Understanding the Dunning Flow

What is dunning?

Dunning is the automatic process WeGive uses to recover a recurring (scheduled) donation when a payment fails. Instead of the plan stopping the first time a card is declined or a bank payment doesn't clear, WeGive automatically retries the charge several times over the following days and emails the donor at each step asking them to fix the problem. This helps you keep recurring revenue that would otherwise be lost to expired cards, temporary declines, and insufficient funds.

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.

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 starts the automatic retry sequence. Dunning only runs if it's enabled for your organization (see Enabling or disabling dunning below). If dunning is turned off, a failed installment will not be retried automatically.

The retry schedule

Once an installment fails, WeGive attempts the charge a total of four times — the original installment plus three automatic retries:

If the final retry also fails, the plan is paused automatically and no further attempts are made. At that point the donor would need to start a new recurring plan or have their existing plan resumed manually once their payment method is fixed.

A successful charge at any point ends the dunning sequence immediately and the plan returns to normal.

Note on bank/ACH payments: Because bank transfers can take several days to clear, WeGive will not start a new retry while a payment is still pending or processing. The schedule above describes card behavior; bank payments may take slightly longer between steps while a payment clears.

What your donors experience

Each failed attempt fires one of four automated trigger messages that notify the donor their recurring gift didn't go through and prompt them to update their payment information:

• Recurring Installment Failed #1 — sent when the original installment fails

• Recurring Installment Failed #2 — sent after the first retry fails

• Recurring Installment Failed #3 — sent after the second retry fails

• Recurring Installment Failed #4 — sent after the final retry fails (the plan then pauses)

The messages escalate across the sequence so the final notice makes clear the plan is at risk of being paused. You can set up and customize the content of each of these messages in your Triggers settings (search "recurring" to find all four).

Donor self-rescue

The fastest 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 old, failing retry sequence stops.

• WeGive attempts a fresh charge on the new payment method.

This means you generally don't need to take any action yourself — the dunning emails are designed to drive the donor to self-correct.

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 the dunning retry sequence.

• Paused — the plan is paused, either manually or automatically after the final retry failed.

• 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 dunning is actively in progress and the donor has been notified.

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 them on the plan. As with the donor portal, this stops the stale retry chain and triggers a fresh charge.

• Exit dunning — this removes the plan from the automatic retry sequence and clears its next scheduled retry. Use this when you want to stop the automatic retries (for example, the donor has asked 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 plan that was paused (including one paused automatically after dunning), choosing the next installment date.

Exiting dunning only stops the automatic retries — it does not charge the donor or fix the underlying payment problem. To actually recover the gift, the payment method still needs to be updated.

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 ("Automatically retry failed recurring payments") on.

When this setting is enabled, failed recurring installments will go through the retry sequence described above. When it's disabled, a failed installment will not be retried automatically. Ensure the triggered messaged, Recurring Installments Failed #1-4, are also customized and enabled.

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.).

Recurring Installment Failed #1 (first failure)

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.

You can update your payment details here: [Update Payment Method]

We'll automatically try again in a couple of days, so there's nothing else you need to do once your information is up to date. Thank you for your continued generosity!

— The team at [Organization Name]

Recurring Installment Failed #2 (after first retry)

Subject: We still couldn't process your recurring gift

Hi [Donor First Name],

We tried again to process your recurring gift of [Amount] to [Organization Name], but it still didn't go through. To keep your support going, please take a moment to update your payment details:

[Update Payment Method]

Once updated, we'll take care of the rest. Thanks so much for sticking with us!

— The team at [Organization Name]

Recurring Installment Failed #3 (after second retry)

Subject: Please update your payment details to keep your gift active

Hi [Donor First Name],

We've now tried a few times to process your recurring gift of [Amount] to [Organization Name] without success. Your support means a great deal to us, and we'd hate to see it lapse.

Please update your payment information as soon as you can so we can keep your gift going:

[Update Payment Method]

We'll make one more attempt shortly. Thank you for your generosity!

— The team at [Organization Name]

Recurring Installment Failed #4 (final attempt — 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] after several attempts, 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]

Troubleshooting & FAQs

A plan says "In Arrears" — what should I do?
Usually nothing. The donor is being emailed automatically and the most common fix is for them to update their payment method. If the donor reaches out to you directly, you can update the payment method on the plan yourself.

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 retries failed. 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. Resuming restarts the normal charge schedule.

Why didn't a failed payment get retried at all?
The most likely reason is that the Dunning Flow setting is turned off for your organization (Settings → Organization → Processing Preferences). Failed installments are only retried automatically when dunning is enabled.

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.

How many times will WeGive try before giving up?
Four attempts total — the original installment plus three retries — spread over several days. After the final failed attempt, the plan is paused automatically.