PatronManager Help

How to Create/Edit Donation Forms

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How to Create/Edit Donation Forms: https://help.pm.leapevent.tech/a/1241150

Online donations are crucial to your organization's success, and PatronManager donation forms help you make the most powerful appeal you can.

  1. Find your donation forms to edit and/or create a new form
  2. Set up your form
    • Configure basic settings and "Thank You" message
    • Add information to your form's footer
    • Change your form's theme (i.e. colors and fonts)
  3. Add your logo to the form's header
  4. Set donation levels or use a write-in amount
  5. Add the credit card fee offset field (optional)
  6. Add images, video, or text to strengthen your form
  7. Add additional fields to your form, including custom fields
  8. Add/edit headers to your form
  9. Remove fields/content from your form
  10. Move your form's fields/content around
  11. Add constants (e.g. set the Appeal, Campaign, or Fund)
    • Also known as hidden fields / default values
  12. Add your Securetrust Seal (if applicable)
  13. Get the link to your form and take a look at your handiwork on mobile devices

We'll also answer some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) at the end. Let's do this!

Are you making a donation form for a gala? We've got special instructions just for you!

Want to see it all in action?

This video covers the process of creating a new Donation Form. We recommend following along with the full instructions below to get all the detail, but if you prefer watching to reading, go ahead and start here!

1. Find your donation forms to edit and/or create a new form

They're in the Donation Forms tab!

Let's go see:

Get to the Donation Forms tab

You've got two options for this:

1.1. Click the Donation Forms tile from the PatronDonate Hub
1.2. Head to the App Launcher, then search and click "Donation Forms"

However you got there, click "New" to create a new form...

...or click into one of your forms and click "Edit" to change up an existing form

2. Set up your form

OK, first we need to lay down the basics of your form, like:

  • How it looks
  • If it's for a single gift or for recurring donations (or both!)
  • The record type the donations will have when they come in

and a whole lot else. Let's go!

Configure basic settings and "Thank You" message

This is the very top section of the form:

  1. Donation Form Name: make it recognizable, so you and your staff know exactly which form this is; don't worry, your patrons can't see this.
  2. Accept single or recurring donations?:check both boxes if you want your patrons to be able to give a single donation or a recurring donation on this form.
    • Note: you can only make this choice when creating a new donation form. If you're editing an existing form, you won't be able to change this.
  3. Frequency options: if you checked the "Recurring" box above, this is where you decide which recurring options your patrons can choose from.
    • Note: you'll be able to customize which suggested amounts appear as options for which frequency a bit later, when you edit your Donation Levels.
  4. Active: make sure this is checked.
  5. Donation Record Type: if Donations made through this form should have a special Record Type, choose that here.
  6. Suppress qualification tasks: by default, your Donation Administrator will receive task reminders to qualify new Donations. If you don't want those reminders, check this box.
    • Note: if you choose to suppress these tasks, be sure you have a process in place to remember to qualify Donations - it's important!
  7. Donation Templates:The templates we include in PatronManager work well, but if you have custom thank-you templates, choose those here.
  8. Logo URL: when your patrons click the logo in the upper left hand corner, where should that link take them? We recommend a link to your organization's website.

Scroll down just a bit to find these rich text fields:

Both of these fields are rich text fields, meaning you have a variety of formatting options.

  1. Inactive Form Message: your patrons would only see this if they visit the link to a form you've deactivated, but include a message for them just in case.
    • Note: if you're deactivating an old form, this is where you'll include a link to your new donation form!
  2. Confirmation Page Message: this is your "Thank You" page, so be sure to include a nice message for your generous patrons - they'll see it right after they submit their donation.
  3. Link: Embed a link to your organization's website or Public Ticketing Site if you like.
  4. Insert image: click to add an image; you'll see the pop-up pictured below
  1. Source: link to the image you want to insert; copy the image address, and paste it here.
  2. Alternative Description: if someone can't see the image, they'll see this text.
  3. Height: we recommend 711, but it's up to you.
  4. Click Save!

All done? Next, we'll set up the footer at the bottom of the form.

