How do I create a Smart Contribution Form?

Step 1: Access Online Actions and Create a new form  

1. To access Online Action Forms in EveryAction, navigate to the left-hand sidebar menu and select Engagement > Communication Tools > Online Actions

2. Click the “Create New Form” button, and choose “Smart Contribution”

If you don’t see Online Actions:

• Use Search for a page in the left-hand navigation

• Type Online Actions

Step 2: Add form details in the Basics page

1. Enter your form title. Make it as descriptive as possible.  

• Internal Facing Title: Enter an internal name for this form that is only visible to your team.  
• Donors will continue to see the external form title.   

2. Under “Connect a gateway to accept contributions”, select a designation. If you only have one payment gateway, it will be automatically chosen for you. But if you have multiple gateways, you can choose between Bonterra Pay or Paragon. 

   Payment methods with each of the gateways include:

• Bonterra Payments – credit card, ACH, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Stripe Link
• Paragon – credit card, ACH
• PayPal - PayPal and Venmo (note: this will only work with the newer PayPal integration)

3. (Optional) In the “Track Your Efforts” section, you can add a source code, activist code, or campaign for tracking. 

Notes:  

• You can use either Bonterra Payments or Paragon gateway as your primary gateway on your form. You will also be able to use our newer PayPal integration as a secondary gateway along with either Bonterra Payments or Paragon.

• You can immediately publish your form from this page. 

Step 3: Enable optimized fundraising features

On the Build page, turn on the fundraising features you want donors to see. Each option is designed to increase conversion, gift size, or recurring giving.  

• Form description – Add a short message that appears under the form title to explain your ask to supporters.

• Recurring upsell – Allow donors to give on a recurring schedule (such as monthly). If no end date is set, recurring commitments continue indefinitely.

• Ask Amounts – Review or customize the suggested donation amounts. Best-practice defaults are already in place for one-time and monthly gifts. By default, monthly amounts are set to 1/5 of the one-time asks (for example: $5, $10, $20, $50, $100). 

• Optimize your ask amounts (Optimized Ask) – Show personalized donation amounts based on each supporter’s past giving and engagement history.

• Impact statements – Display a brief explanation of what each donation amount can achieve (for example, “Provides a week of meals”).
  Note: Impact Statements are only available when Optimized Ask is turned off.

• Communication opt-in settings – Let supporters opt in to email and SMS updates from your organization.

• Disclosure settings – Choose whether to require employer information or display contribution rules.

• Progress bar – Show progress toward your fundraising goal to motivate giving.

• Footer information – Add text that appears at the bottom of your form, such as disclaimers or additional details.

Checkpoint: Scroll through the Build page and confirm each feature you want is enabled before moving on.

Note: Impact Statements will only be enabled if you turn off Optimized Ask.
  

Step 4: Customize your Form 

The Design page is where you make your Optimized Contribution Form look on brand in minutes. Upload a logo or header, add an optional background, and choose a small, accessible color set that looks great on any device. You can also link your logo back to your website so donors can easily navigate to your organization’s site. A clean, consistent look builds trust—so donors feel confident completing their gift. 

Note: You must upload a header image before the logo upload option is enabled. 

Step 5: Thank and Confirm 

In the Confirmation page, you can enable and configure: 

• Thank you page - Use this page to thank supporters and confirm their contribution. 

• Cart Abandonment Nudges to follow up with donors who don’t complete checkout. 

• Social Sharing section lets you choose the image, title, and message that appear when your form is shared on social media—so your link looks great and supporters can spread the word effortlessly. 

• Deactivation settings let you choose when your form closes and add a friendly custom message for anyone who visits it afterward.
   

Step 6: Preview and Publish 

You can publish your Smart Contribution Form two ways:

• Share a direct link for email and social or embed it as a modal pop-up on your website so donors stay on your page.
• From EveryAction Home → Online Actions, open your form, publish (you can do this right after Basics), then open Share/Embed to copy either the link or the modal embed code. Use Preview and a quick live test to confirm branding, amounts, and checkout flow before you go live. 

Not quite what you were searching for?

• Navigate back to the Smart Contribution Form Resource Index

How do I create a Smart Contribution form in EveryAction? | How do I publish a Smart Contribution form? | How do I customize my donation form in EveryAction? | How do I add recurring donations to a contribution form? | Why can't I enable Impact Statements on my donation form? | How do I embed a Smart Contribution form on my website? | How do I share a Smart Contribution form with donors?