Gratora sends transactional emails automatically at key moments in the donation lifecycle. It also generates PDF receipts and attaches them to the appropriate emails.
Email settings
Configure your outgoing email identity in the Emails tab of Gratora settings.
- From name: The sender name donors see in their inbox.
- From email: The email address used as the sender.
- Reply-to: The address that receives replies from donors.
- BCC admin: Sends a blind copy of donor emails to your WordPress admin email address. Sign-in link emails are never blind-copied.
The sender identity applies to every email Gratora sends.
Email templates
Gratora sends seventeen transactional emails. Sixteen of them are listed in the Donor emails card in the Emails tab, where each has its own enabled toggle, subject line, and body.
| Template | Trigger |
|---|---|
| Donation receipt | Sent when a donation is paid |
| First donation welcome | Sent when a donor gives for the first time |
| Offline donation instructions | Sent when a donor chooses bank transfer |
| Pending donation | Sent when a payment is still processing |
| Donation refunded | Sent when a donation is refunded |
| Offline payment instructions | Sent when a payment that is not a donation is to be paid by bank transfer |
| Pending payment | Sent when a payment that is not a donation is still processing |
| Payment refunded | Sent when a payment that is not a donation is refunded |
| Recurring renewal | Sent for each successful renewal of a recurring donation |
| Recurring payment failed | Sent the first time a renewal is declined |
| Subscription canceled | Sent when a recurring donation is canceled |
| Recurring amount changed | Sent when someone at your organization changes the amount of a recurring donation |
| Recurring schedule changed | Sent when someone at your organization changes how often a recurring donation is taken |
| Recurring donation paused | Sent when someone at your organization pauses a recurring donation |
| Recurring donation restarted | Sent when someone at your organization restarts a paused recurring donation |
| Next donation skipped | Sent when someone at your organization skips one upcoming payment |
The seventeenth is the sign-in link email, sent when a donor asks for a link to their portal. It is not listed in the Donor emails card.
You can enable or disable each of the sixteen listed templates independently. Disabling a template prevents that email from being sent.
Merge tags
Personalize your email templates with merge tags. Gratora replaces each tag with the corresponding value when the email is sent.
Available merge tags:
{donor_name}: the donor’s full name{donor_first_name}: the donor’s first name{amount}: the formatted donation amount{campaign_title}: the name of the campaign{receipt_number}: the sequential receipt number{organisation_name}: your organization’s name{reference}: the donation reference code{download_url}: a link to download the receipt PDF{portal_url}: a link to the donor’s self-service portal{bank_details}: your bank details (used in offline instructions){instructions}: your offline payment instructions{old_amount}: the amount a recurring donation is changing from{frequency}: how often a recurring donation is taken{old_frequency}: the schedule a recurring donation is changing from{resumes_at}: the date a paused recurring donation restarts{next_payment_at}: the date of the next payment on a recurring donation
Insert these tags anywhere in your subject line or email body. Each template supports only some of them, and the editor lists the ones available for the template you are editing. A tag the template does not supply is not removed, so it reaches the donor as literal text.
Receipt settings
Configure the content and appearance of your PDF receipts in the Receipts tab.
- Header title: The title displayed at the top of the receipt.
- Intro paragraph: Introductory text that appears below the header.
- Signoff: Closing text at the bottom of the receipt body.
- Footer note: Small text displayed in the receipt footer.
- Logo: Your organization’s logo, displayed on the receipt.
- Show organization tax ID: Toggle to display the tax ID from your Organization settings on receipts.
- Show donor address: Toggle to display the donor’s address on receipts.
How PDF receipts work
Gratora generates PDF receipts automatically. Here is how the process works.
Automatic generation
When a donation is completed, Gratora queues an asynchronous job to generate the receipt. This keeps the donation confirmation fast for donors. The PDF is rendered in memory and is not kept on your server. The only copy written to disk is a temporary file for the email attachment, deleted as soon as the message goes out.
Sequential numbering
Each receipt receives a sequential number based on your Numbering settings. A typical receipt number looks like REC-2026-00001. You can configure the prefix, padding, year inclusion, yearly reset, and separator.
Receipt context
Each receipt pulls data from multiple sources: the donation record, donor details, your organization profile, the associated campaign, and any custom data. This ensures receipts contain all the information donors need for their records.
Resending receipts
Open the donation in Fundraising > Donations and use Resend receipt in the actions card. Download receipt PDF sits next to it. The receipt is regenerated on demand rather than retrieved from storage.