Change your form's theme (i.e. colors and fonts)

On your donation form, scroll down to the final section here:

  1. Theme Name: each option here serves as a baseline for how your donation form looks and feels:
    1. Chromatic
      • Overall: bright
      • Background color: white
      • Site header: white background with a strip of brand 1 color across the top, overlaid logo
      • Buttons and links: uses brand 1 color
      • Large header text: uses custom font in brand 2 color, with a separator bar below in brand 1 color. Left-aligned.
      • Small header text: uses custom font in black
    2. Cinematic
      • Overall: dark
      • Background color: uses brand 2 color
      • Site header: brand 2 color background with a strip of brand 1 color across the top, overlaid logo
      • Buttons and links: uses brand 1 color
      • Large header text: uses custom font in white, with a white separator bar below. Centered.
      • Small header text: uses custom font in white
    3. Moderne
      • Overall: bright
      • Background color: white
      • Site header: brand 2 color background with a strip of brand 1 color across the top, overlaid logo
      • Buttons and links: uses brand 1 color
      • Large header text: uses custom font in black, with a black separator bar below. Centered.
      • Small header text: uses custom font in black
  2. Font Family and Font URL: find your favorite font family from Google Web Fonts to ensure your site is readable across all browsers/devices (see below for instructions)
  3. Brand Colors: enter the hex codes of your organization's branding for each brand color; the colors will be used differently depending on which theme you choose (see above)
  4. Save it up!

We recommend copying your settings from your Public Ticketing Site's theme builder and entering them here! It's a great way to have consistency in your branding.

Need help finding a Font Family and URL with Google Web Fonts? Click here!
2.1. Go to the Google Web Fonts website

Here's the link: Google Web Fonts

2.2. If you know the name of the font, search for it in the upper right; otherwise, narrow down your choices with the filters on the right sidebar
2.3. Once you find your font, click its "+" button
2.4. Click the black bar reading "1 family selected"
2.5. In the pop-up, scroll down a bit, then copy-paste the Font Family and Font URL into their respective fields
  1. Font URL: under "Embed Font", get the whole URL, but nothing else
  2. Font Family: under "Specify in CSS", grab what's in between the colon and semi-colon

3. Add your logo to the form's header

Just like your public ticketing site, your donation forms can have your logo at the top - and that's great for consistency in branding!

For best results, we suggest an image between 60-200 pixels tall and up to 600 pixels wide for the Header Image and an image between 30 pixels tall and 300 pixels wide for the Header Image (Mobile).

Here's how:

3.1. If you're not already there, click into your form from the Donation Forms tab

3.2. Then scroll down to the Theme section and click "Choose File" next to Header Image and Header Image (Mobile)

3.3. Find the files on your computer, confirm, and you're done!

4. Add/edit Donation Levels, or use a write-in amount field

Donation levels are great: they act as suggested donations, and your patrons can't make any errors when entering an amount into a write-in field.

On the other hand, you can give your patrons a write-in field so they can donate as much (or as little) as they want.

Heads up!

If you want to include the 3% transaction fee offset option, you must use Donation Levels, even if the only "level" you offer is a write-in option.

Click here to make use of Donation Levels

4.1. If you're not already there, click into your form from the Donation Forms tab

4.2. Scroll down to the fields section, find the Donation Levels block, and click New Level

If you don't need to add levels, just edit them, skip down a couple steps.

4.3. Fill out this page as follows

  1. Description: this is what will show up on your form
    • Pro tip: call out the names of your levels along with the amount here, like "Gold Donor: $500"
  2. Donation Amount: the actual USD your donor is donating
    • Be sure this is a whole number - no decimals, no commas, no symbols!
  3. Rank: the order in which this option appears; fill out any number here and we'll fix it in just a second
  4. Click Save

4.4. Back on the donation form, click Edit All Levels to reorder or update your donation levels

4.5. Update this page as needed

  1. Description: this is what will show up on your form
    • Pro tip: call out the names of your levels along with the amount here, like "Gold Donor: $500"
  2. Donation Amount: the actual USD your donor is donating
    • Be sure these are whole numbers - no decimals or symbols! - and make sure each one matches the description.
  3. Frequency selections: if your form accepts recurring donations, you'll see the Frequency Options you selected for the form here. Check the boxes to decide which donation levels are available for each frequency choice.
    • Tip: if you want to adjust frequency options or remove levels entirely, you'll do that on the main form setup page.
  4. Rank: the order in which the levels appear; the higher the number, the lower it appears
    • In this example, we're reordering our $500 level to be above "Other" but below "$100"
  5. Click Save
Click here to use a write-in amount instead of levels

4.1. If you're not already there, click into your form from the Donation Forms tab

4.2. Scroll down to the Form Builder section and click New Field

4.3. Fill out the page as follows

  1. Field Name: Amount
  2. Field Type: default
  3. Sort Order: 100
  4. Label: "Amount to Donate" or similar
  5. Required: checked
  6. Default Value: leave this blank
  7. Save-a-roo!

4.4. Back on the donation form, find Donation Levels again, and click "Del" next to every level

4.5. When you delete the last Donation Level, that whole block will disappear; you're done!

Only the Amount field you added will be left.

Want to switch back to using levels? Delete the "Amount" field from the form, and the "Donation Levels" block will reappear.

