Guide: How to Use and Set Up Transactional and Marketing Messages in WeGive

Last updated: April 6, 2026

This guide helps WeGive users understand the difference between transactional and marketing messages, and how to create, manage, and send each type effectively. It walks through when to use communication lists, set up triggered messages, and customize email templates — ensuring donors receive the right message at the right time.

Key Definitions

  • Transactional Messages: Sent in response to a specific donor action (e.g., a donation is made, a payment fails). These are system-critical — donors cannot unsubscribe from them, and they bypass all opt-out preferences including Do Not Contact.

  • Marketing Messages: General updates or appeals not tied to a specific action (e.g., newsletters, announcements). These respect donor opt-out preferences and can be targeted using Communication Lists. Donors can subscribe or unsubscribe from marketing messages.

  • Communication Lists: Audiences used to target specific marketing messages. These lists give donors subscription control through the Donor Portal and help segment messaging for relevance. Lists can be configured with visibility settings (visible to all supporters, or only those with specific tags) and support tag-based auto-subscription.

  • Auto-Triggered Message: An automatic message triggered by a platform event (e.g., "Payment Success," "Recurring Donation Created"). Used for both transactional and marketing purposes depending on the context. Some trigger types may have legacy default messages in draft mode — these are outdated and should be recreated with your own content rather than activated as-is.

  • Regular Message: A one-time message sent manually to an audience. Supports multiple delivery methods: email, plain text email, SMS, handwritten letters, and in-platform messages.

  • Supporter Journey: A multi-step automation sequence that combines messages and actions over time. Found under Engagement > Journeys. Useful for onboarding new donors, re-engaging lapsed givers, or running drip campaigns.

  • Do Not Contact: The strongest opt-out level. Blocks all marketing communications across every channel (email, SMS, mail) but still allows transactional messages through. Separate from list-level unsubscribes. Donors can also set granular preferences: Do Not Email, Do Not SMS, and Do Not Mail.

Setup Steps

1. Start with Email Templates (Optional, Recommended)

Navigate to: Engagement > Email Templates

Use the drag-and-drop editor (powered by Stripo) to build a reusable, branded layout. Some organizations may have Beefree enabled as an alternative editor.

When creating a template, you can choose from three sources:

  • My Templates — templates you've previously created

  • Base Templates — ~30 prebuilt templates provided by WeGive

  • Custom Templates — upload your own HTML

To personalize your emails, insert dynamic variables in one of two ways depending on your message format:

  • In the email template editor: Use merge tags to insert variables like {{ donor_first_name }}, {{ amount }}, or {{ donor_last_name }}.

  • In plain text emails: Type the @ symbol to browse and insert available variables.

Tips:

  • Create one general template with a logo, header, and footer, then reuse it for all email types by updating the center content.

  • You can convert any existing email message into a reusable template by clicking More > Convert to Email Template from within a message.

2. Set Up Key Transactional Triggers

These should be prioritized before going live.

Navigate to: Engagement > Messages > click the + button > select Auto-Triggered

Priority Triggers for Launch

Trigger

Purpose

Payment Success

Thank the donor and confirm their gift

Payment Failure

Notify the donor a transaction failed (include the failure reason variable — use the description merge tag in email templates, or type @ and select it in plain text)

Payment Processing

Alert donor their bank/ACH gift is pending

Payment Pending

Notify donor of a payment stuck in pending status

Recurring Donation Created

Confirm a new recurring plan has been initiated

Additional Triggers to Set Up

Recurring Donation Management:

  • Recurring Installment Failed #1–4 — weekly reminders after a failed recurring payment (requires Dunning flow to be enabled)

  • Offline Recurring Donation Activated — payment method attached to an imported offline plan

Pledges:

  • Pledge Created — new pledge created

  • Pledge Installment Due (Today / Tomorrow / One Week) — scheduled payment reminders

  • Pledge Installment Missed — missed a scheduled payment

Events & Forms:

  • Event Registration Success — successful event registration

  • Form Submitted — supporter completed and confirmed a form

Peer-to-Peer Fundraising:

