Set up a pledge campaign

1. In the Dashboard, go to Pledges and click New pledge campaign.
2. Enter a Name. This is internal — it appears in the Dashboard and your reports, but supporters never see it. Use something easy to recognize later, like the program name or year.
3. Click Create pledge campaign.

The campaign opens on the Overview tab, which shows its key details. Switch to the Settings tab to build the pledge form.

The Settings tab is where you build the pledge form supporters fill out and the rules behind it — how much they commit, how often they pay, and what their pledge supports. The left-hand menu groups these into sections. Start with General and work down.

The General section sets the campaign's identity and how long it runs.

• Set a Campaign name for internal use — it appears in the Dashboard and your reports, but supporters never see it.
• Add an optional Campaign code to tag the campaign in reports, exports, and your CRM, so finance or data teams can match it to their own records.
• Under Campaign URL, set an optional URL path — the unique ending of the campaign's link that supporters use to reach the pledge form directly. The start of the address comes from your organization's domain settings (under Settings >Donor Portal); a default ending is filled in for you, and you can replace it with letters, numbers, hyphens, and underscores.
• Under Campaign end date, check Set campaign end date to disable the campaign automatically on a chosen date.

The Campaign goal section sets a fundraising target and decides whether supporters see progress toward it. Turn on Add campaign goal and enter a goal amount. You can also set an end date — the cutoff for donations counted toward the campaign's performance, which is separate from the campaign end date in General that switches the campaign off.

Turn on Show campaign progress to supporters to display a progress bar with the amount raised on the pledge page, or leave it off to keep the goal internal.

The Content section is what supporters see on the pledge page. Add a logo, a main image or video, a title, and a message that explains the cause and why it matters. You can add links, and choose which sharing buttons — Facebook, X (Twitter), LinkedIn, email, or a copyable link — appear, so supporters can spread the campaign.

Click Preview each time you add or replace content to see how it looks.

The Currency section sets the currency supporters pledge in. Choose a default currency, and decide whether supporters can switch to their own — either for all pledges, or for one-time pledges only. If you collect from several countries, turn on automatic detection so each supporter sees their local currency.

The Frequencies section controls how supporters spread their commitment. Offer up to 4 frequencies and mark one as the default, which is preselected on the pledge form. Include one-time so supporters can fulfill a pledge in a single payment. Only frequencies enabled in your account's Dashboard settings are available here.

The Suggested amounts section sets the total pledge commitment prefilled on the form when a supporter opens it. Pick an amount typical for your campaign — supporters can change it.

The Minimum amounts section sets the smallest pledge the form will accept, which helps screen out fraudulent test charges.

The Transaction costs section decides how supporters are asked to cover the platform and processing fees on top of their pledge, so more of their commitment reaches your cause. Choose one of four approaches:

• Preselected coverage — the option is checked by default, but supporters can opt out.
• Opt-in coverage — if a supporter wants to cover the fee, they must actively select this option.
• Mandatory coverage — supporters must cover the fees to complete a pledge. This can lower completion.
• Disabled coverage — supporters can't cover fees, and your organization absorbs all costs.

The Tribute section lets supporters dedicate their pledge in honor or in memory of someone — a common reason people give, and one that often lifts the amount. Turn on Enable tribute to add the option to checkout. You can also highlight the dedication name field so it's the first thing supporters see, which suits campaigns built around memorial or honorary giving.

Under Delivery methods, choose how supporters can notify the person being honored or their family. With email, the supporter provides the recipient's email address and Fundraise Up sends the notification. With postal mail, the supporter provides a mailing address, and your organization is responsible for sending a physical card. You can offer either, both, or neither.

Under Tribute cards, control what the notification looks like and how much it shares. You can let supporters reveal their donation amount, which stays hidden by default, and let them choose a card image to match the occasion. Card images are grouped by occasion — such as Memorial, Celebration, Birthday, or Wedding — and some are limited to in-honor or in-memory dedications. The images themselves are managed once for your whole organization under Settings > Tributes, so every campaign draws from the same collection.