5. Add the credit card fee offset field (optional)

Credit card processing fees can take a bite out of the donations your patrons are giving - so why not ask them if they'd be willing to cover them for you?

Ready to add the field? Check out this article.

6. Add content to the top of the form - images, video, and text

Images and videos are a great way to make your donation ask powerful, and to remind your patrons exactly why they love to support you. It's also a great idea to add a custom message at the top to clearly lay out your appeal.

Make a splash

6.1. If you're not already there, click into your form from the Donation Forms tab

6.2. Scroll down to the form builder section and click New Content

6.3. Fill out the page as needed for your content type

Click here for images
Creating an Image field
  1. Field Name: Image
  2. Sort Order: where this appears on your form; you can always reorder your fields/content later if need be
  3. URL: link to the image you want to insert; you'll host the image elsewhere (like your own organization's website), copy the image address, and paste it here
  4. Alternative Text: if someone is unable to view the image, they'll see this text; this field is optional because Web Accessibility Guidelines recommend adding this for images that include information or context, but not for images that are purely decorative
  5. Click Save

Q: Can't I upload an image directly?

A: No, but if you don't have your image hosted elsewhere (tip: it's easier if you do!), you can upload it as a Document in Salesforce and add the URL from there. We recommend using a PNG or JPG file.

Click here for video
  1. Field Name: Video
  2. Sort Order: where this appears on your form; you can always reorder your fields/content later if need be
  3. Embed Code: grab your video's embed code from Vimeo or YouTube and paste it here
    • Note: you want everything from "<iframe" up to and including "</iframe>", but nothing outside those tags.
  4. Click Save

Q: What if my video is too large on the form?

A: You can customize the "width" and "height" numbers in the embed code to the size you prefer.

Hint: be sure to keep the same ratio between the numbers so your video doesn't stretch -- for example, if you reduce the default width by half, reduce the default height by half as well.

Click here for text
  1. Field Name: choose Long Text for your appeal message
  2. Sort Order: where this appears on your form; you can always reorder your fields/content later if need be
  3. Content: what your patrons will see
  4. Click Save

7. Add additional fields to your form

Need to ask your donors some extra questions? You can add fields from the Donation object to your form, in whatever amount and order you want. You can even add custom fields!

Pro tip!

Additional fields are great, but don't go overboard! Studies show patrons are more likely to abandon their donation the longer your form is.

Click here to add those custom fields

7.1. First, build your custom field on the Donation object

7.2. Then, head to your form via the Donation Forms tab

7.3. Scroll down to the form builder section and click New Field

7.4. Fill out the page as follows:

  1. Field Name: choose the field you're adding
  2. Sort Order: the higher the number, the lower on the screen your form will appear
  3. Label: what your patrons see on the form

7.5. Done and done!

I'm interested in adding Personal Pronouns to my form!

If you'd like to add the Personal Pronouns text field to allow donors to optionally share their preferred pronouns, you can!

7.1. On your Donation Form, click New Field in the Form Builder

New Field

7.2. Enter field details

Create field
  1. Field Name: Personal Pronouns
  2. Sort Order: Leave blank; the field will automatically join the other Contact fields
  3. Label: Optionally, enter a label to display this field as on the Donation Form
  4. Save

Never make this field required!

Success! Now Personal Pronouns appear on the Donation Form!

Personal Pronouns

If you add Personal Pronouns, you can also remove the Salutation field from your form, if you wish! To do so, use the Del link next to the Salutation field on the backend of your Donation Form.

8. Add/edit headers and explanatory text

Headers can organize fields in a more natural way or give some context to a video, while short text fields can provide context or explain what a donor should do. Here's an example of a large header ("Donate"), a small header ("Contact"), and a short text field ("Please complete the form below...").

Getting ahead(ers)

8.1. If you're not already there, click into your form from the Donation Forms tab

8.2. To add a new header or short text field, scroll down to the form builder section and click New Content

To edit an existing header or text field, find it and click "Edit"

8.3. Either way, fill out the page as follows

  1. Field Name: choose Large Header, Small Header, or Short Text
  2. Sort Order: where this appears on your form; you can always reorder your fields/content later if need be
  3. Content: what your patron sees!
  4. Save when you're done

9. Remove fields/content from your form

It's best to keep your form as short as you can - research shows the more fields patrons have to fill in, the more likely they'll abandon the form in the middle of filling it out.

Got fields to remove? Let's get going

9.1. If you're not already there, click into your form from the Donation Forms tab

9.2. Scroll down to the form builder section and find the field or content you want to remove

9.3. Click "Del"

For content blocks with multiple fields, you'll need to delete each field individually.

