Charitable Documentation

Learn how to make the most of Charitable with clear, step-by-step instructions.

Charitable Newsletter Connect

With Charitable Newsletter Connect, your donors can opt-in to join your newsletter when they make their donation. Compatible with MailChimp, Campaign Monitor, MailerLite, Mailster and MailPoet (including MailPoet 3).

Installation

Installing Charitable Newsletter Connect is the same as installing any other Charitable extension. If you’re not sure how to do that, we recommend first reading our guide to installing Charitable extensions.

General Setup

After activating Newsletter Connect, you can click on the Settings link to set up the plugin. (Note: You can also get to the plugin settings by going to Charitable > Settings > Extensions.

plugin-setup

On the settings page you will see a list of all available providers.

If you’re using a WordPress newsletter plugin like MailPoet or Mailster, all you need to do is make sure that MailPoet/Mailster is activated. No further configuration is required.

Providers like MailChimp, MailerLite and Campaign Monitor need an API key or other settings in order to be connected.

Screenshot showing how providers are activated & configured.

Set up MailChimp

On the Extensions settings page, click the “Configure” button for MailChimp.

Screenshot of MailChimp configuration

There are two settings you can configure:

  • Your API Key: Find this in your MailChimp account by going to your account page > ExtrasAPI keys. (For more information about MailChimp API keys, read this).
  • Double Opt-in: Set this to “Yes” if you want subscribers to confirm their email address before being added to your newsletter list.

Configure Campaign Monitor

On the Extensions settings page, click the “Configure” button for Campaign Monitor.

Configure Campaign Monitor

Campaign Monitor requires an API key and a Client ID. You can find both of these by logging into your Campaign Monitor account and going to Account settings > API keys.

Set up MailerLite

On the Extensions settings page, click the “Configure” button for MailerLite.

MailerLite just needs an API key, which you can find in your MailerLite dashboard. Once you have this, copy it into the API key field in the Charitable settings.

Set default settings

After activating or configuring the newsletter providers you want to use, you should configure the default settings for your website. These will be applied to all campaigns, but you can override them on a per-campaign basis.

  • Default List: This is the list that donors will be subscribed to when they opt-in. It will show any available lists from your providers.
  • Default Opt-in Mode: There are three opt-in modes to choose from:
    1. An opt-in checkbox in the donation form which isn’t checked by default.
    2. An opt-in checkbox in the donation form which is checked by default.
    3. Automatic opt-in means that donors do not see a checkbox but are automatically subscribed when they donate.
  • Default Label: The label that will be shown alongside the opt-in checkbox in your donation form.

 

Screenshot showing the default settings for Newsletter Connect.

Sync lists from a provider

Charitable avoids checking for new lists with providers like MailChimp, MailerLite and Campaign Monitor. This improves performance, but it does mean that new lists you create in your provider’s account will not automatically appear as an option in your WordPress dashboard.

To fetch all your lists from a provider, you can use the Sync Lists button.

Screenshot showing how lists can be fetched from a provider like MailChimp or Campaign Monitor in WordPress with Charitable Newsletter Connect.

Setting up per-campaign configurations

You can also configure newsletter signup options on a per-campaign basis. When you edit a campaign, open the Newsletter tab.

Screenshot showing campaign newsletter settings for MailChimp, Campaign Monitor and MailPoet in WordPress.

There are three settings to configure:

  • Disable newsletter signup: Tick this to remove the opt-in for this campaign.
  • Mode: Choose how donors will opt in to your newsletter.
  • Label: Change this to a label you’d prefer instead of the default label you provided.
  • List(s): Select all the lists that you would like your donors to be subscribed to if they opt-in.

Still have questions? We’re here to help!

Last Modified:

What's New In Charitable

View The Latest Updates
🔔 Subscribe to get our latest updates
📧 Subscribe to Emails

Email Subscription

Join our Newsletter

We won’t spam you. We only send an email when we think it will genuinely help you. Unsubscribe at any time!

Improvement Migrations

↔️ Importing From GiveWP, Donorbox, GiveButter… even CSV!

