Many nonprofits and creators want to accept recurring donations from supporters — a fixed monthly contribution, a custom amount the donor chooses, or a combination of both. WP SmartPay makes this possible without any dedicated donation plugin: a payment form with flexible pricing and subscription billing handles it entirely.

Scenario

A nonprofit wants to offer supporters three giving levels ($10, $25, or $50/month) plus a "name your own amount" option. Donors should be charged automatically each month and receive a receipt. The organization's team should see donor totals in the Reports dashboard.

What You Need

  • WP SmartPay (free) for the payment form
  • WP SmartPay Pro for subscription billing and revenue reports
  • A payment gateway that supports recurring billing (Stripe, Paddle, or Mollie)

Step 1: Create a Donation Form with Flexible Amounts

  1. Go to SmartPay → Forms → Add New.
  2. In the form editor, add a Payment Amount block.
  3. Set the pricing type to Set Prices and add three options: $10, $25, $50.
  4. Enable Custom Amount to let donors enter any value. Set a minimum of $1.
  5. Add a label like "Monthly Giving Amount" to the amount field.
WP SmartPay forms list showing donation form
Create a new payment form — any form can become a donation form with the right pricing settings.

Step 2: Enable Subscription Billing

  1. In the form editor sidebar, find the Subscription settings.
  2. Set the billing period to Monthly.
  3. Leave the subscription length as Ongoing so donors are charged until they cancel.
  4. Optionally add a Trial Period (e.g., first month free) if you want to encourage sign-ups.

Step 3: Set Up the Email Receipt

  1. Go to SmartPay → Settings → Email Notifications.
  2. Enable the Payment Received email — donors receive this after each successful charge.
  3. Customize the subject and body to say "Thank you for your monthly donation."

Step 4: Embed the Form on a Donation Page

  1. Copy the form's shortcode from the form editor (e.g., [smartpay_form id="123"]).
  2. Create a WordPress page titled "Donate" and paste the shortcode.
  3. Publish the page and share the URL with supporters.

Step 5: Track Donations in Reports

Once donations are flowing, go to SmartPay → Reports → Revenue to see monthly recurring revenue broken down by form. The Goals tab (Pro) lets you set a fundraising target and track progress with a visual progress bar.

WP SmartPay revenue report showing recurring donation totals
The Revenue Report shows recurring donation income month by month.

Result

Supporters visit the donation page, choose their giving level (or enter a custom amount), pay via Stripe or PayPal, and are automatically charged every month. Failed payments trigger SmartPay's built-in recovery flow, which retries the charge and notifies the donor. The nonprofit's admin dashboard shows real-time revenue with no manual tracking needed.

Tips

  • Add a coupon code (Pro) for one-time donor incentives without changing the subscription price permanently.
  • Use Mailchimp or ActiveCampaign integration to add donors to a newsletter list automatically after their first payment.
  • Set a Revenue Goal in the Reports tab to show a fundraising thermometer on your donation page (embed via shortcode).