Donor Management System
Custom Message Templates can be used for Single Emails, Thanking your Donor (Email & Letter formats), and other MailMerge functions. These Templates can be used to save emails and letters that you plan to send on a recurring basis.
The DMS comes with three pre-built custom message templates which you're welcome to customize further:
- Acknowledgement Email - Yearly
- Acknowledgement Receipt - Single transaction
- Basic - Thank You Email
If needed, you can also create your own custom templates entirely from scratch.
Considerations:
- If you're looking to modify the default email messages that get automatically sent with your Tax Receipts, check out how to Modify the Default Tax Receipt Emails instead.
- If you're looking to send a Bulk Email (DMS Mail), you can modify your Bulk Email Templates instead.
Managing a Message Template
1. Visit your administrative Settings.
2. Under Communications, select Message Templates
Settings > Message Templates
3. Next, you will see a list of all of your current Templates.
4. You can then Edit, Disable or Delete each Message Template on the list
Edit, Disable and Delete a Message Template
Recommended Modifications to your Pre-Built Templates
Message Templates can be used for Single Emails and Thanking your Donor. In order to prepare your Thank you Template to be sent, there are some changes that should be made.
1. Fill in the highlighted sections below with your charity information. Alternatively, you can fill in your Organization information in your administrative Settings to allow these merge fields to autofill correctly.
Add the highlighted information to prepare your preset thank you email
2. Add links to your social media platforms. By default, Facebook, Twitter, and website icons are displayed on the email template. If undesired, you can delete these icons instead.
Select each icon to add a link
3. Select the Add Link button in the editing panel:
Add Link
4. Add each link to the URL box, and select https:// from the Protocol dropdown menu and Select OK.
Add URL
Tip: You can also use the below Rich Text options to enhance your Template text.
Bold
Italize
Underline
Strikethrough
Subscript/Superscript
Remove all formatting
- Numbered list
- Bulleted list
Increase or Decrease Indent
Insert Block Quote
Add Image
Add Table
Insert Horizontal Line
Pick Font Style and Font Size
Adding Images to your Message Templates
When creating/editing your Message Templates, you may also want to include relevant graphics throughout the template, such as a header image across the top, or an image that appears in line with your text.
1. Visit your administrative Settings.
2. Under Communications, select Message Templates
Settings > Message Templates
3. Select Edit on the pre-built Message Template of your choosing (or select Add Message Template if creating a template from scratch; see below for more details).
Edit the Basic - Thank You Email
4. Click into your Template and select the Add Image icon.
Insert image
5. If you've previously uploaded your desired image to your DMS gallery, select Browse Server to select it. Otherwise, select the Upload tab to upload it to your server first.
Select your desired image
6. Once selected, you can resize, align, and space your image within your text as needed:
Tip: You can select the padlock icon to lock/unlock the aspect ratio. When locked, changing either height or width will automatically adjust the other value. When unlocked, changing only one value won't affect the other (e.g., make an image wider without adjusting the height).
Resize, align, and space your image as needed. You can select OK to see a larger preview of your changes.
7. When you're satisfied with your image/s, you can select Save or Save and Done to save your Message Template.
Save your Message Template.
Cloning an Existing Template
You can build multiple Message Templates based off of the pre-built Templates that come with your DMS. The following example uses the pre-built Basic - Thank You Template.
1. Visit your administrative Settings.
2. Under Communications, select Message Templates
Settings > Message Templates
3. Select Edit on the pre-built Message Template of your choosing
Edit the Basic - Thank You Email
4. Click into the text editing box of the Template. Highlight the entire Template (or select CTRL + A/COMMAND + A on your keyboard) to select all, and then right click to Copy the Template (or select CTRL + C/COMMAND + C).
Copy the existing Message Template
5. Once copied, exit out of this Template by selecting Save or Cancel. Then, back on the User-Driven Messages page, select Add Message Template.
Add Message Template
6. Paste the copied Template into the text editor of the new Message by selecting CTRL + V/COMMAND + V on your keyboard or by right clicking and selecting Paste.
Paste the copied message into the New Template
8. Make your desired modifications to this new Template and select Save when done.
Creating a Message Template from Scratch
Creating a Message Template from scratch is recommended when drafting a letter for printing, or if you have the HTML code of a previously-built email message.
---> Learn more about drafting a thank-you letter for printing.
1. Visit your administrative Settings.
2. Under Communications, select Message Templates
Settings > Message Templates
3. Next, you will see a list of all of your current Templates. Select Add Message Template
Select Add Message Template
4. On the next page, add all the necessary information, including:
- Message Title: internal name to help you manage your Templates. This name won’t show up to Contacts.
- Source: select Compose-On-screen
- Message Subject: Subject title, if sending this Template via email, that will appear to your Contacts.
- Merge Fields: cycle through a list of merge fields to help you when sending emails / merging letters (e.g. “Hi contact.first.name“) on Message Subject, HMTL Format & Plain-Text Format. Merge Fields are not available within the Email Message subject when Thanking Your Donor at this time
- HTML Format: craft your Template using rich-text + HTML by selecting Source.
- Plain-Text Format: craft your Template using basic text formatting.
- PDF Page Format: leave default selected for better PDF merge.
- Enabled?: leave this checked to enable this Template in the DMS.
Use the following Rich Text options to enhance your Letter or Email:
Bold
Italize
Underline
Strikethrough
Subscript/Superscript
Remove all formatting
- Numbered list
- Bulleted list
Increase or Decrease Indent
Insert Block Quote
Add Image
Add Table
Insert Horizontal Line
Pick Font Style and Font Size
5. Craft your Template in the HTML Format box. We also recommend adding the same content from the HTML Format box to the Plain-Text Format one so your emails can be read on every email provider from your donor/Contacts.
Select Source to copy and paste an existing Template from a third party
6. When ready, select Save to finish and stay on the same page or Save And Done to finish and be directed to your Templates List.
What's Next?
Once you've created/edited your custom Message Template, learn to generate a thank-you letter for printing through the Say Thanks Action:
Example Thank You Letter generated for printing