10. Move your form's fields/content around

Need to move the name/address fields to the bottom of the form? Maybe the video would look better at the top of the form? Absolutely.

Let's shake things up

10.1. If you're not already there, click into your form from the Donation Forms tab

10.2. Scroll down to the form builder section and click Edit All

10.3. Change the order numbers as you see fit

Only use whole numbers; the higher the number, the lower that content block will appear on the form.

10.4. When you're done, scroll all the way to the bottom and click Save

11. Add constants / default value (e.g. Appeal, Campaign, and Fund)

You're likely organizing your donations in PatronManager to see how different fundraising efforts are performing. Donation forms can help! For example, you can:

  • Automatically assign Donations coming in through one form to a specific fund (e.g. "Annual")
  • Have a second form that adds all donations to a specific Campaign (e.g. "2020 Fall Appeal")
  • and more!

And don't worry - your patrons won't see these fields.

Let's route those donations

11.1. If you're not already there, click into your form from the Donation Forms tab

11.2. Scroll down to the bottom of the form to find Hidden Fields, and click "Add Field"

11.3. Fill out the page as follows:

In our example, we're adding a default/constant of Fund = "Annual Fund".

  1. Field Name: choose the field you want to add a default/constant for; in our example, it's Fund
    • To add a default Campaign, you've got an extra step - see below
  2. Default Value: enter what you want to be the default value*
  3. Save your work
Adding a Campaign? You've got an extra step - click here

First, you'll need the ID of the Campaign. Head to the Campaign and grab the ID from the URL.

In our example below, we want to add the 2019 Annual Campaign as a constant to all our incoming donations for this form. The ID is

7010a00000255P1AAI

Now head back to your hidden field form and fill it out:

  1. Field Name: Campaign ID
  2. Default Value: paste the ID from the Campaign
  3. Save your work

*Warning!

Be sure to add the exact value you need - capitalization, punctuation, and spacing matter. For example, "Annual fund", "Annual  Fund", and "Annual Fund." will all appear in your reports differently.

If you're having trouble figuring out what value to use, use the value's API Name!

11.4. You're done!

Alright, you're just about done; time to grab that link and gaze at the beautiful form you've created.

Best of all, you can also see what it looks like on other devices, right from your laptop!

Let's take a look

12.1. From the Donations Form tab, click your form

12.2. It's down here, the "Public URL"

Use this URL to link your patrons to your form from your website, your PTS, marketing emails - you name it!

12.3. Once you're on your form, scroll around and make sure everything looks right

12.4. To see how it looks on other devices, right-click and choose Inspect

We're using our preferred browser - Google Chrome!

12.5. Whoa, this cool code window opens up! In the upper right corner, next to "Elements", find this Device Mode button and click it

12.6. Back towards the middle of the screen, you'll now see a drop-down; click it and choose the device you want to simulate

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How do I relabel/rename the fields on my form?

To relabel your fields and headers, go into your donation form and scroll down to the form builder section.

Find the field/header you want to relabel and click "Edit" next to it.

Alternately, click Edit All at the top of the form builder section to change multiple field labels at once.

2. Why can't I turn my form into a recurring form (or add single donations to my recurring donation form)?

You can only choose single/recurring donation options when creating a new form.

3. Can I make different donation form levels for recurring donations and single donations?

Yep! Once you've selected your Frequency Options at the top of the form, you'll click "Edit All" in the Donation Levels block to adjust which levels appear for which frequencies. Jump to this section for more.

4. If I order two content blocks the same number (e.g. two images both the rank "1"), will the images appear side by side?

Great idea - not yet, though. If you'd like this functionality, though, please submit a Product Idea and let us know.

Specifically, we'd like to hear what you'd use it for (i.e. what business problem would you solve with this added functionality?). Your input drives our product decisions, so thanks for taking the time to do so!

5. Can I center / left-justify / right-justify my videos and images?

Great idea - not yet, though. If you'd like this functionality, though, please submit a Product Idea and let us know.

Specifically, we'd like to hear what you'd use it for (i.e. what business problem would you solve with this added functionality?). Your input drives our product decisions, so thanks for taking the time to do so!

6. How does my site look on mobile/tablet?

Great question! You can find out right in your browser - follow these steps.

7. I created a custom field and can't add it to my form! What's the deal?

Check to make sure you added your field to the Donation object. If you added it to the Contact or Account objects, you won't be able to add it to your form.

9. I put a URL in the Logo URL field - why doesn't it work?

You'll need to use the entire URL - including the "https://" part.

For example, www.patronmanager.com will not work. Instead, use https://www.patronmanager.com.

Previous Article All About Donation Forms
Next Article How to Add the 3% Offset Fee to Your Donation Forms

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