Recurring emails

Recurring donations have a lifecycle, and donors need to know when something on their plan changes. GiveForms sends an automated email for each state change: when the donor updates the plan, pauses it, cancels it, or when a scheduled payment fails. Four emails, one for each lifecycle event.

Like ACH and refund emails, these are transactional rather than emotional. Their job is to confirm a state change clearly, not to express gratitude. (The Thank You email handles gratitude when each individual installment processes — separately, in the Thank You emails section.)

For context on how recurring emails fit into the wider email system, see How emails and receipts work.

Opening the editor

1. In the campaign editor, click Emails & Receipts.
2. In the left sidebar of the Emails & Receipts editor, click Recurring Emails.
3. Four tabs at the top: Plan Change, Plan Paused, Plan Cancel, and Payment Failure. Customize each separately.

Shared field structure

The four recurring emails share the same field set:

• Subject — what donors see in their inbox.
• Headline — the email's main headline.
• Header Photo — toggle, off by default for all four. These are transactional emails.
• Body — rich text with bold, italic, strikethrough, links, and lists. Up to 1000 characters.

Variables

Each recurring email supports template variables that GiveForms substitutes at send time. Insert them in the Subject, Headline, or Body wrapped in double curly braces.

Five personalization variables are available in every email:

• {{donor_first_name}} — the donor's first name.
• {{donor_last_name}} — the donor's last name.
• {{donation_amount}} — the donation amount.
• {{payment_method}} — the donor's payment method, formatted like Amex ****5553.
• {{org_name}} — your organization's name.

Each email also has one or two required variables that render structured content inline in the body — a plan card, a CTA button, or both. These come pre-positioned in the default body copy and reflect the donor's actual plan state at send time. You can move them within the body, but you can't remove them: removing a required variable produces a validation error and prevents publishing.

• Plan Change — {{plan_change}}
• Plan Paused — {{plan_info}}, {{restart_button}}
• Plan Cancel — {{plan_info}}, {{restart_button}}
• Payment Failure — {{plan_info}}, {{update_button}}

{{plan_change}} is specific to Plan Change because it has to render a before-and-after comparison rather than a single plan state. {{plan_info}} is reused across Paused, Cancel, and Payment Failure as a single status-aware card. {{restart_button}} is shared between Paused and Cancel.

Plan Change

Sent when the donor updates their recurring plan — changing the amount, frequency, payment method, or next charge date. The email confirms the change and shows both the new and previous values side by side.

The {{plan_change}} variable renders a two-column comparison card inline in the body:

• UPDATED PLAN (green label) — the new amount and frequency, with the start date for the change.
• PREVIOUS PLAN (gray label, original amount struck through) — what the plan was before.

Showing both states helps donors confirm the change went through correctly and reduces support inquiries.

Editorial guidance:

• Subject and headline. Confirm the change clearly: "Your recurring gift has been updated" works well. Avoid alarm-adjacent language — donors who initiated the change shouldn't wonder if something went wrong.
• Body. The default body thanks the donor for their continued support. Keep the body focused on appreciation rather than re-explaining the change — the plan card already shows what changed.

Plan Paused

Sent when the donor or an administrator temporarily suspends the recurring plan. The email confirms the pause and tells the donor when payments will automatically resume.

The {{plan_info}} variable renders a plan card showing the paused amount and frequency along with a Resumes on [date] line. The {{restart_button}} variable renders a Restart My Plan button — the same retention CTA used on Plan Cancel — so paused donors can resume early with one tap.

Editorial guidance:

• Subject and headline. Keep these neutral and reassuring. A pause isn't a cancellation — the donor's relationship with you is still intact, just on hold. "Your recurring gift has been paused" reads better than "Your gift is suspended."
• Body. A short note of appreciation works best. The donor sees the resume date in the plan card and the restart button below it; the body doesn't need to repeat either.

Plan Cancel

Sent when the donor cancels the recurring plan. This is the highest-stakes recurring email — the donor has decided to stop giving, and the email is your last touchpoint before they're gone.

The {{plan_info}} variable renders a plan card showing the cancelled amount with the original amount struck through, marked CANCELLED PLAN, with the original start date. The {{restart_button}} variable renders a Restart My Plan button — the same CTA used on Plan Paused. The intent here is retention: some donors who cancel will reconsider, especially if reactivating is one click away.

Editorial guidance:

• Subject and headline. Acknowledge the cancellation with gratitude, not regret-mining. "Your recurring gift has been cancelled" paired with a warm headline ("we're grateful you partnered with us") strikes the right tone. Avoid guilt-tripping language; it damages long-term relationships even if it wins back a few donors short-term.
• Body. The default body thanks the donor for their continued support and signs off. Resist the urge to ask why they cancelled or to stack multiple re-engagement asks. The Restart My Plan button is the single ask; let it do the work.

Payment Failure

Sent when a scheduled recurring charge fails — typically because a card expired, the bank declined the charge, or funds were insufficient. The email's job is to surface the failure to the donor and prompt them to update their payment method so the plan can continue uninterrupted.

The {{plan_info}} variable renders a plan card reflecting the affected plan. The {{update_button}} variable renders a CTA button that takes the donor to where they can update their payment details so the plan continues without interruption.

Editorial guidance:

• Subject and headline. Be specific and action-oriented. "We couldn't process your donation — update your payment method" works better than vague phrasing. Donors who don't recognize this as actionable won't act, and the plan will keep failing on each cycle.
• Body. Explain what happened (the charge didn't go through) and what they need to do (update payment method via the button). Acknowledge that this can happen for routine reasons — expired card, bank fraud rules, temporary holds — and isn't a reflection on the donor. The friendlier the framing, the more likely they'll act.

Saving and publishing

Edits are saved as drafts. Use the publish controls in the top right to ship changes:

• Publish this Email — ships only the currently-edited recurring email tab.
• Publish All Emails — ships every edited email in the campaign.

A dot indicator appears next to Recurring Emails in the left sidebar when there are unpublished changes. See How emails and receipts work for the full publish flow.