Templates

CSiDonate donation forms are called templates. A template is comprised of various settings that, when the donor visits the donation form, are loaded and displayed on-screen.

Examples of settings that can be changed on a per-template basis include the choices of amounts to give, which fund(s) to give to, and whether or not to show optional form fields like tributes or gift messages.

When to Use a Template

Some examples of when to use different templates in CSiDonate include:

Separate templates for giving to specific chapters or regions
Holiday and special event templates (i.e. Giving Tuesday)
A special page for disaster relief, with a special message at the top of the form
When donations should go into a special distribution/appeal/campaign, e.g. for a special scholarship fund
When donations should have different logos and use different cash accounts, e.g. foundation vs. fraternity
If you want all donations from a page to be applied as a (100%) soft credit to a particular iMIS ID
To capture special demographic questions on certain donation forms, e.g. to ask donors about will/estate planning, or to capture a company name for matching donations
Having a special donation form (with a custom message, logo, or other settings) that is sent out via a targeted email marketing campaign to certain members, e.g. a "challenge" form that is sent out to members who have donated in the past year

Template Modes

CSiDonate supports the following template modes which change the behavior of the template, and the donations entered through it.

Standard

Standard mode allows donors to give online using typical template options. There is no special context or requirement for viewing the template. This is CSiDonate's default behavior.

Rapid Entry PLUS

Refer to our concept article on Rapid Entry for full instructions on using this template mode.

Rapid Entry allows a CSiDonate staff user to set up a template specifically for use in a rapid entry scenario. Good examples of Rapid Entry mode are volunteers making telemarketing calls on behalf of a larger donation campaign, or staff members accepting donations at a conference.

Ambassador CROWDFUNDING

Refer to our concept article on Ambassador Mode for full instructions on using this template mode.

Ambassador mode allows a CSiDonate staff user to build a group of fundraising ambassadors via a customizable iMIS committee who each receive their own custom donation link. Each donation that is entered by a donor via an ambassador-enabled donation form is tracked, and a report can be generated (using external tools) which displays a breakdown of donations received via each ambassador.

Challenge CROWDFUNDING

Refer to our concept article on Challenge Mode for full instructions on using this template mode.

Challenge mode allows a CSiDonate staff user to set up a template with a goal targeting either a monetary amount or unique donor count for that particular template. A progress tracker is displayed on the form.

Challenges can also displayed on the Donor Wall.

Adding, Deleting, and Editing Templates

Templates can be managed on the Template Manager page in the CSiDonate Administration area. (The relative URL for the Template Manager is /CSiDonate/Admin/Templates.aspx)

To create a template, click the Add Template button.
To edit a template, click the yellow pencil icon on the record you want to edit.
To delete a template, click the red trash can icon on the record you want to delete.

Template Tip

Accidentally deleted a template? No problem - templates are soft deleted from the database. Contact CSI if you'd like assistance with recovering a template record!

Linking to a Template

To view the links for a template, edit the template and select the "General" category. The links for that template are in the blue box at the bottom of this section.

As of CSiDonate 2.7, templates are generated with a unique, 8-character alphanumeric identifier (referred to as the Template UID) that can be used to link to and load a template. This is the Primary URL for a template.

An example of what this URL looks like is:

https://give.example.org/CSiDonate/Give.aspx/ABCD1234

Using a Template Alias

Setting an alias for a template is strongly recommended, as it allows you to provide a short URL for your template page that is both easy to remember, and human-readable.

You can give a template an alias by editing the template, and under the "General" category, check the Alias option and type the name of an alias for this template.

Alias names must be unique, alphanumeric, must start with a letter, and cannot contain spaces, slashes, or other special characters. (You will get an error if you attempt to use an alias already in use by another template.)

After saving the alias, you should see a new Alias URL appear in the list of template URLs. You can access your template using the alias name like this:

https://give.example.org/alias

Alias Tip

Aliases only work at the root of the site. You can have an alias at give.example.org/alias, but not give.example.org/folder/alias.

Technical Note

Aliases only serve a 301 Permanent Redirect to the main template URL containing the template's UID - for example, give.example.org/myAlias will serve a 301 Redirect to give.example.org/CSiDonate/Give.aspx/CDEF5678.

Template Scenarios

Below are some examples of the power behind templates and how you can maximize your template usage.

Scenario: Donor / Giving Club

You can set up a template for accepting gifts of a specific amount for joining a donor club.

Just set up a custom amount array in the IDONATE_AMOUNT gen table with the specific target amount(s) you'd like to offer people.

You can also add a custom header image or text for your donor club using the per-template custom CSS option.

Scenario: Giving Tuesday

Highlight a special Giving Tuesday page for your organization using a custom CSiDonate template!

Create a custom logo using the per-template custom CSS option, or add a custom description to the page using the IDONATE_GIVING_TEXT gen table.

Use a special campaign or appeal code in iMIS for tracking Giving Tuesday gifts, and apply that code to your template.

Give your donors a short, easy-to-remember URL by using the template alias feature, so your Giving Tuesday URL looks something like https://give.example.org/givingtuesday.

Scenario: Separate Foundation and Fraternity Donations

Organizations with a foundation and fraternity component (where both entities use iMIS for fundraising / A/R) can use CSiDonate to raise money independently.

Simply create two financial accounts, one for the fraternity and one for the foundation. Then, create separate templates for each entity. You can also apply a different header logo using the custom, per-template CSS option, or chnage the header text using the IDONATE_HEADERS gen table.

By applying different financial account settings to each template, this will ensure that funds donated onto one page are applied to the correct cash account, separately from the other template.