Setting up donations will walk you though configuring the Newspack Donate block, and will automatically create a Donations page if your site doesn’t have one already.

Getting Started

Once Reader Revenue has been set up, you will be able to set up donations by navigating to Newspack > Reader Revenue, and selecting the Donations tab.

Screenshot of the donations tab of Newspack Reader Revenue settings

This is how the Donations tab will look once you have configured several settings.

Suggested Donations

First, under Suggested Donations, configure your Donate block.

  1. By default, the Donate block will suggest a monthly donation amount, and give visitors the option to donate an Other amount that visitors can fill out themselves. This monthly donation default is multiplied by 12, and used as the suggested Annual and One-Time tabs in the block as well, alongside an Other option.
  2. You can change this Suggested donation amount per month by changing the value in that field.
  3. You can also edit the default amounts for Suggested one-time donation amount and Suggested donation amount per year.
  4. You also have an option to update the Minimum Donation. Read more about setting the minimum donation.
  1. Once finished, select the Save Settings button.

These options will be used by default each time you use the Donations block; you can also configure the settings on a block-by-block basis.

Billing Fields

When you use the “Newspack” reader revenue platform, your site will include the checkout flow provided by WooCommerce. By default, that checkout flow includes a lot of fields to fill out.

This is what the settings under Newspack > Reader Revenue > Donations look like when all the available billing fields are checked.

To reduce friction for readers who want to donate, as well as reduce unnecessary data collection, you have the ability to select which billing fields should be available while donating. Uncheck the box next to any billing field you don’t need.

These fields determine what displays in the donation block once readers have selected their type of donation, added a donation amount, and selected Donate. At that point, a modal appears that prompts the reader to finish the checkout process.

With the default billing fields all checked, that modal collects a lot of information.

Screenshot of full billing fields on the front-end modal for checkout

This is what it looks like, however, when the selected billing fields are just first name, last name, and email address.

Screenshot of a donation block modal that only shows first name, last name, and email address billing fields

Registered Customers

The modal’s two-step process is further reduced if the reader is a registered customer. In that case, it will include the customer’s saved billing details and skip straight to showing payment info fields.

Screenshot of modal that has skipped to payment info fields for a known customer with saved billing fields

Once checkout is complete, the reader is thanked for their donation, and provided with a summary of the transaction.

Screenshot of donation modal with thank-you message and confirmation of payment details

Donations Landing Page

As part of the Reader Revenue setup, a page in draft mode has automatically be added to your site to act as the Donations Landing Page.

If you would like to use this page, you can use the following steps to complete set-up:

  1. Select the Edit Page link in the Donations landing page section:
  1. By default, the page will be titled “Support our publication”, and include an introductory paragraph, the Donate block, and some filler content, but this is just a starting point. Personalize the content as best suits your publication:
  1. Once finished, select Publish to make this page live.

If you already have a page you’d like to use for donations, you can leave this page as a draft, or delete it.

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Setting Up Donations

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