Start Recurring Gifts Without Holding Cards

The problem

Recurring donors help cash flow. But card-on-file payments add risk.

Many nonprofits use a donor database, a payment tool, and a spreadsheet. Failed payments fall between them. Staff do not know which gifts need follow-up. Finance may not know when a paid gift should hit the books.

How GrantPipe solves it

GrantPipe uses Stripe-hosted checkout. The donor enters card data on Stripe.

The nonprofit connects its own Stripe account. Funds settle through that account, subject to Stripe terms and fees.

GrantPipe records the recurring gift plan. It tracks paid invoices and failed-payment states. A paid gift can become a normal donation record, so accounting can post it.

What your team does

Your team starts inside the donor record. Pick the donor. Enter the gift amount. Choose monthly, quarterly, or yearly.

Then GrantPipe opens Stripe checkout. The donor pays on Stripe. GrantPipe does not ask for a card number.

After checkout, GrantPipe keeps the plan tied to the donor. Staff can see the amount, cadence, and state. A failed payment changes the state. A canceled gift changes the state too.

The point is simple. The gift is a donor record first. The payment runs through Stripe. Finance still gets the paid donation in GrantPipe.

What GrantPipe records

GrantPipe stores the plan, not the card.

It records the donor, amount, cadence, fund, grant, restriction, and Stripe subscription state. It also records payment attempts. A paid invoice can link to the posted donation. A failed invoice stays as an attempt, not as revenue.

That split matters. A failed card should not create a donation. It should not post cash. It should tell your team to follow up.

Failed payments

Failed payments are normal in recurring giving. Cards expire. Banks decline a charge. Donors change accounts.

GrantPipe records the failed-payment state so it does not hide in Stripe. Your team can see which gifts need work. Staff can follow up with the donor. They can ask the donor to update payment details in Stripe.

Dunning is the follow-up work around failed payments. GrantPipe helps track that work. It does not promise that a payment will clear.

Accounting fit

Recurring Gift Engine uses the same donation path as other paid gifts. When Stripe reports a paid invoice, GrantPipe can record a recurring donation.

That keeps donor history and accounting tied together. Fundraising sees the donor gift. Finance sees the paid donation. The ledger does not depend on a spreadsheet import.

GrantPipe does not book a failed payment. It waits for a paid event before it creates a donation.

What this is not

GrantPipe does not store donor cards.

GrantPipe does not hold donor funds.

Dunning helps staff follow up. Some payments may still fail.

Stripe fees, payout timing, and account limits come from Stripe.

Who it is for

Fundraising teams use it to start monthly gifts.

Finance teams use it to see which paid gifts need posting.

Leaders use it to keep recurring revenue visible without adding card data to GrantPipe.

Before you use it

Your nonprofit needs a Stripe account that can accept charges. Stripe may ask for business, bank, and identity details. Stripe controls account approval, fees, payouts, and limits.

GrantPipe uses the connected account to start hosted checkout. If the account cannot accept charges, staff cannot start recurring gifts yet.

This is safer than asking staff to type card data into GrantPipe. It also keeps the payment terms with Stripe, where the donor is already paying.

What it replaces

It replaces the recurring gift spreadsheet that lives beside Stripe. It replaces the manual check for failed cards. It replaces the handoff where gift staff tell finance which paid gifts to book.

It does not replace Stripe. Stripe still handles card entry, payment processing, fees, disputes, and payouts.

Start a free trial

Start a trial.

Related feature pages

See donor retention reporting. See pledge tracking. See donor email. See pricing and plan fit.