These are the main CharityStack concepts nonprofit admins should understand before using the dashboard.
Your organization is the nonprofit account in CharityStack. Organization settings control branding, users, permissions, billing, compliance, integrations, portal links, and website embed code.
The dashboard is the admin workspace. It includes Home, Contacts, Forms, Elements, Payments, Subscriptions, Payouts, Settings, and Activity for exports, bulk actions, and notifications.
A form is a fundraising or event payment experience. In the dashboard, admins choose between a Fundraiser Form and an Event Form. Forms can be embedded on your website or shared as hosted pages.
An element is a website widget or shareable asset powered by CharityStack. Examples include embedded forms, fundraising bars, supporter lists, QR codes, fundraising flags, overlays, add-to-cart experiences, and prefilled links.
A payment is a completed or attempted transaction. Payments include Fundraiser Form payments and Event Form purchases. The Payments page is where admins review activity, filter records, export data, and investigate statuses.
Admins can also create a payment from the dashboard. CharityStack calls these Fundraising Payment and Event Payment flows.
A contact is a supporter record created from payment activity or staff-entered contact details. Contacts help admins understand giving history and relationship context.
A subscription is ongoing scheduled support from a contact. Subscription records show the contact, amount, frequency, status, and lifecycle details.
A payout is a transfer from processed funds to the organization's bank account. Payouts help finance teams reconcile what was collected with what arrived in the bank.
The portal is a self-service page where contacts can view payment history and manage Subscriptions, depending on the features enabled for the organization.
An integration connects CharityStack to another system, such as Zapier or Double the Donation.
