Triggers let you automate what happens in Donorfy when certain events occur – for example, when a new constituent is added, a transaction is created, or an RPI is updated.
A trigger can send emails, create documents, enrol supporters into journeys, call external APIs, and more, based on rules you define.
1. What Is a Trigger?
A Trigger is an automation that runs when something happens in Donorfy.
Each trigger is made up of:
Trigger Type: the Donorfy event that starts it (for example, Transaction Added, RPI Updated).
Condition (optional): a filter, based on a List, that controls when the trigger should actually run (for example, “Amount ≥ £500” or “Campaign = Spring Appeal”).
One or more Actions: what happens when the trigger runs (for example, “send an email to a user”, “enrol in a Mailchimp Journey”, “send an HTTP POST to another system”).
You can also add a delay so the actions run some time after the event, for example 30 days after a new RPI is added.
2. Availability by Plan
Triggers are available on these plans:
Essentials and Starter – up to 3 triggers.
Professional and Enterprise – unlimited triggers.
3. Trigger Types and Conditions
A Trigger Type defines when a trigger fires. Conditions then refine which records actually cause the actions to run.
3.1 Trigger Types
The available Trigger Types are:
Constituent Added.
Constituent Updated.
Constituent Deleted.
Activity Added.
Activity Updated.
Activity Deleted.
Transaction Added.
Transaction Updated.
Transaction Deleted.
RPI Added (Recurring Payment Instruction).
RPI Updated.
RPI Deleted.
Pledge Added.
Pledge Updated.
Pledge Deleted.
Scheduled – runs on a timetable you define (Daily, Hourly, or every x minutes).
Manual – only runs when a user clicks a button under Data Management, Triggers.
For most trigger types (except Scheduled and Manual) the trigger fires automatically whenever the relevant event occurs, and then checks the condition (if one is set).
Conditions (List Filters)
Conditions are based on filters in Donorfy Lists. The trigger runs its Actions only when:
The Trigger Type event happens (for example, Transaction Added), and
The record matches the filters in the List you have selected as the condition.
Which List types you can use depends on the Trigger Type:
Trigger Type | List Types for Conditions | Notes |
Constituent Added / Updated / Deleted | Constituent | Runs automatically when a constituent is created/updated/deleted. |
Activity Added / Updated / Deleted | Constituent and Activity | Filters can use both constituent and activity criteria. |
Transaction Added / Updated / Deleted | Constituent and All Transactions | Use All Transactions (not Transaction Payment/Allocation Lists). |
RPI Added / Updated / Deleted | Constituent and Recurring Payment Instruction | Filter by constituent and/or RPI fields. |
Pledge Added / Updated / Deleted | Constituent and Pledge | Filter by pledge and constituent details. |
Scheduled | Not applicable | Runs on a schedule (Daily, Hourly, or every x minutes). |
Manual | Not applicable | Runs when a user manually starts it under Data Management, Triggers. |
Adding a Delay
You can optionally add a delay to your trigger so that actions run some time after the event. For example:
Delay the trigger by 30 days after an RPI is added to send a follow-up email.
Delay the trigger by 1 day after a transaction is added to send a thank you.
The delay is applied after the Trigger Type event happens and the condition (List filter) is met.
4. Trigger Actions
Actions define what the trigger does when it runs. You can add one or more Actions to each trigger and order them as needed.
⚠️Important: Not all Actions are available for every Trigger Type. When you configure a trigger, Donorfy only offers Actions that are valid for that trigger type.
Email User:
Sends an email to one or more Donorfy users.
You compose the email subject and body when you set up the Action.
You can use merge placeholders to include data from the trigger (for example, constituent name, transaction amount).
Emails are sent via your Email Server Settings (Settings > Configuration > Email Server Settings).
Use this to alert internal team members, for example: “A donation over £500 has been received”.
Email Constituent:
Sends an email directly to the constituent that is the subject of the trigger.
You compose the email subject and body in the Action and can use merge placeholders.
Emails are sent via your Email Server Settings.
Use this for automated acknowledgements, follow-ups or reminders.
Create a Word Document:
Creates a mail merge Word document for the constituent.
You upload a Word template, then map Donorfy fields to merge fields in the document.
When the trigger runs, a merged document is generated for each qualifying constituent.
You can optionally set the Acknowledged On Date to today for transactions that are being thanked in this way.
Generated documents are available under Data Management > Documents to print.
Use this for printed thank-you letters, event confirmations, volunteer forms, and similar documents.
Mark Acknowledgement as Thanked
Sets the Acknowledged On Date to today for the relevant transactions.
