Recurring donation scheduling and reminders

Purpose

1.1. To automate the scheduling of recurring donations and send automated reminders via SMS, email, push notifications, and other channels, ensuring donors are engaged, donations are maximized, and missed contributions are minimized.
1.2. Automate tracking, receipts, and thank-you messages, while supporting donor lifecycle management and enabling the charity to sustain predictable funding.

Trigger Conditions

2.1. Donation schedule creation or update (monthly, quarterly, annually).
2.2. Upcoming donation due date approaching (configurable: day/week before).
2.3. Payment method expiration or failure event detected.
2.4. Donor initiates a new recurring donation or upgrades/pauses an existing one.
2.5. End-of-cycle summary (e.g., annual donation report).

Platform Variants

3.1. Twilio SMS
• Feature: Programmable Messaging – automate SMS reminders; use `/Messages` API endpoint with donor's number and custom message template.

3.2. SendGrid
• Feature: Automated Email Campaigns – automate donation reminder emails; use `Mail Send` endpoint with merge fields for dates and donor name.

3.3. Stripe
• Feature: Subscriptions API – automate recurring donation charges and webhook triggers for reminders; configure `subscription_schedule.created` and `invoice.upcoming`.

3.4. PayPal
• Feature: Subscription Notifications – automate donor billing reminders; configure IPN or Webhook for recurring payment due.

3.5. Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud
• Feature: Scheduled Flows – automate donor engagement reminders leveraging scheduled actions in Flow Builder.

3.6. Mailchimp
• Feature: Automated Email Journeys – automate sequence of reminder and thank-you emails using “Recurring Date” triggers.

3.7. Microsoft Power Automate
• Feature: Scheduled Flows – automate calendar-based donation reminders integrating with Outlook, Teams, or SMS providers.

3.8. HubSpot
• Feature: Workflows – automate recurring email and SMS notifications triggered by custom properties or dates.

3.9. ActiveCampaign
• Feature: Automation Builder – automate multi-step donor reminder workflows with scheduling logic.

3.10. Google Calendar API
• Feature: Events Insert – automate calendar event creation for donation schedules and reminders.

3.11. Slack
• Feature: Scheduled Messages – automate internal staff reminders about key donor payments using reminders API.

3.12. Monday.com
• Feature: Automations – automate item status changes and notification reminders for recurring donor tasks.

3.13. Zoho CRM
• Feature: Workflow Rules – automate recurring reminders to donors and account managers.

3.14. Pipedrive
• Feature: Activity Scheduler – automate recurring activity logging and reminders for donor follow-ups.

3.15. Mailjet
• Feature: Email Automation – automate periodic donor emails with advanced scheduling.

3.16. Facebook Messenger
• Feature: Messenger Bot – automate sending reminders through Messenger API at scheduled intervals.

3.17. Intercom
• Feature: Series Automation – automate chat-based donor reminders and follow-ups.

3.18. WhatsApp Business API
• Feature: Template Messages – automate personalized donation reminder messages using templates sent via approved API.

3.19. Google Sheets
• Feature: Time-Driven Triggers (Apps Script) – automate status updates, reminders, and recordkeeping.

3.20. Zapier
• Feature: Scheduled Zaps – automate cross-platform triggers and reminders integrating all donor and finance tools.

3.21. Razorpay
• Feature: Subscriptions Webhooks – automate payment reminders and failed payment follow-up via webhook events.

3.22. AWS SES
• Feature: Scheduled Send – automate sending donation reminders at configured recurrence.

3.23. Apple Calendar
• Feature: Event Creation API – automate donor’s personal calendar reminders for donation dates.

3.24. Trello
• Feature: Due Date Automations – automate creation of recurring cards and deadline reminders for donor management.

3.25. Klaviyo
• Feature: Flows – automate donation reminder campaigns with scheduled messaging.

Benefits

4.1. Automates donor engagement, reducing manual intervention.
4.2. Ensures predictable cash flow with timely, automated reminders.
4.3. Automator prevents missed donations and reduces donor churn.
4.4. Improves donor satisfaction via automated, reliable communications.
4.5. Enables scalable, automatable donation campaigns across multiple channels.
4.6. Reduces operational costs by automatedly managing donation schedules and reminders.