When you receive payments for donations, subscriptions, or ongoing memberships, it's important to keep track of what the funds are for, how they should be accounted for, and what communication the payer should receive. For this purpose, we use the function called Purpose. This article will help you understand how to use Purpose effectively and provide tips and tricks to get the most out of its features.
Where to find Purposes
You can find the Purposes feature under Form Builder in the menu. Within each form, there is a Purposes section where you define the purposes for that particular form.
One or More Purposes?
Each form must have at least one purpose defined. This describes what the funds are for, such as:
- Memberships
- Donations (one-time or recurring)
- Funds earmarked for a specific goal
The purpose is directly linked to the accounting of the incoming funds and their intended use.
A form can also have multiple purposes. For example, a membership form might have different types of memberships (e.g., individual, family, senior, student). Differences in the amounts and the rights each type of member has can be clearly distinguished by the purposes assigned. This simplifies subsequent data processing and accounting.
Customising Communication Based on Purpose
When a form has multiple purposes, you can tailor the communication to each specific purpose. If a form has several purposes attached, you can differentiate the subsequent communication to suit the purpose. Examples include:
- Major donors vs other donors: Large donations can be assigned to a special purpose
- Annual payers vs monthly payers: Annual payers receive a receipt, while monthly payers do not
- Patients vs relatives: Patients receive links to specific guides and advice, while relatives are encouraged to support the organisation in other ways
If you create multiple purposes on the same form, you will need to contact support to help with the underlying logic. Set up the form as usual, define the desired purposes, and then contact us for assistance.
If there are multiple purposes in the form, you can choose which purpose should be displayed by default when linking to the form from an email or another website. You can learn more about deep links in this article.
Setting Up Purpose(s) in Your Form
For a detailed guide on setting up purposes in your form, please read our guide to setting up purpose(s).
Need help?
If you have any questions about Purposes, please write to us at support@onlinefundraising.dk.