Recurring Gift Payment Recovery

New Prompt chain

Turn a portfolio-wide list of donors with a failed recurring gift payment into a clear next step for one of them: a summary of what happened, a supportive message ready to send, and a scheduled follow-up.

Start broad with your portfolio and the Recurring gift payment failing tag, which is applied automatically when a donor's most recent recurring gift transaction fails. A few things make it work well:

  • Open the specific donor's record before asking for the summary or the message. Chat for Blackbaud AI reasons from that donor's actual data, so the response is noticeably sharper with a record open than with just a name typed in.

  • The exact date a payment failed isn't always recorded. If the summary comes back vague on timing, ask a follow-up question focused on what is on file, like the date of the last successful payment.

Tip iconTip: Review the recurring gift and payment summary before drafting your message so you can reference specifics, like how long the donor has given or their preferred contact method, and the message reads as personal rather than automated.

Prompt

Show me donors in my portfolio with the Recurring gift payment failing tag.

Open and review the list. Decide which constituent you want to focus on.

For [NAME], summarize the recurring gift, failed payment timing, recent giving history, and communication preferences.

Once you understand the recurring gift and what led to the failed payment, turn that insight into outreach.

Draft a supportive payment-update message for [NAME] and create a follow-up action.

Now you're ready to reach out and keep the recurring gift on track.

Sample Response

Prompt 1

Prompt 2

David Alvarez has a $75 monthly recurring gift to the Annual Fund that has been active since 3/12/2022. His most recent payment attempt on 8/2/2026 failed due to an expired card. Before the failure, his giving was consistent, with a last successful payment of $75 on 10/2/2026 and lifetime giving of $2,625. He prefers to be contacted by email and has a solicit code of "Do not call."

Prompt 3

Subject: A quick update on your Annual Fund recurring gift

Dear Mr. David Alvarez,

I hope you are doing well. I’m reaching out with a quick, supportive update regarding your $75 monthly recurring gift to the Annual Fund, which has been active since 3/12/2022.

We noticed that the most recent payment attempt on 8/2/2026 was unsuccessful because the card on file has expired. Prior to that, your giving had been very consistent, and we’re truly grateful for the steady support you’ve provided.

Your last successful payment of $75 was processed on 10/2/2026, and your lifetime giving total is $2,625. Your continued commitment has made a meaningful difference, and we sincerely appreciate your support.

If you would like to update your payment information, please reply to this email and we’ll be glad to help.

Thank you again for your generosity and for being such an important part of this work.

Warm regards,