Understanding the Dunning Flow

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What is dunning?

Dunning is the process WeGive uses to notify donors when a recurring (scheduled) donation payment fails. When a card is declined or a bank payment doesn’t clear, WeGive can automatically send a series of emails asking the donor to update their payment information so their gift can continue. Important: WeGive does not make extra retry charges during dunning. The dunning flow sends the Recurring Installment Failed messages (if they are enabled). The only charge that happens during dunning is the plan’s next regular scheduled installment. If the gift still can’t be collected, the plan is paused automatically — whether or not any of the four messages below are turned on. Important: the four dunning messages are not created for you automatically. Turning on the Dunning Flow setting only makes the recurring_installment_failed_1 through _4 trigger events fire — it does not create, customize, or enable any email for your organization. Each of the four messages must be manually created and enabled in your Triggers settings before donors receive anything. If you turn on Dunning Flow and skip this step, the plan will still eventually pause after a failed installment — donors just won’t be told why. This article explains how the dunning flow works, what your donors experience, what you’ll see in Dashboard v2, and how to manage a plan that’s in dunning.

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When does dunning start?

Dunning begins when a scheduled recurring donation’s installment fails to charge. A failure can happen for several reasons, including:

• An expired or canceled card
• Insufficient funds
• A temporary decline from the donor’s bank
• A bank/ACH payment that is returned after initially being accepted

When this happens, the plan enters dunning and WeGive begins sending the Recurring Installment Failed messages. Dunning only runs if it’s enabled for your organization (see Enabling or disabling dunning below).

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The message sequence

Once an installment fails, WeGive sends up to four automated messages to the donor. No charge is attempted between these messages. The sequence ends early if:

• The donor (or your team) updates the payment method on the plan.
• The next regular installment succeeds or is still processing (for example, a bank/ACH payment that hasn’t cleared yet).

If no one intervenes and the next regular installment also fails, the plan is paused indefinitely and no further charges are made until it’s resumed. Note on bank/ACH payments: Because bank transfers can take several days to clear, a payment that is still pending or processing will not cause the plan to pause.

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What your donors experience

Each message notifies the donor that their recurring gift didn’t go through and prompts them to update their payment information. The messages escalate across the sequence, and the final notice lets the donor know their recurring gift has been paused. You can set up, customize, and enable each of these messages in your Triggers settings (search “recurring” to find all four). If a message is not enabled, it will not be sent.

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Donor self-rescue

The best way out of dunning is for the donor to update their payment method on the plan in the donor portal. When a donor adds or updates a card (or bank account) on the plan:

• The dunning message sequence stops.
• WeGive attempts a fresh charge on the new payment method.

Because WeGive does not make extra retry charges on the original payment method, the dunning emails are the main tool for getting the gift back on track before the plan pauses. Reactivating a plan sends no notification of its own. Neither updating the payment method (self-rescue or manual) nor resuming a paused plan fires any email or engagement event by itself — the only messages a donor ever receives are the four Recurring Installment Failed notices. If you or a donor fix a plan, nothing tells them “you’re all set” unless you build that separately (e.g. a confirmation on the next successful charge).

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Viewing dunning status in Dashboard v2

You can see a recurring plan’s current state on its detail page in Dashboard v2. Each plan shows a status label:

• Active — the plan is healthy and charging on schedule.
• In Arrears — a payment has failed and the plan is currently in dunning.
• Paused — the plan is paused, either manually or automatically at the end of the dunning sequence.
• Ending Soon — the plan has an end date within the next month.
• Ended — the plan has reached its scheduled end date.
• Canceled — the plan was canceled.
• Missing — the plan has no payment method on file.

A plan showing In Arrears is the one to watch — it means a payment has failed and the donor is being notified (if your messages are enabled).

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Managing a plan in dunning

From a recurring plan’s detail page in Dashboard v2, you can take the following actions:

• Update the payment method — if a donor gives you new card or bank details directly, you can update the plan. As with the donor portal, this stops the dunning sequence and triggers a fresh charge.
• Exit dunning — removes the plan from the dunning sequence so no further failed-payment messages are sent and the plan will not be paused automatically. Use this when the donor has asked you to stop, or you’re handling the situation manually.
• Pause the plan — temporarily stop charges and choose when they resume.
• Resume a plan — restart a paused plan (including one paused automatically after dunning), choosing the next installment date.

Exiting dunning does not charge the plan or fix the underlying payment problem. To recover the gift, the payment method still needs to be updated.