Use this when you are acknowledging gifts via a trigger (for example, via a Word document or external email system) and want to mark them as thanked in Donorfy.
Initiate Mailchimp Automation
⚠️Important:
Mailchimp are sunsetting Classic Automations. This option is only available to Mailchimp accounts that already have Classic Automations enabled.
Starts a Mailchimp automation for the constituent linked to the trigger event.
Optionally, you can select a Purpose so that the trigger checks whether the constituent has allowed communication through that Purpose before running the Action.
Only the constituent’s email address and name are sent to Mailchimp at the time of the trigger.
Tags and Purposes mapped in your Mailchimp settings are sent when you perform a Donorfy → Mailchimp sync from your List.
Use this for legacy Classic Automation flows in Mailchimp.
Initiate Mailchimp Journey
Starts a Mailchimp Journey for the constituent linked to the trigger event.
The constituent must already exist in the relevant Mailchimp Audience for this to work.
A common approach is:
Delay the trigger send, and
Ensure a daily sync to Mailchimp of all new constituents.
Use this to enrol supporters into Mailchimp Journeys based on actions in Donorfy.
Dotdigital Program Enrolment
Enrols a constituent into a dotdigital program (supporter journey) via a trigger.
Use this to move supporters into automated journeys in dotdigital when Donorfy events occur.
(See the separate article: Enrolling a contact in a dotdigital program for full setup details.)
Email Constituent Using Dotdigital
Sends a transactional (one-off) email to the constituent via dotdigital.
Common uses include:
Acknowledging form submissions.
Acknowledging donations.
HTTP Post
⚠️Important:
This action requires good knowledge of APIs and coding. It is usually something for a web developer or technical partner.
Sends an HTTP POST request to another service’s API.
You can define:
The URL endpoint.
Optional custom headers (not encrypted; free text only).
The payload (body) that will be sent.
The payload structure depends on the Trigger Type. A standard example for a Constituent Added event might look like:
{ "TriggerType": 6, "EntityType": "Constituent", "EntityId": "632c9e6f-bded-ea11-b5d9-501ac580925b", "EntityNumber": 583, "Timestamp": "2020-09-03T08:15:31.5659533+00:00" }Use this to integrate Donorfy with other systems (webhooks, CRMs, custom apps, etc.).
Execute Stored Procedure
⚠️Important:
Available only to customers with the Own Azure option.
Runs a stored procedure on your Microsoft Azure SQL database.
For example, you might run
[dbo].[sp_whoisactive]or another custom stored procedure.The name of the stored procedure:
Must be entered exactly, with no leading or trailing spaces.
If spaces are present, the action will fail with an error such as:
Could not find stored procedure ''.
Use this when you want Donorfy events to trigger SQL processes in your own Azure database.
5. Action Availability by Trigger Type
Not every action is available for every Trigger Type. In general:
“Added” triggers (Constituent Added, Activity Added, Transaction Added, RPI Added, Pledge Added):
Support email actions, document creation, marketing integration (Mailchimp/dotdigital), HTTP Post and Execute Stored Procedure.
Mark Acknowledgement as Thanked is specifically for Transaction Added triggers.
“Updated” and “Deleted” triggers (for constituents, activities, transactions, RPIs, pledges):
Are typically used for more technical workflows, often using HTTP Post or Execute Stored Procedure to notify or sync to other systems.
Email/marketing actions are not generally available for these trigger types.
Scheduled and Manual triggers:
Do not support emails or document creation directly.
Are intended for more advanced/system-level automation using HTTP Post and Execute Stored Procedure actions.
When you build a trigger, Donorfy will only show the Actions that are valid for the chosen Trigger Type.
6. Action Order and “Only Run If All Previous Actions Succeed”
You can add multiple Actions to a trigger and arrange them in the order they should run.
For each Action, you can choose:
Only run if all previous actions are successful
If ticked (Yes):
This Action will only run if every Action above it in the list finished successfully.
If any previous Action fails or errors, this Action will be skipped.
If not ticked (No):
This Action will run even if a previous Action failed.
Use this option when you need later steps to depend on earlier ones (for example, only send an HTTP POST if the Word document was created successfully).
7. Summary
A Trigger = an automation made from a Trigger Type, optional Condition (List filters), and one or more Actions.
Triggers can run immediately, after a delay, on a schedule, or manually.
They can:
Notify users.
Communicate with constituents.
Generate documents.
Enrol people into marketing journeys.
Call external APIs.
Run stored procedures in your Azure database.
By combining trigger types, conditions, delays, and actions, you can build powerful, automated workflows around your donor, transaction, RPI, pledge, and activity data.