Semi Automated Recurring Plan Migration

Last updated: May 29, 2026

A complete guide to moving your recurring donors to WeGive while preserving their plans and giving history. In a semi-automated migration, you bring each donor's recurring plan and history into WeGive ahead of time, and donors reactivate their plan by adding a payment method through the Donor Portal. This protects sensitive payment data, gives donors a familiar view of their giving, and lets you transition gradually as supporters log in.

When to use this approach: Choose a semi-automated migration when you cannot transfer payment tokens directly from your old processor (or prefer not to).

How it works at a glance

  1. You import each recurring donor, their plan, and their giving history into WeGive as offline recurring plans.

  2. You announce the platform change to your recurring supporters.

  3. Donors log into the Donor Portal and add a payment method, which reactivates their plan in WeGive.

  4. Your team is notified each time a plan is reactivated, and you deactivate the matching plan in your old system.

  5. You monitor progress and follow up with donors who haven't migrated.

A plan stays in Missing status (no payment method) until the donor adds one, at which point it becomes Active and resumes on its next scheduled date.

Before you begin

Complete these prerequisites before announcing the migration to donors.

Import donors, plans, and history. Confirm every recurring donor, their associated plan (amount, frequency, designation/fund), and transaction history have been integrated or imported into WeGive. Donors should be able to log in and recognize their giving immediately.

Set installment dates in the future. Make sure the next installment date on each imported plan is set to a date in the future, not the past. If a donor takes a while to migrate and the date is in the past, the next installment can get stuck and fail to schedule correctly.

Decide who owns coordination. Identify who on your team will deactivate plans in the old system, record any missed payments, and respond to donor questions during the transition.

Step 1 — Create the internal notification (Offline Recurring Plan Activated)

Set up a triggered email so your team knows the moment a donor reactivates a plan. This is your signal to deactivate the matching plan in your old system.

  • Create a triggered email on the Recurring Donation Created / Offline Recurring Plan Activated trigger.

  • Send it to the Custom To field and enter a team member's email address — not the donor's. This keeps the alert internal.

  • Include the donor's name, plan amount, frequency, and designation in the body so the recipient can quickly find and deactivate the corresponding plan elsewhere.

See the Internal team notification template at the end of this article.

Step 2 — Announce the migration to your recurring donors

Send a heads-up to all recurring supporters before they're asked to act. The goal is to set expectations: the platform is changing, and they'll soon need to add a payment method in the new portal and turn off their old plan.

Send the Pre-migration announcement email (template below). Avoid burying the message — recurring donors who aren't expecting a change may dismiss the portal pop-up as spam.

Step 3 — Update your website

Remove every path back to the old system so no new or returning donor lands there.

  • Swap out ALL "Donate" buttons on your website so none of them link to your old platform.

  • Add a "Login" button that points to the WeGive Donor Portal, so recurring donors can easily get to the page where they'll add a payment method.

Step 4 — Donors reactivate their plans in the Donor Portal

This is the heart of the migration. The section below is written so you can hand it directly to donors or adapt it for your help center. The Action-required email template walks donors through the same steps.

What the donor does

1. Log in to the Donor Portal. The donor visits your organization's giving portal URL and signs in with their email and password. First-time users may need to set a password using the email address tied to their donor record.

2. Respond to the payment method pop-up. On landing, a donor with an offline plan sees:

Oops! You are missing a payment method.
"You are currently missing a payment method on your recurring plan, please click here to confirm your payment method."
[ Do This Later ]   [ Confirm My Payment Method ]

The donor clicks Confirm My Payment Method.

3. Select the plan (if they have more than one). If the donor has multiple recurring plans, WeGive shows the offline plans so they can choose which to update.

4. Add a payment method. On the plan details screen, the donor:

  • Chooses Card or Bank under Payment Method

  • Selects Add New

  • Enters their details:

    • Card: card number, name on card, CVV, postal code, expiration date

    • Bank: routing number and account number

5. Review and confirm the plan details — don't skip this. Adding a payment method alone is not enough. Before finalizing, the donor must confirm the plan carries the intended details so it goes live correctly. On the review screen, the donor checks:

  • Gift amount — matches what they intend to give each period (e.g., $50, not a default or rounded figure).

  • Frequency — the correct cadence (monthly, quarterly, annually).

  • Designation / fund — the gift is directed to the right fund or campaign.

  • Next installment date — a date in the future. If it shows a past date or today's date, the donor should adjust it to the next intended charge date so the plan doesn't get stuck or charge unexpectedly.

If anything is wrong, the donor clicks Edit, corrects the field (amount, frequency, designation, or next date), and returns to the review screen. Only once every field is correct does the donor click Confirm (or Confirm Edits) to finalize.

6. Verify the plan is active. After confirming, the donor checks that the plan status reads Active (no longer Missing) and that the displayed next charge date and amount are what they expect. This is the final confirmation that the plan is properly set and live — not just that a card was saved.

If the donor dismissed the pop-up, they can do the same thing manually: go to Recurring Giving on the dashboard → click Edit → select the plan → click Edit again → add the payment method, review the amount/frequency/designation/next installment date, and confirm as above.

