Overview
If a supporter’s email address has changed, you can update it directly
on their individual record from the dashboard — there’s no need to
delete and recreate the record.
How to update the email
- Go to Supporters and open the individual’s profile.
- Open the profile for editing (either inline, where supported, or via
the edit dialog).
- Update the email field with the new address, then save.
A supporter record can hold up to three email addresses (commonly used
for personal, work, and alternate addresses), with one marked as the
preferred email — the one WeGive uses by default for
communications and merge tags. If the supporter has multiple emails on
file, make sure you’re editing the correct one, and update the
preferred-email setting too if the new address should become the
default going forward.
Email changes are saved along with the rest of the profile’s basic
fields (name, contact info, preferences) through the same save action —
you don’t need a separate step to apply an email update.
What happens with portal/login access
If the supporter has donor portal login access, their login is tied to
their donor record, not directly to a specific email address on that
record. Changing the email on the profile does not remove or break
existing portal access.
If you set a supporter’s email to an address that has never been used
for a WeGive portal login before, a login can be created for that new
address automatically as part of the update. If you don’t want the
supporter to receive portal access as a side effect of an email change,
confirm with the supporter (or check with your account team) before
assigning an email address that may trigger this.
Last modified on October 12, 2026