Documentation
What Fundolar is
Fundolar is a WordPress-first donations stack and a strong GiveWP alternative when gateway access is your bottleneck: the public-facing plugin renders campaigns and checkout paths your donors interact with, while Fundolar Central handles organization identity, gateway credentials at scale, reconciliation, and multi-site orchestration when you choose that model. This separation keeps WordPress native for content teams and concentrates financial plumbing where operations expect it.
Requirements
- A supported WordPress release compatible with Fundolar (minimum versions are stated in readme.txt).
- PHP version meeting the minimum stated in readme.txt (upgrade early; hosting stacks lagging on PHP are the most common source of silent failures).
- TLS (HTTPS) on production domains — required for trustworthy checkout surfaces and modern browser APIs.
- An active Fundolar Central account when using Central-backed features (site keys, consolidated reporting, portfolio controls).
Installation
- Download fundolar.zip, then in wp-admin open Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin, choose the file, install, and activate.
- Open the Fundolar settings screen and complete the onboarding checklist (timezone, currency defaults, and receipt copy where applicable).
- When directed, paste your site key from Fundolar Central and verify the connection status indicator shows success.
- Create or map your first campaign, publish a test contribution in sandbox or low-value mode if your processor supports it, then switch to live credentials through Central.
For updates before the plugin lists on WordPress.org, download a fresh ZIP from fundolar.com/plugin/fundolar.zip and replace the plugin via Upload Plugin or your deployment pipeline.
Connecting Fundolar Central
Central is optional for evaluating the plugin in isolation, but production organizations typically attach each WordPress property with a unique site key so payouts, processor relationships, and audit trails stay unified. After connecting:
- Gateway configuration edits made in Central propagate according to your permission model — document who may change live processors.
- Reporting rolls up by site and organization; finance reviewers should bookmark Central dashboards rather than reconstructing totals from WordPress alone.
- Disconnecting or rotating keys should be treated as a controlled change: schedule a maintenance window if donors might be mid-checkout.
Publishing campaigns
Use the Fundolar block editor components where available, or shortcodes where your theme requires classic markup. Typical patterns include a dedicated campaign landing page, embedded appeals inside posts, and header or footer calls-to-action that reuse the same campaign identifier so attribution stays consistent.
Example shortcode shape (final attributes ship with the plugin readme):
[fundolar_campaign id="YOUR_CAMPAIGN_ID"]Replace placeholders with values from your wp-admin campaign list or Central-synchronized catalog. Always preview anonymous and logged-in donor paths before publishing breaking layout changes.
Receipts and donor communications
Configure receipt templates and legal footers to match counsel-approved language for your jurisdiction. Fundolar should reinforce your organization’s voice — not replace counsel review of charitable solicitation disclosure requirements.
Reporting and exports
Routine reconciliation belongs in Central: export ledger-aligned summaries for your accounting package on the schedule your finance team defines (weekly close, grant reporting windows, audit sampling). WordPress retains operational metadata useful to editors; treat it as supplementary to Central for monetary truth.
Troubleshooting
- Connection failures: Confirm DNS, firewall egress to Central endpoints, clock skew on the server, and that the site key matches the environment (staging vs production).
- Webhook or IPN gaps: Ensure hosting does not strip Authorization headers or throttle callback URLs during traffic spikes.
- Theme conflicts: Test with a default theme and minimal plugin set to isolate aggressive CSS or JavaScript optimization plugins.
Getting help
Use the contact section on the main site for commercial or partnership inquiries. For security-sensitive issues, prefer a dedicated security channel if published on the Developers page.