How to Set Up and Track Recurring Donations

A recurring donation is a gift set to repeat on a schedule, so Argenta adds each future gift for you automatically. Each gift it adds keeps the details of the one it repeats, including whether the donor is anonymous, any soft credit, and its event, program, lead source, pledge, description, check number and fundraiser or company credit.

Set up a recurring donation

You create a recurring donation from an existing donation, not from a blank form:

1. Record a donation as usual (see Add Fiscal Donations), or open one you already have.
2. On the Donation Details page, click Make Recurring.
3. Choose how often it should recur, Monthly or Annually, and click Add Recurring Transaction.

Step 2: Make Recurring, on a donation you have already saved.

Step 3: pick Monthly or Annually, then Add Recurring Transaction.

From then on, Argenta automatically adds the next donation on schedule.

Track and manage recurring donations

Open Fundraising > Recurring Donations to see every recurring gift, each with its schedule (Monthly or Annually), last donation date, and next donation date. You can filter by donor, fund, campaign, payment method, frequency, and more, and Export to CSV for outreach or reporting.

Every recurring gift, with its schedule and its next date.

To stop a recurring gift, click the pink delete icon on its row and confirm. This removes the auto-schedule only; the donations already recorded stay in place. If the donation is locked or view only, only a Master Admin can stop its schedule, and this list is the only place it is done, so ask a Master Admin. (Add New on this list explains this and, once you click OK, takes you to the Fiscal Donations list rather than to a blank recurring form, because a recurring gift always starts from a donation. Open one there, then use Make Recurring as above.)

The pink delete icon stops the schedule. The gifts already recorded stay.

When a donor's card is declined

For a gift the donor set up on your public donation form, Argenta charges their card on each due date. If the card is declined, nothing is charged, no unpaid donation is left behind, and that recurring gift stops. Your organization gets an email at its donation notification address naming the donor, the schedule and the message the card company gave, so you can ask the donor to start a new recurring gift with a working card. If a charge fails for some other reason, such as a problem reaching Stripe, Argenta support is alerted instead and you are not emailed.

Keep an eye on your sustainers

Recurring donors are among your most valuable, so scan the Recurring Donations list for anything that needs a personal follow-up and reach out promptly.