Donor Management

Track, segment, and engage donors with a full-featured CRM — profiles, engagement scoring, auto-tagging, import/export, donor portal, and more.

GiveLink includes a complete donor CRM built directly into the platform. Track giving history, segment your audience, score engagement, manage communications, and build lasting donor relationships — without a separate tool or integration.

Donor Profiles

Every donor automatically gets a comprehensive profile. Profiles are created on a donor's first gift and enriched with every subsequent interaction.

Profile Fields

Section	Fields
Contact	Full name, email, phone, mailing address
Giving summary	Lifetime total, total gift count, average gift, largest gift
Dates	First donation, most recent donation, next recurring charge
Engagement	RFM score, engagement tier, retention risk level
Recurring	Active recurring plans (amount, frequency, payment method, status)
Tags	Auto-tags and manually applied tags
Custom fields	Organization-defined fields
Communication	Email opt-in status, preferred language, last email opened
Source	Original acquisition channel (UTM source, referral, campaign)

Giving History

The giving history tab shows every donation the donor has made across all campaigns, with:

Date, amount, campaign, and payment method for each gift
Fee breakdown (processing fee, platform fee, fee coverage)
Receipt status and download link
Recurring vs. one-time designation
Tribute/memorial details if applicable
Refund and dispute history

Click any donation in the giving history to view the full transaction detail, including Stripe payment ID, UTM attribution, custom field responses, and matching gift status.

Tags and Auto-Tagging Rules

Tags let you categorize and segment donors. Apply them manually or set up rules to tag donors automatically based on behavior.

Manual Tags

Create any tag and apply it to one or more donors. Common examples:

Major Donor, Monthly Giver, Board Member, Volunteer
Event Attendee, Gala 2026, Golf Tournament
Corporate Partner, Foundation, DAF Donor
Thank You Sent, Stewardship Call Completed

Auto-Tagging Rules

Define rules that automatically apply (or remove) tags based on donor activity. Rules run in real time as donations are processed.

Trigger	Example Rule
Donation amount	Gift >= $1,000 → add "Major Donor"
Recurring signup	New recurring plan → add "Monthly Giver"
Campaign	Donated to "Gala 2026" → add "Gala 2026 Donor"
Frequency	3+ gifts in 12 months → add "Loyal Donor"
Lapsed	No gift in 12+ months → add "Lapsed", remove "Active Donor"
First gift	First-ever donation → add "New Donor"
Recurring cancellation	Recurring plan cancelled → add "Cancelled Recurring"
Fee coverage	Donor covered fees → add "Fee Coverer"

Navigate to tag rules

Go to Dashboard > Donors > Tags > Auto-Tagging Rules.

Create a rule

Define the trigger condition, the tag to apply (or remove), and whether the rule applies retroactively to existing donors.

Test the rule

Preview which donors would be affected before activating.

Activate

Enable the rule. It runs automatically on all future activity and (optionally) backfills existing donors.

RFM Engagement Scoring

GiveLink automatically calculates an RFM (Recency, Frequency, Monetary) engagement score for every donor. RFM scoring segments donors into actionable tiers based on giving behavior.

How RFM Works

Dimension	What It Measures	Scale
Recency	How recently the donor gave	1-5 (5 = most recent)
Frequency	How often the donor gives	1-5 (5 = most frequent)
Monetary	How much the donor gives	1-5 (5 = highest value)

Each donor receives a score from 1-5 on each dimension, producing a composite RFM score (e.g., 5-5-5 for your best donors, 1-1-1 for your least engaged).

Engagement Tiers

GiveLink maps RFM scores to named engagement tiers:

Tier	RFM Profile	Description	Recommended Action
Champion	High R, High F, High M	Best donors — recent, frequent, high-value	Stewardship, major gift cultivation, board recruitment
Loyal	High R, High F, Low-Mid M	Consistent givers, smaller amounts	Upgrade asks, recurring giving enrollment
Promising	High R, Low F, Varies M	Recent donors with growth potential	Welcome series, second-gift campaigns
At Risk	Mid R, Mid-High F, Mid-High M	Previously active donors showing decline	Re-engagement campaigns, personal outreach
Lapsed	Low R, Any F, Any M	Haven't given in 12+ months	Win-back campaigns, surveys, lapsed donor appeals

RFM scores are recalculated nightly. The engagement tier is displayed on every donor profile and is available as a filter in segments and exports.

LTV Metrics and Retention Risk

Beyond RFM, GiveLink calculates lifetime value (LTV) metrics and retention risk indicators for each donor.

