Configure Text Giving

The above is all made possible with just a few configuration steps. Generally, you'll use what ships with Rock out of the box, but there are opportunities for customization.

Utility Payment Entry Block

The registration page we showed in the prior section is simple for the person using it, but there are many settings driving this block. That's because the Utility Payment Entry block can be used for purposes besides Text Giving. For now, we'll just highlight the settings that are needed for Text Giving to work. The rest of the settings for this block should be kept as-is to avoid any issues with Text Giving.

  1. Enable Multi-Account - This should be set to "No" when this block is used for Text Giving. Text Giving is designed to use a single account.
  2. Accounts - If you select an account here, it should be the same as the one on the SMS Pipeline. If you have sub-accounts for each campus, choose the parent account here, and be sure to enable the next setting.
  3. Use Account Campus Mapping Logic - If this is enabled, then Rock looks at the child accounts of the configured account and uses the first one it finds matching the campus chosen by the person. This lets you have one page with one set of configuration, but with gifts going to multiple accounts based on campus. For full details on this setting and its logic check out the help icon located on the page. Note, the parent account is used by default if a campus can't be determined.

Note

Refund Instructions
There's another block setting called Finish Lava Template that controls what's displayed on the setup confirmation page. You'll want to update this if your giving keywords don't include "give" or if you want to provide instructions on how to request a refund.

On the Advanced Settings tab of the block settings, you'll find the option to enable this block for Text Giving as pictured below. This is enabled on the Text Giving setup page by default, but you may want to double-check it if you're having issues with Text Giving.

SMS Pipeline Setup

The next step in enabling Text Giving requires configuring your SMS Pipeline. There's a special Give action that is added to the pipeline to support Text Giving. For details on setting up and using the SMS Pipeline in general, see our Communicating Using Rock manual.

Navigate to Admin Tools > Settings > SMS Pipeline and select the pipeline you want to use for Text Giving. While editing the pipeline, click and drag the Give action from the panel on the left into the center of the page under Incoming SMS Message. As pictured below, the Give action is now included in your pipeline and is ready to be configured.

  1. Give Keyword - This is where you set which keyword(s) a person can text to donate. You can have a single keyword, or multiple keywords separated by a comma. If there are multiple keywords, individuals don't have to use the same keyword for all their gifts.
  2. Setup Keyword - If the person texts the keyword(s) here, they'll get a response with a link to the Setup Page configured below. This is where they'll access the one-time setup needed to enable Text Giving. You can have multiple Setup Keywords separated by a comma.
  3. Maximum Gift Amount - You might not want to accept gifts over a certain amount via text. This field controls how much a person can give in a single text before receiving the Max Amount Response message configured below.
  4. Financial Account - This is the account into which Text Giving transactions go. If you have sub-accounts for each of your campuses, select the parent-level account here. This should match the Utility Payment Entry block configuration discussed in the prior section. That block has a setting that chooses the correct account based on the person's campus selection. Note, if this is left blank then the giving account on the person's profile (see below) is used.
  5. Setup Page - Out of the box, Rock comes configured with a page for setting up Text Giving for an individual. This page is already set up for you on the external site template we provide and is located in the Give area. An admin needs to configure the block on this page as described in the prior section above.
  6. Refund Keyword - Not only can people give, but they can also request a refund of their last gift by texting the keyword(s) here. A dollar amount is not needed. You can have multiple Refund Keywords, separated by a comma. If the refund can't be issued automatically, the person receives a message that can be configured below. Leave this blank to disable the refund function. A person can't request a refund via text if the Processing Delay Minutes configured below have passed.
  7. Processing Delay Minutes - The person can request a refund via text (using the Refund Keyword described above) within this amount of time and it will be like the gift never happened. That's because the transaction won't go through your financial gateway until this delay elapses. If this is blank or set to zero, then the refund function is disabled.
  8. Responses - For each stage of the process, you can provide a custom, Lava-enabled message that is sent (as applicable) to the person giving. These responses are sent automatically depending on the person's scenario.

Note

Failed Transaction Notifications
The person will get an SMS text message if their gift fails to process successfully. If you're using the Processing Delay Minutes setting described above, you must add a Send SMS Response From number in the Charge Future Transactions job for this to work. If Processing Delay Minutes is set to "0" and the transaction fails, then the Transaction Failure Response configured in the SMS Pipeline will be sent.

If the person uses Text Giving, you can see that information on the Person Profile page under the Contributions tab.

You can also come here to manually add or edit Text Giving settings for an individual. This is where you can set or change the default financial account to which the person gives. The person must have a saved account (e.g., credit card, checking account) on file to use Text Giving.