Quick Start Checklist

Last updated: May 22, 2026

Use this checklist to get your WeGive account from initial setup to accepting your first donation. We recommend completing these steps in your Test environment first, then repeating them in Production when you're ready to go live.

Phase 1: Foundation

These are the must-do steps before anything else.

  • Log in and explore your dashboard — Familiarize yourself with the Dashboard and the sidebar navigation. The sidebar includes sections for Campaigns, Events, Elements, Payments, Engagement, Supporters, Portal, and Data (some sections are role-restricted).

  • Complete your organization details — Go to Settings → Organization Info and fill in your DBA name, EIN, address, phone, website, timezone, mission statement, primary support email, and donor relations contact email. (Note: your legal entity name is managed by WeGive and cannot be edited directly.)

  • Set up payment processing — Go to Settings → Payments Settings. Apply for WeGive native processing (interchange-plus pricing at charity rate MCC 8398) or connect your own Stripe merchant account. You can also enable PayPal/Venmo, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You cannot accept donations without this step.

  • Invite your team — Go to Settings → Teams and invite colleagues with the appropriate roles:

    Admin (full access)

    Marketing (Dashboard, Campaigns, Elements, Engagement, Supporters, Exports)

    Finance (Dashboard, Campaigns, Elements, Payments, Engagement, Supporters, Exports)

    Development (Dashboard, Campaigns, Elements, Payments, Engagement, Supporters, Portal, Data)

Phase 2: Branding & Domain

Make WeGive look and feel like your organization.

  • Add your custom domain — Go to Settings → Installation. Add a subdomain (e.g., donate.yourorg.org), configure the DNS CNAME record, click "Refresh Status" to verify, then issue your SSL certificate from the dropdown. Set the domain as your default.

  • Set up your email settings — Go to Settings → Email Settings. Click "Add Custom Domain," enter your domain (e.g., yourorganization.org), configure the three DNS authentication records (2 TXT + 1 CNAME), click "Verify," and then create your custom sender addresses via "Manage Custom Address" → "Add Custom Address."

  • Brand your donor portal — Go to Portal → Profile Settings. On the Setup tab, upload your logo and favicon, set your primary brand color, and configure the organization name and tab name.On the Navigation tab, choose menu vs. header layout and configure which portal sections are visible. On the Advanced Settings tab, control which features donors can access (badges, lifetime impact display, recurring plan management, P2P fundraising, pledges, tax document downloads, and more).

Phase 3: Your First Checkout

Get a donation form ready to share.

  • Customize your checkout form — Go to Elements → Checkouts and edit your checkout. Add a banner image, set suggested donation amounts (with separate configurations for one-time and recurring), write impact descriptions, and enable your preferred payment methods (credit card, ACH, bank login, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, crypto). You can also configure tribute donations, guest checkout vs. login requirements, and single-page or multi-step flow.

  • Configure fee coverage — On the same checkout under the Confirmation > Fee Cover Rates section, enable fee coverage to let donors cover processing fees. You can opt donors in by default, make fee coverage mandatory, set custom card and ACH fee percentages/fixed amounts, and cap the maximum fee amount.

  • Set up designations — Go to Payments → Designations and create the fund categories donors can direct gifts to (e.g., General Fund, Building Fund, Missions). Use Payments → Designation Lists to group multiple designations together.

  • Add custom questions (optional) — On your checkout's Custom Questions tab, add questions to collect additional info during checkout (e.g., "How did you hear about us?"). Configure whether each question appears before or after payment, how often it's asked, the input type (dropdown, checkbox, free text, etc.), and whether it's required. You can also manage all questions centrally at Data → Custom Questions.

  • Test a donation — In your Test environment, run through the checkout as a donor. Verify the experience end-to-end: form appearance, payment, confirmation page, and receipt email. Note that emails are still sent in test mode, so use dummy email addresses.

Phase 4: Communications

Set up the emails your donors will receive.

  • Customize your triggered messages — Go to Engagement → Messages to edit the actual message templates for Payment Success, Payment Failure, Recurring Donation Created, and Payment Processing emails. Additional default templates include Tribute Made and Recurring Installment Failed reminders (used in the dunning flow). Each message supports dynamic variables specific to its trigger type. Default drafts must be set to "Live" before they'll send. (The trigger conditions that control when messages fire are managed separately under Engagement → Triggers.)

  • Purchase an SMS number (optional) — If you plan to text supporters, go to Settings → Numbers and purchase a phone number. Local numbers are ~$2/month (~2 messages/second); toll-free numbers are ~$5/month (~3 messages/second). Note that toll-free numbers require 2–4 weeks of carrier verification.

  • Create a communication list — Go to Engagement → Communication Lists and click the "+" button to create a list (e.g., "Newsletter Subscribers"). Configure the name, description, visibility (tag-based or all supporters), and double opt-in settings. Lists appear in the Donor Portal preferences section.

Phase 5: Data & Integrations

Bring in your existing data and connect your tools.

  • Connect your CRM (if applicable) — Go to Data → Integrations and click "+ New Integration." Supported platforms include Salesforce NPSP, Bloomerang, Planning Center, Virtuous, Neon, DonorPerfect, Church Community Builder (CCB), Raiser's Edge, and Zapier (which connects to 5,000+ additional apps). Integrations support bi-directional syncing with field mapping.

  • Import existing donors (if applicable) — Go to Data → Imports to upload records via CSV using a 4-step wizard (Type → Upload → Map → Details). Supported import types include Individual Supporters, Company Supporters, Donations, Campaigns, Funds, Pledges, Communication List Consents, and Recurring Plans. You can create new records, update existing ones, or bulk-tag supporters. Files must be CSV format, max 50,000 records, with dates formatted as YYYY-MM-DD.

  • Set up tags and custom fields — Go to Data → Supporter Tags and Data → Custom Fields to create the categories and data points you use to organize your donors. (Requires Admin or Development role.)

Phase 6: Go Live

Final steps before sharing your checkout with the world.

  • Switch to your Production environment — Click your name in the upper-right corner, select "Change Login," and choose your Production environment (vs. the [TEST] environment).

  • Repeat your configuration — Ensure all settings (organization info, payment processor, domain, email domain, branding, checkout, messages) are configured in Production. Some settings need to be set separately in each environment.

  • Run a live test donation — Process a small real donation to confirm everything works end-to-end in Production. You can refund it afterward.

  • Share your checkout link — Copy your checkout URL (e.g., donate.yourorg.org/givenow) and add it to your website, email signature, social media, and anywhere else donors can find it.

Ongoing

Once you're live, here are some things to keep on your radar:

  • Monitor your dashboard — Check your Dashboard for donation trends, supporter activity, and upcoming engagements. Use the time span selector to view metrics across different periods (Last 30 Days, Last Month, Last Year, or custom ranges). Key metrics include gross/net donation revenue, recurring donations, average donation size, new vs. returning supporters, cover rate, and churn.

  • Review integration sync health — If you connected a CRM, check Data → Integration Logs periodically for sync errors.

  • Set up automated journeys — Go to Engagement → Journeys to build multi-step donor engagement sequences with entry rules, time delays, if/else logic, and actions like sending emails/SMS, firing webhooks, or tagging donors.

  • Explore campaigns and events — When you're ready, create your first campaign under Campaigns → All Campaigns or your first event under Events → All Events (with sub-pages for Registrations, Invitations, and Waivers).

  • Schedule recurring exports — From any data table, use the "Create Scheduled Export" button after applying your filters. Manage all scheduled exports at Data → Scheduled Exports, where you can pause, resume, or archive them.