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Enabling or disabling dunning

Dunning is controlled by an organization-level setting. To turn it on:

1. Go to Settings → Organization.
2. Scroll to the Processing Preferences section.
3. Toggle Dunning Flow on.

This alone does nothing donors will notice. Toggling Dunning Flow only enables the four recurring_installment_failed trigger events to fire on schedule — it does not create or turn on any email. You must separately create and enable each of the four messages, Recurring Installment Failed #1 through #4, in your Triggers settings (search “recurring” to find all four). Until all four exist and are enabled, a failed installment will still eventually pause the plan, but no donor will ever be told why.

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Example email language

Below is suggested copy for each of the four dunning messages. Treat these as starting points — edit them to match your organization’s voice in your Triggers settings. Replace the bracketed placeholders with your own merge fields (donor name, amount, payment-update link, etc.).

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Recurring Installment Failed #1 (first notice)

Subject: Action needed: your recurring gift didn’t go through Hi [Donor First Name], We tried to process your recurring gift of [Amount] to [Organization Name] today, but the payment didn’t go through. This often happens when a card has expired or been replaced. Please update your payment details here so your gift can continue: [Update Payment Method] Thank you for your continued generosity! The team at [Organization Name]

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Recurring Installment Failed #2 (reminder)

Subject: Your recurring gift still needs attention Hi [Donor First Name], Your recurring gift of [Amount] to [Organization Name] still hasn’t gone through. To keep your support going, please take a moment to update your payment details: [Update Payment Method] Thanks so much for sticking with us! The team at [Organization Name]

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Recurring Installment Failed #3 (second reminder)

Subject: Please update your payment details to keep your gift active Hi [Donor First Name], We still haven’t been able to process your recurring gift of [Amount] to [Organization Name]. Your support means a great deal to us, and we’d hate to see it lapse. Please update your payment information before your next scheduled gift so it isn’t paused: [Update Payment Method] Thank you for your generosity! The team at [Organization Name]

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Recurring Installment Failed #4 (plan paused)

Subject: Your recurring gift has been paused Hi [Donor First Name], Unfortunately, we were unable to process your recurring gift of [Amount] to [Organization Name], so your recurring donation has been paused. If you’d like to continue supporting us, you can update your payment details and restart your gift here: [Update Payment Method] Thank you for everything you’ve done for [Organization Name]. We’d love to have you back whenever you’re ready. The team at [Organization Name]

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Troubleshooting & FAQs

A plan says “In Arrears.” What should I do? Make sure your Recurring Installment Failed messages are enabled so the donor is notified. The fix is for the donor to update their payment method. If the donor reaches out to you directly, you can update the payment method on the plan yourself. Will WeGive try the card again automatically? Not between messages. WeGive does not make extra retry charges during dunning. The plan’s next regular scheduled installment is still charged on its normal date, and a new charge is also attempted when the payment method on the plan is updated. Will the plan be paused if nobody does anything? Yes. If the payment method isn’t updated and the next regular installment also fails, the plan is paused automatically and Recurring Installment Failed #4 is sent. A donor updated their card but the plan still shows a problem. Allow a little time for the fresh charge to process (bank payments in particular can take a few days). If the status doesn’t return to Active after the next attempt, confirm the new payment method is saved on the correct plan. The plan was paused after dunning. How do I get it going again? Once the donor’s payment method is fixed, resume the plan from its detail page and set the next installment date. Why didn’t a donor get any failed payment emails? Check that the Dunning Flow setting is on (Settings → Organization → Processing Preferences) and that the Recurring Installment Failed #1 through #4 messages are enabled in your Triggers settings. Can I change the wording of the donor emails? Yes. The four messages (Recurring Installment Failed #1 through #4) are managed in your Triggers settings, where you can edit their content. Do I have to set up the four messages myself, or does WeGive do it for me? You have to set them up yourself. Turning on Dunning Flow only enables the underlying trigger events — it doesn’t create, customize, or turn on any of the four Recurring Installment Failed messages. Until you create and enable all four in Triggers, dunning still runs silently in the background (the plan still eventually pauses on schedule) but no donor is ever notified. Does the plan pause even if I never set up the messages? Yes. Pausing is driven by the retry/charge timeline, not by whether any message is enabled. An org that turns on Dunning Flow but never configures the four messages will still see plans auto-pause after a failed installment — donors just won’t know why. Does reactivating a plan (or fixing the payment method) send the donor any confirmation? No. Neither a payment-method update nor resuming a paused plan fires any built-in notification. The only donor-facing messages in this flow are the four Recurring Installment Failed notices; there’s no equivalent “you’re all set” message unless you build one separately.