Creating a Communication List

Last updated: May 6, 2026

Communication lists let your supporters choose which emails and messages they want to receive from your organization. This article walks through how to create a new communication list in your WeGive dashboard.

Before you start

Communication lists are used in two main ways:

  • Manual subscription — Supporters opt in themselves (from the donor portal, a form, or a checkout).

  • Tag-based auto-subscription — Supporters are automatically added to the list whenever they receive a specific tag.

If you plan to use tag-based subscriptions, make sure the tag(s) you want to use already exist before creating the list.

Create the list

  1. In your dashboard, navigate to Communication Lists.

  2. Click Create Communication List.

  3. Fill out the fields described below.

  4. Click Save.

Fields

Name (required)

The internal name of the list. This is also what supporters will see in the donor portal if the list is visible to them, so keep it clear and recognizable (e.g., "Monthly Newsletter," "Event Invitations," "Volunteer Updates").

Description

A short description shown alongside the list in the donor portal to help supporters understand what they're signing up for.

Visible

Controls whether the list appears in the donor portal's communication preferences.

  • On — Supporters can see and manage their subscription to this list from their portal.

  • Off — The list is hidden from supporters. Useful for internal-only or automated lists.

Show To

Controls which supporters can see the list in the donor portal (when Visible is on).

  • Tagged — Only supporters who have one of the associated tags will see this list in their preferences.

  • All — Every supporter sees this list in their preferences.

Tags

Associates the list with one or more tags. Two things happen when tags are set:

  • Any supporter who already has or later receives one of these tags will be automatically subscribed to the list.

  • If Show To is set to Tagged, only supporters with these tags will see the list in the donor portal.

Leave this empty if you want a fully manual list where supporters opt in themselves.

Double Opt-In

When enabled, new subscribers receive a confirmation email and must click the link inside before they're fully subscribed. Recommended if you want to verify email ownership and reduce spam complaints.

Requires reCAPTCHA

Adds a reCAPTCHA challenge to the subscription process. Turn this on if a list's public signup form is getting abused by bots.

What happens after you save

  • The list becomes available in the dashboard under Communication Lists.

  • If Visible is on, it shows up in the donor portal based on your Show To setting.

  • If you added tags, WeGive will retroactively subscribe any existing supporters who already carry those tags, and will subscribe new supporters automatically as they get tagged.

  • If Double Opt-In is on, subscribers will stay in a pending state until they confirm via email.

Editing or managing subscribers

After the list is created, you can:

  • Edit any of the fields above at any time from the list's detail page.

  • View and manage subscribers individually (subscribe, unsubscribe, set preferred email/phone).

  • Bulk add supporters via import or by applying one of the list's associated tags.

Tips

  • Use a clear, supporter-facing name — it's what shows up in their preferences.

  • Use tag-based auto-subscription for lists tied to an audience you already segment (e.g., a "Volunteer" tag → "Volunteer Updates" list).

  • Start with Double Opt-In on for any list that collects emails from a public form.