Designations manager

Start by setting up the specific designations where supporters can direct their donations. Click New designation to create your first designation.

1. Enter designation name. Type the designation name that supporters will see during checkout (up to 120 characters).
   

   Process for creating a new designation

2. Add code (optional). Enter a code that matches your accounting or CRM systems for integration and reporting purposes.
3. Select default language. Choose the primary language for this designation from the dropdown. This determines which language appears when supporters haven't selected a specific language preference.
4. Add translations (recommended). If your account has multiple languages enabled, you’ll see a Localization tab where you can add translated names for all supported languages. We recommend providing translations for all enabled languages to improve the supporter experience.

   If you skip translations, we’ll mark these designations in the list as requiring additional translations, but you can still use them in live campaigns. If your account only uses one language, the Localization tab won’t appear.

5. Save the designation. Click Create designation to save. The designation becomes immediately available for adding to groups and campaigns.
6. Create additional designations. Return to the Designations tab and click New designation to create your next designation. Complete this process for each designation you need.

If you have many designations and want to make navigation easier for supporters, you can organize them into hierarchical groups. Switch to the Groups tab and click New group to create your first group.

1. Set up group basics. Enter a group name (up to 80 characters) and select the default language. Group names appear in supporter-facing interfaces, so use clear, supporter-friendly wording.
2. Add translations (recommended). If your account has multiple languages enabled, you’ll see a Localization tab where you can add translated group names for all supported languages. We recommend providing translations for all enabled languages to improve the supporter experience.

   If you skip translations, we’ll mark the group in the list as requiring additional translations, but you can still use it in live campaigns. If your account only uses one language, the Localization tab won’t appear.

3. Add existing designations to the group. Click Add designation, then search by name, ID, or code. Click the designation to add it to the group. Repeat for each one you want to include.
4. Create new designations within the group. Hover over the group row to reveal the + icon on the left. Click it and select Add designation to build new designations directly within this group. These new designations become available throughout your account, not just in this group.
5. Add nested groups. Click Add group to search for groups (by name or ID) and include them as nested groups within the current group.
6. Create new nested groups. Click Add group and select Create new group to build a nested group directly within the current group. Set up the nested group name and language settings.
7. Organize items within the group. Use the drag handles (six dots on the left) to reorder designations and subgroups within the group. This determines the order supporters see during checkout. Alternatively, use Sort by name A–Z button.
8. Save the group. Click Create group to save your group structure. The group becomes immediately available for adding to campaigns.

Groups that don’t contain any designations (directly or through nested groups) won’t appear to supporters during checkout, but they remain in your account for future use.

List of groups in Designations manager

When adding groups and designations, keep these rules in mind:

• You can include the same group in multiple parent groups.
• You cannot add a group to another group if it already contains a nested group. In other words, only groups that contain direct designations (no nested groups) can be added to another group.
• The same group cannot be added twice to a single group. For example, Group 1 cannot appear twice in Group 2, but it can still be added to Group 3, Group 4, and so on.

Designations can be reused in multiple groups. However, within a single group, each designation can appear only once.

You can organize designations across up to three levels. Groups can contain other groups (nested groups) or individual designations, but the third level must contain designations only.

• First level: Top-level groups or designations.
• Second level: Nested groups or designations.
• Third level: Individual designations only.

Use drag-and-drop when editing a group to reorder designations and nested groups.

Designations can belong to multiple groups at the same time. For example, you can include the STEM Scholarships designation in both the Academic Programs group and the Scholarships and Aid group.

• Academic Support (Level 1 group)
  • Undergraduate Programs (Level 2 group)
    • First-Year Experience Fund (Level 3 designation)
    • Study Abroad Scholarships (Level 3 designation)
    • Academic Tutoring Support (Level 3 designation)
  • Graduate Programs (Level 2 group)
    • Research Assistantships (Level 3 designation)
    • Conference Travel Fund (Level 3 designation)
  • Faculty Development (Level 2 designation)
• Athletics Program (Level 1 designation)
• Emergency Student Fund (Level 1 designation)

During checkout, supporters can’t donate to groups — only to the individual designations within them. Even if they want to support every designation in a group, they’ll need to select each one separately. Groups exist solely to organize and help supporters navigate your options.

To let supporters donate to multiple designations in one payment, your campaign must have the Multiple designations option enabled. For each available donation frequency, the campaign must include at least two active designations. When enabled, supporters can choose up to 5 designations in a single payment.

Once your designations and groups are created in the Designations manager, you can add them to a specific campaign to start accepting designated donations.

The hierarchy you’ve built in the manager serves as a library of reusable groups and designations. However, the actual structure supporters see during checkout is assembled at the campaign level. When you add groups and designations to a campaign, you decide which parts of your hierarchy to include and how they will appear to supporters.

See Designations in campaigns for detailed instructions.

Use the search field to find designations by name, ID, or code. Apply filters to narrow results by account, campaign, or group.

Filters for designations

• Account filter (subaccounts only). If you're working in a subaccount, this filter lets you see designations from your current account or your parent account. Select All accounts to see everything available to you.
• Campaign filter. This shows which campaigns are currently using each designation:
  • All campaigns: Shows all designations regardless of campaign connections.
  • No campaign: Shows only designations not connected to any campaign.
  • Specific campaign names: Shows designations connected to selected campaigns.

  You can select multiple campaigns to see designations used across several campaigns.

• Group filter. This filter shows which groups contain each designation:
  • All groups: Shows all designations.
  • Only with groups: Shows only designations that belong to at least one group.
  • Specific group names: Shows designations within selected groups.

  The group filter displays the hierarchical structure, so you'll see parent groups and subgroups listed with proper indentation.

To modify a designation or group, click the three-dot menu next to its name. Changes apply immediately across all campaigns and groups using that item.

Process for editing or deleting a group

Delete designations and groups that are no longer needed, with these restrictions:

If deletion is blocked, first remove the designation from any campaigns using it, or change your account's default designation.

Deleting groups removes the organizational structure while keeping all designations available for reuse. Deleting items from within a group editor removes them from that specific group only.

Parent accounts can create designations that are automatically available to all subaccounts. Subaccounts can view and include parent account designations in their own groups.

Subaccounts can create their own designations and groups, which are only visible within that subaccount. They cannot modify or delete parent account designations.

Groups are not shared between parent accounts and subaccounts.

Consider these approaches when organizing your designation structure:

• Plan your hierarchy. Design your group structure before creating items. Consider how supporters will navigate your options and group related designations together.
• Use consistent naming. Create clear, descriptive names that supporters will easily understand. Avoid internal jargon or abbreviations.
• Reuse designations. The same designation can appear in multiple groups. Use this option to create different views of your programs for different supporter audiences.
• Test supporter experience. After building your structure, review how it appears in your campaigns to ensure supporters can easily find and select their preferred designations. Learn more about Test mode →