  • Peer-to-Peer Donation Notification — donation made to a P2P page

  • Peer-to-Peer Created — new P2P fundraiser created

  • Peer-to-Peer Goal Met — fundraiser reaches its goal

Donor Engagement:

  • Tribute Made — donation made in honor or memory of someone

  • Donor Profile Created — new donor portal profile created

  • Supporter Tagged — donor tagged with a specific tag

  • Individual Added to Household — donor added to a household structure

  • Tagged in an Impact Card / Impact Story — donor tagged in impact metrics or stories

Communication:

  • Consent Status Updated — subscription preferences changed

  • Email Engagement Event — message delivered, opened, clicked, or failed

How to Set Up a Triggered Message

  1. Navigate to Engagement > Messages and click the + button

  2. Select Auto-Triggered as the message type

  3. Choose the delivery method (email, plain text email, SMS, handwritten letter, or in-platform message)

  4. Select the trigger event (e.g., "Payment Success")

  5. Customize the message content using a template or plain text

  6. Select the "from" email address (requires a custom email domain to be configured)

  7. Optional: Add Rule Groups to send different message variations based on conditions — for example, different thank-you messages for monthly vs. one-time donors, or different messages by campaign

  8. Preview the message and set it live

Note: Some triggers may have legacy default messages in draft mode. These are outdated — rather than activating them, create new triggered messages with your own content and templates.

3. Build Out Communication Lists for Marketing Messages

These are not required to launch, but help with long-term personalization and compliance.

Navigate to: Engagement > Communication Lists

  • Segment donors by type (e.g., major donors, event attendees, newsletter subscribers)

  • Donors can opt in or out via their Donor Portal

  • Enable double opt-in to require email confirmation before a donor is fully subscribed — helpful for privacy compliance

  • Set visibility to control who sees each list: "All" supporters, or only supporters with specific tags

  • Use tag-based auto-subscription to automatically subscribe donors to a list when they receive a specific tag

Unsubscribe Levels

WeGive provides four levels of unsubscribe, from least to most restrictive:

  1. List-specific unsubscribe — unsubscribe from one communication list only

  2. Global preferences — manage subscriptions across all communication lists at once

  3. Unsubscribe from all — bulk unsubscribe from every communication list

  4. Do Not Contact — blocks all marketing communications but still allows transactional messages

4. Create Marketing Messages

These include newsletters, appeals, or updates.

Navigate to: Engagement > Messages > click the + button

  1. Select Regular Message

  2. Choose the delivery method: email, plain text email, SMS, handwritten letter, or in-platform message

  3. Set the audience using a Communication List, Rule Groups, or both

  4. Build the message using a template (for email) or compose directly

  5. Set timing: send immediately, delay, or schedule for a specific date/time

  6. Send test emails to preview before going live

Important notes on unsubscribe links:

  • The {{ donor_unsubscribe }} merge tag works in any message — it takes donors to their global preferences page where they can manage all communication lists. This works whether or not a communication list is applied.

  • The {{ donor_communication_list_unsubscribe }} merge tag provides a one-click unsubscribe from the specific list the message was sent to. This requires a communication list to be applied to the message.

  • Best practice: Always include at least the {{ donor_unsubscribe }} link in marketing emails.

Strategy: Communication Lists & Tagging

Use tagging and communication lists together for scalable segmentation:

  • Start simple: Major donors, recurring donors, first-time donors, newsletter subscribers

  • Use tag-based auto-subscription so donors are automatically added to the right communication lists as they're tagged

  • Import tags from outside tools (e.g., Google Sheets) to support more complex relationships

  • Use tags and lists for:

    • Supporter Journey automation (Engagement > Journeys) — build multi-step message sequences triggered by donor actions or tags

    • Message segmentation — send different content to different audiences

    • Rule Group filtering — layer additional conditions on top of communication lists for precise targeting

Best Practice: Even if you're not ready to segment immediately, start tagging and structuring groups so you can personalize later.