LTV Metrics

Metric	Description
Lifetime value	Total giving to date across all campaigns
Projected annual value	Estimated giving over the next 12 months based on patterns
Average gift	Mean donation amount
Giving velocity	Trend in gift frequency (accelerating, stable, decelerating)
Donor tenure	Time since first gift
Upgrade potential	AI-predicted likelihood of increasing gift size

Retention Risk

Each donor is assigned a retention risk level based on behavioral signals:

Risk Level	Signals
Low	Recent gift, active recurring, increasing frequency
Moderate	Gift frequency slowing, smaller recent gifts
High	No gift in 6+ months, cancelled recurring, declining engagement
Critical	No gift in 12+ months, no email opens in 90 days

Donors flagged as High or Critical retention risk should receive targeted outreach within 30 days. Research shows that re-engaging a lapsed donor costs 5-10x less than acquiring a new one.

Donor Merge and Deduplication

When donors give using different email addresses or name variations, GiveLink helps you identify and merge duplicate records.

Automatic Detection

GiveLink scans for potential duplicates based on:

Email address matches
Name + address similarity
Phone number matches
Fuzzy name matching (e.g., "Rob Smith" and "Robert Smith")

Merge Process

Review suggested merges

Navigate to Dashboard > Donors > Duplicates. GiveLink presents pairs of potential duplicates with a confidence score.

Compare records

View both profiles side by side — contact info, giving history, tags, and custom fields.

Select the primary record

Choose which record to keep as the primary. The other record's giving history, tags, and notes are merged into it.

Confirm merge

Click Merge. The operation is logged in the audit trail and can be reviewed (though not reversed) from the activity log.

Merging is permanent. Always review both records carefully before confirming. All giving history from the secondary record is transferred to the primary record, preserving complete donation data.

CSV Import and Export

Importing Donors

Migrate existing donor data into GiveLink from any platform or spreadsheet.

Prepare your CSV

Your CSV should include columns for at least email (required), plus any of: first name, last name, phone, address, tags, total giving, first gift date, and custom fields.

Upload

Go to Dashboard > Donors > Import and upload your CSV file.

Map columns

GiveLink auto-maps common column headers. Review the mapping and adjust any fields that weren't detected automatically.

Set import options

Duplicate handling — skip, update existing, or create new records
Tag assignment — optionally apply a tag to all imported records (e.g., "Imported from Givebutter")
Opt-in status — set the default email opt-in status for imported records

Preview and confirm

Review a preview of the first 10 records. Click Import to process the full file.

Review import log

After processing, review the import log showing records created, updated, skipped, and any errors.

Supported Migration Sources

GiveLink auto-detects CSV exports from these platforms and maps fields accordingly:

Givebutter, Zeffy, Give Lively, Donorbox
Bloomerang, Network for Good, DonorPerfect
Salesforce (NPSP and NPC exports)
Kindful, Neon CRM, Little Green Light
Any platform that exports to CSV

Exporting Donors

Export your complete donor list or a filtered segment at any time.

Go to Dashboard > Donors and apply any filters or select a saved segment
Click Export and choose CSV or Excel format
All fields are included: contact info, giving summary, tags, custom fields, RFM scores, and retention risk
Exports include giving history if the "Include transactions" option is checked

Your data is yours. GiveLink never restricts exports or charges for data access. Export your full donor database at any time, in full, with no limitations.

Custom Fields

Define custom fields to track information specific to your organization. Custom fields appear on donor profiles and can be used for segmentation and filtering.

Field Types

Type	Example
Text	Preferred name, employer, graduation year
Number	Volunteer hours, event attendance count
Date	Birthday, membership start date
Dropdown	Donor category, communication preference
Checkbox	Board member, legacy society, major donor prospect
Multi-select	Interests (education, health, environment)
URL	LinkedIn profile, personal website

Custom fields can be:

Populated from donation form custom fields
Set manually on donor profiles
Imported via CSV
Updated via the API
Used as segment filters

Internal Notes

Add private notes to any donor profile. Notes are visible only to your team and are never shown to donors.

Timestamped — each note records who wrote it and when
Searchable — search across all donor notes from the global search
Activity log — notes appear in the donor's activity timeline alongside donations, emails, and tag changes
Mentions — tag team members with @mentions to notify them

Use notes for stewardship tracking, call summaries, meeting notes, and cultivation plans.

