Pre-set Recurring Form Policy and Approval Process
Recurring contribution programs are a key part of a successful grassroots fundraising strategy: They provide steady, regular funding for groups that makes budgeting and planning easier, and they help donors invest in and stay connected to causes for the long term. We have a suite of recurring tools to help organizations ask for recurring contributions from donors, one of which is pre-set recurring forms. ActBlue has a policy which requires groups using pre-set recurring forms to explicitly and clearly ask donors for recurring contributions.
Entities need to contact and be approved by ActBlue to be able to use pre-set recurring forms. Once a request is approved and the feature is turned on, all entities are required to abide by the existing policy (detailed below).
How to request the ability to use pre-set recurring forms
If you would like to be able to use pre-set recurring forms, email your ActBlue account representative or support@actblue.com. Our team will then be in touch and will walk you through the feature and our policy, and answer any questions you may have!
How to use pre-set recurring forms correctly
All organizations using pre-set recurring forms to collect recurring contributions must include an explicit ask for a recurring contribution immediately before the donor clicks the link to give. In addition, any pre-set dollar amounts in the links must reflect what is in the ask (ie a $7 monthly ask is pre-set to $7 a month on the form). This policy applies anywhere a donor might click a pre-set recurring link, including in emails, text messages, and on websites. If there are multiple pre-set recurring links in a single communication, recurring language must be included in close proximity to each link. The goal is for donors to know they are going to be prompted to make a recurring donation when they click on a link in an email, in a text message, and on websites.
This language is required for all monthly recurring and weekly recurring asks using the pre-set recurring feature. All other aspects of working with recurring contributions remain the same.
What does this policy look like in practice?
The donation ask must clearly and conspicuously state that you are asking for a recurring contribution, and any pre-set dollar amounts in the links must reflect what is in the ask. You can use language options like “a month,” “monthly,” “weekly,” or something similar — just make sure it’s clear to the donor that they’re being prompted to make a contribution that will recur more than once.
Here are examples of recurring asks you could use:
- Will you make a monthly contribution?
- Donate monthly now!
- Make a $3 monthly contribution
- Support us with a monthly contribution
- Will you pitch in $5 a month?
- Please make a $7 recurring contribution to help us meet our goals
- Can we count on you to make a monthly commitment?
- Make a monthly contribution and receive this free sticker. Donate monthly now!
- Please use the links in this email to start a monthly donation
Here are some examples of how this text could look in practice:
What will ActBlue be doing to ensure adherence to this policy?
We’ll be in touch with any organizations using pre-set recurring forms out of compliance with this policy and will limit use of the feature until proper adherence with the policy can be achieved. Repeated failure to adhere to the guidelines will result in a group no longer being able to use the feature.
Who can I talk to about what this policy might mean for my program?
If you would like to request the ability to use pre-set recurring forms or have questions about our policy or how you can best use our recurring tools, please feel free to reach out to your ActBlue contact or support@actblue.com! We are always eager to brainstorm fundraising ideas and make sure you are using our tools in the most optimized way possible.