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Canadian CRA-compliant tax receipts and receipt emails print a donor’s name as “First M. Last” whenever that donor’s middle name is on file — the middle initial appears automatically once it’s set. If a donor’s receipt is currently showing just “First Last,” it’s because no middle name has been recorded for that donor yet.

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How to collect it

Middle name isn’t part of the standard checkout fields, so the most common way to collect it is a Custom Question mapped to the donor’s Middle Name field:
  1. Go to the Custom Question settings on your checkout or form and create a new question (for example, “Middle Name” or “Middle Initial”).
  2. Set Save To → Save answer to Supporter (so the answer is stored on the donor’s record, not just the transaction).
  3. Set Map Answers To → Middle Name.
  4. Save the question. Any donor who answers it from that point forward will have their middle name saved to their record automatically.
Once a donor’s middle name is on file, every Canadian tax receipt and receipt email generated for them afterward will include the middle initial — there’s nothing else to turn on.

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For donors who already gave

If a donor gave before this question existed, you can still add their middle name directly:
  • Edit the donor’s profile and fill in the Middle Name field, or
  • Include a middle_name column when importing/updating donor records via CSV.
Either way, the middle initial will appear the next time a receipt or receipt email is generated for that donor.

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Good to know

  • This only affects the Canadian receipt format. It has no equivalent effect on US year-end giving statements.
  • Make sure the question is mapped to Middle Name under Map Answers To (a field on the donor’s own record) — mapping it to a different kind of custom field instead won’t reach the receipt.
  • Tax Documents in WeGive — full overview of US and Canadian tax document settings.
  • Custom Fields — background on custom fields and how custom questions can save answers to them.