What the donor should know

  • Their plan details — amount, schedule, and full giving history — are already preserved. They only need to supply a payment method and confirm the details are correct.

  • The plan resumes automatically on its next scheduled date once a payment method is added.

  • Plan status moves from Missing to Active as soon as the payment method is saved.

Step 5 — Deactivate the old plan and reconcile

Each time you receive an Offline Recurring Plan Activated notification:

  • Deactivate the matching plan in your old system so the donor is never charged twice.

  • Record any missed payments (gifts that would have processed during the transition) as offline donations in WeGive to keep history complete.

  • Double-check the next installment date is in the future, especially for donors who took a while to migrate.

Step 6 — Follow up with donors who haven't migrated

Not everyone acts on the first email. Plans still showing Missing after your initial announcement are your follow-up list.

Send the Reminder / follow-up email to donors who haven't yet added a payment method. A second (and sometimes third) nudge meaningfully improves migration completion.

Step 7 — Turn on Dunning (recommended)

Enable the Dunning Flow and corresponding Recurring Installment Failed #1-4 Triggered Messages so donors are automatically alerted when a transaction attempt fails on a recurring plan. This catches expired or declined cards after migration and prompts donors to update their payment method without manual chasing from your team.

Migration checklist

  • Recurring donors, plans, and history imported into WeGive

  • Next installment dates set to future dates

  • "Offline Recurring Plan Activated" internal notification created (Custom To → team)

  • Pre-migration announcement sent to all recurring donors

  • All website "Donate" buttons swapped; "Login" button added

  • Plans deactivated in old system as donors reactivate

  • Missed payments recorded as offline donations

  • Reminder email sent to donors still in "Missing" status

  • Dunning Flow enabled

Email templates

Copy and adapt these. Replace bracketed placeholders with your details before sending.

1. Pre-migration announcement

Subject: Important: we're upgrading how you give to [Organization]

Dear [First Name],

Thank you for being a recurring supporter of [Organization]. We're excited to share that we're moving to a new giving platform that makes managing your donations easier and more secure.

What this means for you: In the coming days, you'll need to take one quick step to keep your recurring gift active — log into our new Donor Portal and add your payment method. We've already brought over your plan details and giving history, so everything will look familiar.

We'll send you a follow-up email with simple step-by-step instructions and a link to log in. When you complete that step, please also cancel your existing recurring gift in [Old System] so you're not charged twice.

Your continued generosity means the world to us. If you have any questions, just reply to this email.

With gratitude,
[Your Name]
[Organization]

2. Action-required / how-to

Subject: Action needed: add your payment method to keep your gift active

Dear [First Name],

It's time to reactivate your recurring gift on our new platform. It takes about two minutes — your plan amount, schedule, and giving history are already waiting for you.

Here's how:

  1. Log in to our Donor Portal: [Donor Portal URL]. If it's your first time, click to set a password using this email address.

  2. When you land on the portal, you'll see a message: "Oops! You are missing a payment method." Click Confirm My Payment Method.

  3. If you have more than one recurring gift, choose the plan you'd like to update.

  4. Under Payment Method, choose Card or Bank, select Add New, and enter your details.

  5. Review your plan details before confirming: check that the gift amount, frequency, designation, and next payment date are all correct. The next payment date should be in the future. If anything looks off, click Edit to fix it.

  6. Once everything is correct, click Confirm. Make sure your plan now shows as Active.

That's it! Your gift will resume on its next scheduled date. You won't be charged for any payments during the move.

One last step: please cancel your existing recurring gift in [Old System] so you aren't charged twice.

Questions? Just reply and we're happy to help.

Thank you,
[Your Name]
[Organization]

3. Reminder / follow-up

Subject: Reminder: your recurring gift needs a quick update

Dear [First Name],

We noticed you haven't yet added a payment method to your recurring gift on our new Donor Portal. Until you do, your gift to [Organization] is paused.

It only takes a couple of minutes:

  1. Log in at [Donor Portal URL].

  2. Click Confirm My Payment Method on the pop-up.

  3. Add your card or bank details, review the amount and next payment date, and click Confirm.

Your plan details and history are already there — you just need to add a payment method and confirm the details. And please remember to cancel your old recurring gift in [Old System] once you're done.

Thank you for continuing to stand with us.

[Your Name]
[Organization]

4. Internal team notification (Offline Recurring Plan Activated)

Configure this as a triggered email on the Recurring Donation Created / Offline Recurring Plan Activated trigger. Set the Custom To field to a team member's email — not the donor's.

Subject: Recurring plan reactivated in WeGive — deactivate the old plan

A recurring donor has just added a payment method in WeGive. Please deactivate their matching plan in [Old System].

Donor: [Donor Name]
Email: [Donor Email]
Amount: [Plan Amount]
Frequency: [Frequency]
Designation/Fund: [Designation]
Next installment date: [Next Date]

Action items:

  • Deactivate this plan in [Old System]

  • Record any missed payments as offline donations

  • Confirm the next installment date is in the future