Whether you’re migrating from another platform or consolidating your records, moving your data to Charitable is now faster and more flexible than ever. We’ve streamlined the process so you can bring over your entire fundraising history in just a few clicks.

🔄 Native GiveWP, Donorbox, & GiveButter Support: Switching from a major platform? Our dedicated migration tools handle the heavy lifting, automatically mapping your donors and donations directly into Charitable—no technical skills required.

📂 Universal CSV Import: Moving from a custom system or a specialized CRM? If you can export it to a CSV, you can import it here. Our smart mapping tool lets you align your columns to Charitable fields like names, emails, phone numbers, and addresses in seconds.

Instant Donor Profiles & Custom Tags: Automatically create rich donor profiles and bring in custom tags to keep your data organized. Segment and engage your supporters from day one with a clean, professional database structure.


Ready to make the switch?

Check out our GiveWP Migration Guide

Learn more about our Import Tools

Improvement Payments

💳 New Braintree Features For Your European Donors

With the release of Braintree addon version 1.3.0, you can now empower your European donors with the payment methods they trust and prefer, making giving seamless for international supporters.

🌍 Six New European Payment Methods: Support popular local options like iDEAL (Netherlands), Bancontact (Belgium), BLIK (Poland), and more to meet donors where they are.

⚡ Frictionless Donor Experience: These bank-based methods allow donors to authenticate directly with their own bank in a secure popup… no credit card numbers required.

⚙️ Automatic Currency Sync: No complex setup needed. The builder automatically displays the correct payment buttons based on your site’s currency (EUR or PLN), ensuring a relevant experience for every visitor.

Campaigns New

🖼️ Campaign Featured Images: Pro-Level Visuals Made Simple

With the new Campaign Featured Image setting in our visual builder, you now have a single, dedicated place to manage how your fundraisers look across your entire site and beyond.

🖼️ One Image, Everywhere: Set a primary thumbnail that automatically syncs to campaign grids, lists, and shortcodes—no more relying on layout order.

📱 Social Sharing Optimized: Easily upload images at the perfect size to ensure your campaigns look stunning and professional when shared on social media.

🔍 SEO & Accessibility Ready: Add custom alt text directly within the builder to improve search rankings and ensure your mission is accessible to every supporter.

Improvement receipts

🗓️ Annual Receipts 2.0: Send Year-End Receipts to Every Donor in Minutes

You can now send annual receipts in minutes with a few clicks to all your donors.

📧 One-Click Bulk Send Wizard that guides you to sending to hundreds of donors simultaneously directly from your WordPress dashboard.

🔍 Smart “Dry Run” Mode: See exactly who will receive a receipt and who will be skipped (and why) before a single email leaves your server.

🛡️ SMTP-Aware & Limit Protection: Charitable now detects your email setup and automatically adjusts batch sizes and pauses for daily limits to ensure your emails land in inboxes.

✅ Complete Audit Trail: Dedicated system log and on the individual donor’s profile, giving you a clear history for every fiscal year.

Stop dreading tax season and start spending that time on your mission. Update to Annual Receipts 2.0 and automate your year-end reporting today.

Addon Donations Improvement

🎈Recurring Donations 2.0: Smarter Automation, Better Recovery, and More Control

We’ve completely rebuilt our Recurring Donations system to help you grow your reliable income stream while giving you (and your donors) more powerful tools than ever before.

What’s New:

🔒 Recurring-Only Campaigns: You can toggle “Recurring Only” mode in the campaign builder to hide the one-time option entirely, ensuring your supporters stay focused on long-term commitment.

📧 Automatic Payment Recovery: Our new Payment Failed Email fires automatically the moment a subscription fails.

🛠️ Self-Service Donor Control:The new Cancel Subscription Button appears directly in the donor dashboard, allowing supporters to pause or end their recurring gifts on their own terms—reducing your admin burden and payment disputes.

📊 Real-Time Revenue Insights: Track your growth, monitor active subscriptions, and see exactly how much predictable support is coming in each month at a glance.

Our new Recurring Donations addon gives you the professional-grade tools you need to grow your mission.