The Designations section sets what supporters' pledges fund. Choose one of two approaches:

• Assigned designation sends every pledge to a single designation you pick, which you can show to supporters or keep internal.
• Selectable designation lets supporters choose from the designations you add to the campaign, with one set as the default.

A pledge campaign doesn't support splitting one pledge across several designations or using designation groups.

The Supporter section controls what personal details you collect during checkout and how firmly you ask for them. For the mailing address and phone number, you can request them, require them, or require them only above an amount you set — worth keeping light, since each required field lowers the chance a supporter finishes.

You can also let supporters pledge anonymously, which keeps their details out of public elements while still showing them in the Dashboard.

The Supporter impact section shows contributions from other supporters on the pledge page as social proof, which encourages new visitors to give. It appears only after the campaign has at least three non-anonymous donations. Choose how supporters' names are shown and which details appear — amount, location, comment, and date — and which currency those amounts display in.

The Marketing consent section sets how you ask supporters for permission to contact them: no request, a single general consent, or separate consent per channel. Configure this carefully if your organization is subject to GDPR or similar rules.

The Terms and conditions section adds a checkbox supporters must accept before they pledge, confirming they've read and agreed to your terms.

The Disclaimer section adds your own text to the checkout — useful for compliance language or context specific to the campaign.

The Questions section collects extra information from supporters, such as how they heard about your organization.

The Offline section lets you add donations collected outside Fundraise Up — cash or checks, for example — to the campaign's totals. The offline amount and supporter count you enter here are included in the Goal Meter and the campaign's progress bar, so the figures supporters see reflect everything raised, not only online pledges.

The Thank you screen section sets what supporters see right after they pledge. Keep the default screen, which thanks them and offers sharing buttons and a prefilled message so they can spread the campaign, or redirect them to a page of your own.

Switch to the Emails tab to configure the emails supporters receive across the pledge lifecycle. Customize each one or turn it off:

• Pledge created — confirms the pledge after a supporter makes it.
• Installment receipt — sent for each successful installment payment.
• Pledge failed — sent when an installment payment fails.
• Pledge updated — sent when the pledge changes, such as a new amount, frequency, or payment method.
• Pledge cancelled — sent when the pledge is cancelled.
• Pledge fulfilled — sent when the full committed amount has been collected.

Click Preview at any point to see how the pledge campaign appears to supporters. In the preview window, you can switch between desktop and mobile views and change the language. Step through the supporter flow, from the pledge commitment screen to the thank-you screen, to check everything reads the way you intend before going live.

Once the campaign is configured, make it reachable for supporters. You can share its direct link, place it on your website through an Element, or do both.

A pledge campaign has its own link: find it on the Overview tab. Share it in emails, social posts, or anywhere you can place a link, and it opens the pledge form on its own page.

To place the campaign on your website or trigger it from existing content, use an Element:

• Donate Button, Floating Button, Sticky Button, and Image Card — placed on your site for supporters to click and open the pledge form.
• Donate Link — a separate link that opens the pledge form the same way the buttons above do. It works like the direct link on the Overview tab, formatted for emails, social posts, or anywhere a button can't go.
• QR Code — opens the pledge form when scanned, for print materials or in-person events.
• Goal Meter — displays the campaign's progress on your site.

How to create an Element

1. In the Dashboard, go to Elements, click New element, and pick the type you want.
2. Give it an internal name, then select your pledge campaign so the Element opens that campaign's pledge form.
3. Click Create element.
4. For a button or image card, copy the HTML snippet and paste it into your site where you want the Element to appear.

   For a link or QR code, copy the link or download the code and share it through your channels.

Once the Element is embedded or shared, the campaign is reachable and supporters can start pledging. Any edits you make to the Element or the campaign afterward apply in real time, without re-pasting the snippet.