from mobile devices, and GiveLink forms are built to convert on small screens.
- Single-column layout that flows naturally on phones
- Large touch targets for amount buttons and form fields
- Apple Pay and Google Pay one-tap checkout for mobile donors
- Autofill support for name, email, and payment information
- Minimal fields — only essential information is required to reduce abandonment
- Progressive disclosure — optional fields (tribute, custom fields, matching gift) expand only when selected
UTM and Referral Tracking
Track where your donations originate by appending UTM parameters or referral codes to your donation page URL.
UTM Parameters
| Parameter | Purpose | Example |
|---|---|---|
utm_source | Identifies the traffic source | newsletter, facebook, google |
utm_medium | Identifies the marketing medium | email, social, cpc, qr |
utm_campaign | Identifies the marketing campaign | spring_appeal_2026 |
utm_term | Identifies paid search keywords | donate_now |
utm_content | Differentiates ad variations | hero_button, sidebar_link |
Referral Codes
Use the ref parameter to attribute donations to ambassadors, P2P fundraisers, or partner organizations:
https://givelink.ai/donate/annual-fund?ref=ambassador_jane_smithAll UTM and referral data is stored on the donation record and available in:
- Campaign analytics — breakdown by source, medium, and campaign
- Donor profiles — see which channel brought each donor in
- Exports — UTM fields included in CSV and API responses
- Marketing Studio — measure ROI of email campaigns and social posts
Create unique UTM-tagged links for each marketing channel (email, social, direct mail QR codes) to measure exactly which channels drive the most donations and the highest average gift size.
Automated Emails After a Donation
When a donor completes a donation through any GiveLink form, several emails are triggered automatically:
- Donation receipt — Sent immediately with the donation amount, date, campaign, receipt number, payment method, and organization EIN. If the donor opted to cover fees, the fee breakdown is included.
- Welcome email — Sent on the donor's first-ever gift to the organization. Introduces the organization and links to the donor dashboard.
- Thank-you follow-up — Sent 7 days and 30 days after the donation with impact-focused messaging.
- Tribute notification — If the donation was made in honor or in memory of someone, the designated recipient receives a notification email with the donor's name and personal message.
All automated emails use GiveLink's unified design system — the same warm editorial typography, charcoal headers, and earth-tone palette across every touchpoint.
See the full Email & Communications guide for details on every automated email, including admin notifications, campaign updates, and year-end statements.
Last updated on 6/15/2026