Donor Portal (Self-Service)

This section outlines the requirements for the secure online portal where donors can access and manage their relationship with the organization. The development or upgrade of this portal is a key component of the project scope, aiming to significantly enhance the donor experience and streamline operations by providing comprehensive self-service capabilities. A robust donor portal should empower constituents with real-time access to their giving history, personal data, and recurring gift management, while also freeing up staff time and reducing administrative burden.

A modern, user-friendly portal should provide intuitive access across devices, reinforce donor trust through secure access controls, and reflect the organization’s branding and mission throughout the experience.

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🔐 Secure Access & Self-Service Capabilities

The donor portal must provide secure access and intuitive login options, allowing donors to easily authenticate and manage their own profiles.

Key requirements include:

• Secure sign-in via email, phone number, username, or user ID
  
  
• Ability to change login credentials (e.g., update email or phone)
  
  
• Consideration of passwordless login or MFA (e.g., SSO, magic links)
  
  
• Ability for donors to view and update contact details and preferences
  
  
• Full support for login prompts when a donor visits a personalized link
  
  

“Donors should be able to securely sign in using their email or phone number, and manage their giving profile without needing to contact support.”

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📜 Access to Giving History & Receipts (Including Offline)

The portal must allow donors to view and download their full giving history, including offline gifts and pending commitments. Providing real-time access to donation data reduces inbound support requests and gives donors greater visibility into their impact.

Key expectations:

• Full donation history across all channels (online, offline, recurring)
  
  
• View any outstanding pledges or open financial commitments
  
  
• Download year-end giving summaries and tax receipts
  
  
• Include downloadable receipts for gifts made by check or mail
  
  

“I want to log into my account and download my annual receipt, which includes a donation I made by check last December.”

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💳 Managing Payment Methods & Recurring Plans

The portal must empower donors to fully manage their recurring giving plans and payment methods without staff intervention. This is especially important for reducing failed payments and attrition in monthly giving programs.

Functionality should include:

• Update credit card or ACH information
  
  
• Add, remove, or switch payment methods
  
  
• Change the gift amount, designation, or billing date
  
  
• Pause, resume, or cancel recurring gifts
  
  
• Turn recurring giving on/off directly in the portal
  
  

“If a donor’s card is about to expire, they should be able to update their billing info in two clicks—without calling donor services.”

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🎨 Customization & Branding

To maintain a consistent experience, the donor portal must be fully customizable to match the organization’s branding and messaging. The portal should be extensible to allow future personalization strategies and should not require IT or developer assistance to make content changes.

Expectations include:

• Logo, color, font, and messaging alignment with the organization’s website
  
  
• Editable welcome text, custom graphics, or impact messages
  
  
• Optional modules like giving charts, campaign goals, or personalized donor journeys
  
  
• CRM-integrated data parity to support real-time constituent syncing
  
  

“We want to show supporters a ‘You’ve given $2,740 to clean water since 2019’ impact message every time they log in.”

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