Add Optional Required Agreement Step for Recurring Donations
Kim Talvy
Organizations would benefit from the ability to display a required agreement field specifically for recurring donations during the checkout process. This feature would enable donors to review and acknowledge customized terms, such as recurring billing authorization, cancellation policies, and organizational disclaimers, before completing their transaction.
This feature would be particularly useful for nonprofits managing large recurring donor programs, where clear communication and explicit donor acknowledgment are crucial.
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David Preston
When I am not volunteering for a small foundation that uses Givebutter, my professional work involves managing a sustainer program with more than 76,000 monthly givers. Because of that scale, clarity and donor transparency are essential to maintaining trust, minimizing disputes, and meeting accepted ethical standards in our field.
Givebutter’s donation experience is one of the cleanest and most intuitive available, which is exactly why an optional agreement step for recurring donations would be so valuable. The current flow requires a donor to select Monthly, but without a clear required acknowledgment of recurring billing terms, nonprofits are left exposed to compliance and ethical risks that grow significantly as monthly giving expands.
Sector standards from the Association of Fundraising Professionals, the BBB Wise Giving Alliance, Charity Navigator, and CharityWatch all reinforce the same core principle. Donors must freely, knowingly, and affirmatively authorize any ongoing financial commitment. Regulators, including state attorneys general and the Federal Trade Commission, present this requirement the same way. Recurring charges require an unmistakable affirmative action that reflects informed consent.
When that explicit acknowledgment is missing, several problems can occur. Donors may not fully understand that they have initiated a recurring contribution, which often leads to higher refund volumes, chargebacks, donor frustration, and questions about whether the solicitation met accepted ethical norms. Even when the nonprofit has acted entirely in good faith, the absence of a clear consent step can create an appearance of ambiguity. At scale, these issues can compound rapidly.
An optional agreement step would address this without compromising the simplicity Givebutter is known for. Organizations that need to meet internal standards, legal guidance, or sector ethics could present their recurring gift terms clearly and obtain explicit donor acknowledgment. Others who prefer a lighter flow could choose not to use it.
This feature would strengthen donor transparency, reduce operational risk, and help organizations maintain the ethical fundraising practices that support strong and lasting donor relationships, especially for those operating monthly programs at significant scale