Donor Portal

Donors can access a self-service portal to view their giving history, download receipts, update payment methods, and manage recurring gifts.

Portal Access

Donors access the portal via magic link authentication — no password required:

Donor visits the portal

Your organization's donor portal is available at a URL like givelink.ai/portal/{orgSlug}.

Donor enters their email

The donor types the email address they used when donating.

Magic link sent

GiveLink sends a magic link email to that email address — a branded, secure login link that expires after 15 minutes.

Donor accesses their dashboard

After clicking the link, the donor can view their giving history, download tax receipts, update their recurring payment method, or adjust their recurring gift amount.

Portal Features

Feature	Description
Giving history	Complete list of all donations with dates, amounts, and campaigns
Tax receipts	Download PDF receipts for any donation (IRS-compliant)
Recurring management	Update payment method, change amount, change frequency, or cancel
Contact info	Update name, email, phone, and mailing address
Communication preferences	Manage email opt-in/opt-out

Include a link to your donor portal in tax receipt emails and year-end giving statements. Donors who can self-manage their recurring gifts are less likely to cancel and more likely to upgrade.

Segments and Cohorts

Create saved segments to group donors by any combination of criteria. Segments update dynamically as donor data changes.

Segment Filters

Build segments using any combination of these filters:

Category	Filters
Giving	Total lifetime giving, average gift, largest gift, gift count, first/last gift date
Recency	Days since last gift, last gift date range
Frequency	Number of gifts in a period, giving streak
Recurring	Has active recurring, recurring amount, recurring frequency, cancelled recurring
Campaign	Donated to specific campaign(s), did not donate to campaign
Tags	Has tag, does not have tag, any of tags, all of tags
Engagement	RFM tier (Champion/Loyal/Promising/At Risk/Lapsed), retention risk level
Source	UTM source, referral code, acquisition campaign
Custom fields	Any custom field value
Communication	Email opt-in status, last email opened, last email clicked
Location	State, city, zip code

Cohort Analysis

Track how groups of donors behave over time by creating cohorts based on acquisition date or campaign:

Acquisition cohorts — group donors by the month/quarter they made their first gift
Campaign cohorts — group donors by the campaign that acquired them
Track retention — see what percentage of each cohort gives again in subsequent periods
Compare performance — identify which acquisition channels produce the most loyal donors

Segments are used throughout GiveLink — filter the donor list, target email campaigns in Marketing Studio, create A/B test audiences, and scope analytics dashboards to specific donor populations.

Email Opt-In Tracking

GiveLink tracks email consent for every donor to keep your organization compliant with CAN-SPAM, GDPR, and best practices.

Opt-In Statuses

Status	Description
Opted In	Donor has explicitly consented to receive email communications
Not Set	No explicit consent or refusal recorded (transactional emails still sent)
Opted Out	Donor has unsubscribed from marketing emails

How Opt-In Is Tracked

Donation form checkbox — configurable opt-in checkbox on donation forms ("Keep me updated on this campaign")
Import status — set default opt-in status when importing donor records
Unsubscribe links — every marketing email includes a one-click unsubscribe link that updates the donor's status
Donor portal — donors can manage their communication preferences in the self-service portal
Manual update — staff can update opt-in status on any donor profile

Transactional emails (tax receipts, recurring charge confirmations, payment method expiration notices) are always sent regardless of opt-in status. Marketing emails (campaign updates, newsletters, appeals) respect the donor's opt-in preference.

Donor Lifecycle Emails

GiveLink sends automated emails at key moments across the donor lifecycle. These are tied directly to donor records and activity:

Welcome email — Sent after a donor's first-ever gift to an organization. Introduces the org and links to the donor dashboard.
Donation receipt — Tax-compliant receipt sent immediately after every gift (one-time and recurring). Includes amount, date, campaign, receipt number, payment method, and organization EIN.
Thank-you follow-up — Automated follow-ups sent 7 days and 30 days after a donation to reinforce impact.
Year-end giving statement — Comprehensive annual summary of all donations for tax records. Includes a full data table with dates, campaigns, amounts, and receipt numbers, plus organization EIN and IRS-compliant language.
Payment reminder — Re-engagement email for lapsed donors, referencing their last gift and linking back to the campaign.
Donor portal magic link — Secure, passwordless login email for the donor self-service portal.

All donor emails use GiveLink's unified design system — consistent warm editorial typography, charcoal headers, and earth-tone branding across every touchpoint. See the full Email & Communications guide for template details.

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Last updated on 4/5/2026