Managing Households

Last updated: April 23, 2026

Overview

Households let you group related supporters together — families, businesses, fundraising teams, or church units — so you can see combined context on their records and run reporting at the household level. This article walks through how to create, edit, and manage households from the WeGive dashboard.

Where to find households

In the dashboard sidebar, go to Supporters → Households. The Households page lists every household in your organization with its name, type, members, and giving summary. Use the search and filters at the top of the table to find a specific household.

Household types

Every household has a type that describes what kind of group it is. WeGive supports four types:

  • Family — the default; used for spouses, partners, and family members at a shared address.

  • Company — used to group supporters who belong to the same business.

  • Fundraising Team — used for P2P or team-based fundraising groups.

  • Church — used for church units or congregational groupings.

The type you choose is informational — it controls labeling on the household record, but all household types support the same add/remove/primary-member behavior.

Create a household

  1. Go to Supporters → Households.

  2. Click Create household.

  3. Enter a Name for the household (for example, "The Smith Family" or "Acme Corp").

  4. Choose a Type (Family, Company, Fundraising Team, or Church). Family is selected by default.

  5. Add Members by searching for existing supporters and selecting them from the list. You can add one or more supporters at this step, or leave it empty and add them later.

  6. Click Save.

The first supporter you add becomes the primary member (also called the household admin) automatically. You can change the primary member at any time after creation.

Add a member to an existing household

  1. Open the household from Supporters → Households.

  2. Click Add member in the household header.

  3. Search for the supporter you want to add and select them.

  4. Confirm to add them to the household.

Supporters can belong to more than one household at a time, so adding someone to a new household does not remove them from an existing one.

Remove a member from a household

  1. Open the household record.

  2. Find the member in the members list.

  3. Open the member's action menu and choose Remove from household.

Removing someone from a household does not delete or archive the supporter record — it only detaches them from this household. Their donations and other history stay attached to their individual record.

Change the primary member

The primary member is the head of the household and appears as the default contact for household-level communication. To change who is primary:

  1. Open the household record.

  2. Find the member you want to make primary in the members list.

  3. Open their action menu and choose Make primary (also labeled as making them the household admin).

Only one member can be primary at a time. Setting a new primary member automatically removes primary status from whoever had it before.

Rename or change a household's type

  1. Open the household record.

  2. Click Edit in the household header.

  3. Update the Name or Type.

  4. Click Save.

Editing a household's name or type does not affect its members, donation history, or any connected records.

What's not currently supported

A few things to be aware of when managing households today:

  • Merging two households is not available as a one-click action in the dashboard. If you need to combine two households, the current workaround is to move members (and, if applicable, transactions and payment methods) from the duplicate household into the household you want to keep, then empty the duplicate. If you also use a CRM like Salesforce, the merge needs to happen there as well.

  • Archiving or deleting a household from the UI is not currently supported. A household with no members will no longer appear in most views, but the record itself remains.

If either of these is blocking you, reach out to WeGive support and we can help.

FAQ

Can a supporter belong to more than one household?
Yes. WeGive does not restrict a supporter to a single household, so a donor can be part of both a Family household and a Company or Fundraising Team household at the same time.

Does removing a member delete their donation history?
No. Donations are tied to the individual supporter record, not to the household membership. Removing a member only changes which household they appear in.

What happens to the primary member if I remove them?
If you remove the current primary member, you should promote another member to primary so household-level communications continue to route correctly.

Can I import households?
Household imports and CRM sync behavior are covered in a separate article. This one focuses on manual household management inside the dashboard.

Need help with a specific household? Reach out to WeGive support and include the household name or ID.