Track GiveWP affiliate donations and pay your affiliates a commission when a donor they referred gives through a GiveWP donation form. The commission follows the donation: it is approved when the donation is completed and rejected when the donation fails or is cancelled.
Use it to reward partners, ambassadors and supporters who bring new donors to your cause. The donor arrives through an affiliate referral link, then donates on any GiveWP form, and the donation amount becomes the base for the commission. Affiliates can also earn on recurring donations.
Before you start
- GiveWP is installed and active, with at least one donation form and a payment gateway.
- The GiveWP Tracking add-on is installed and active. See Pro Add-ons.
- Your affiliates have a rank with a commission rate. See Ranks.
How GiveWP affiliate donations become referrals #
- Donation
- $100
- Affiliate rank
- Standard, 20%
- Referral
- $20, Approved when the donation is completed
The commission is calculated on the donation amount in your GiveWP base currency, with the affiliate’s rank rate. The referral is created as soon as the donation is recorded, and its status follows the donation status.
Turn on the GiveWP affiliate integration #
Go to Ultimate Affiliate Pro›Integrations and find the GiveWP card in the Fundraising & Donations group.
Turns tracking for GiveWP donations on or off. The card shows Enabled while it is on.
Default: Off
Opens the GiveWP Tracking settings.
Review the GiveWP Tracking settings #
Click Configure on the card. GiveWP tracking uses your existing commission settings, so there is only one option to set here, below the introduction.
The source name of GiveWP referrals, shown in the Referrals list and in the affiliate’s Affiliate Portal. For example, change it to Donations.
Default: GiveWP
Click Save Changes.
Pay commissions on recurring donations #
Donors who give monthly or yearly with the GiveWP Recurring Donations add-on make subscription donations. For every subscription donation, including the first payment, Ultimate Affiliate Pro uses the Recurring Referrals rate of the affiliate’s rank when the Recurring Commissions module is on. When the module is off, or the rank has no Recurring Referrals rate, the normal rank rate applies.
- In Ultimate Affiliate Pro›Modules, turn on Recurring Commissions. See Recurring commissions.
- In Ultimate Affiliate Pro›Ranks, edit each rank and set the rate in the Recurring Referrals card.
- In GiveWP, let donors create an account when they donate, so each recurring donor has a WordPress user and stays linked to the affiliate for later payments.
Check the GiveWP referrals #
Go to Ultimate Affiliate Pro›Referrals. Each donation from a referred donor appears with the GiveWP source.
The Source Custom Name, GiveWP by default.
The commission calculated from the donation amount. The Description column shows the donation amount, for example Order Amount: 25.00USD.
Follows the GiveWP donation status.
- Completed: the referral is Approved.
- Pending: the referral is Pending.
- Failed, Cancelled or Revoked: the referral is Rejected.
Approve referrals manually
If you turn on Keep Referral Status as Pending in Ultimate Affiliate Pro›Settings›Admin Workflow, automatic approval is turned off, and you approve referrals yourself. Use Mark as Approved or Mark as Rejected in the list, or see Manage referrals.
Test it #
- Open a private browser window and visit your site through an affiliate link, for example
yourstore.com/?ref=emma.collins. - In the same window, open a GiveWP donation form and donate. Use the test mode of GiveWP.
- In Ultimate Affiliate Pro›Referrals, check that a referral with a Donation reference was created for the affiliate, with the right amount.
- In GiveWP, change the donation status to Cancelled and check that the referral changes to Rejected.
See Test your affiliate program for a full test routine. GiveWP itself is available on WordPress.org.
Frequently asked questions #
When does a GiveWP donation create a referral?
When GiveWP records a donation from a donor who arrived through an affiliate link. The referral is created once for each donation.
Is the commission approved automatically?
Yes. The referral is approved when the donation is completed, and failed, cancelled or revoked donations reject it. If Keep Referral Status as Pending is turned on in Settings, Admin Workflow, you approve referrals yourself.
Which amount is the commission based on?
The donation amount in your GiveWP base currency. One-time donations use the affiliate’s rank rate. Recurring (subscription) donations use the rank’s Recurring Referrals rate when the Recurring Commissions module is on, and the normal rank rate otherwise.
Do affiliates earn on recurring donations?
Yes. Every subscription donation creates a referral. With the Recurring Commissions module on, it uses the rank’s Recurring Referrals rate, and donors with a WordPress account stay linked to the affiliate for later payments.
Do I need WooCommerce?
No. GiveWP tracking works with GiveWP donations directly.
