When you choose New Form, the What is this form for? page offers nine starting points. Each decides what the new form starts by asking and where the answers go. Everything it sets can be changed afterwards. Each card lists what the form will record. Choose one, then Continue with to create the form as a draft.
You need engage:write:forms to create a form.
What each starting point sets up
| Starting point | Named | Questions added | Gift | Permission |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blank form | New form | None | None | None |
| Recruit regular givers | Regular giving | Their name, Email address, Where they live, a gift, a permission tick box | Every month; suggested £5, £10, £20; Card and Direct Debit; Gift Aid offered | Email and Mail channels |
| Take donations | Donations | Their name, Email address, a gift | Once; suggested £10, £25, £50; Card; Gift Aid offered | None |
| Sign up volunteers | Volunteer sign-up | Their name, Email address, Phone number, a message | None | None |
| Take event bookings | Event booking | Their name, Email address, a message | None | None |
| Newsletter sign-ups | Newsletter sign-up | Their name, Email address, a permission tick box | None | Email channel |
| Membership sign-up | Membership | Their name, Email address, Where they live, a gift | A fixed £30 every year; Card | None |
| Contact us / enquiry | Enquiry | Their name, Email address, a message | None | None |
| Update supporter details | Update your details | Their name, Email address, Where they live, a permission tick box | None | Email and Mail channels |
Rename the form by selecting its name at the top of the builder.
What to finish before publishing
Some starting points can’t be published as they come, deliberately, because they need choices only you can make:
- Permission requests have channels but no purposes, because purposes are your organisation’s own. Choose them in Permission; see Ask for permission to contact supporters.
- Take donations offers Gift Aid but doesn’t ask for an address. Add Where they live, or untick Offer Gift Aid.
- Recruit regular givers offers Direct Debit, which needs GoCardless connected. Connect it, or choose Card only for now.
- Every form with a gift needs Stripe able to take charges; see Take card and Direct Debit payments on a form.
Publish checks lists everything that stops a form going live.
What starting points don’t do
The names describe the purpose, not extra behaviour:
- Take event bookings doesn’t create a booking in Events.
- Membership sign-up takes a payment but doesn’t create a membership in Memberships.
- Update supporter details matches the supporter by the email address they enter. Remember that an unticked permission box records no.
Check After submission → What gets recorded for what a form will actually create; see Choose what happens after someone submits.