Most donation pages hide how many people are already giving. That silence makes new visitors feel isolated and less likely to donate. A donor leaderboard fixes that by showing visible social proof: people see others giving and are more likely to join in.
Why add a donor leaderboard
– Turns individual gifts into a community experience and boosts engagement.
– Publicly recognizes top supporters, increasing loyalty and pride.
– Creates friendly competition that can raise gift sizes and recurring donations.
– Increases transparency and trust by showing real, active support.
What I’ll cover
1) Install and activate Charitable (Pro)
2) Create a campaign and add a leaderboard
3) Embed the campaign on your site
4) Show a site-wide leaderboard (block or shortcode)
5) Bonus: build a donor portal
6) FAQs and next steps
Step 1 — Install and activate Charitable (Pro)
I used Charitable (WP Charitable). The free plugin works for basic donation features, but the Donor Leaderboard is a Pro feature.
– Sign up on the Charitable site, choose a plan, and download the plugin zip and license key.
– In WordPress go to Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin, pick the zip file, install and activate.
– Enter your license key at Charitable → Settings and click Verify Key to unlock Pro features.
Step 2 — Create a campaign and add the leaderboard
With Charitable Pro active, create a campaign and place the leaderboard where it will get noticed.
– Go to Charitable → Campaigns → Create Campaign.
– Name the campaign (for example: Annual Scholarship Fund) and pick a template.
– In the campaign builder, add the Leaderboard field into your layout. Top or sidebar placements work well.
– Configure the leaderboard options:
– View Type: List or Card.
– Number of donors and pagination.
– Order By: total donations, most recent, or name; choose DESC for top donors first.
– Title and subtitle settings for top contributors and all contributors.
– Display options: show or hide avatar, donation amount, donation count, last donation date, campaign name, supporter level, and width.
– Test the options, then publish the campaign. The leaderboard will populate as donations come in.
Step 3 — Embed the campaign on your site
Charitable includes an embed wizard and a block for placing campaigns quickly.
– Open your campaign and click Embed.
– Add the campaign to an existing page or create a new page via the wizard. This opens the block editor.
– Insert a Charitable Campaign block, choose your campaign from the dropdown, and preview the page. The leaderboard appears inside the campaign block.
– Save or Publish. Note: new campaigns may not show donors until your first donations are processed; the leaderboard updates automatically.
Alternative — A donor leaderboard for all campaigns
If you run multiple campaigns, a site-wide leaderboard recognizes donors across efforts. Charitable supports both a block and a shortcode.
Option 1 — Block editor
– Edit the page where you want the leaderboard and add the Donor Leaderboard block.
– Set View to List/Table or Card.
– Choose Campaign: All Campaigns, Current Campaign, or a specific campaign.
– Adjust Number of Donors, enable pagination, and set Display Options (avatar, amount, donation count, last campaign, supporter level).
– Customize title, icons, and colors, then Publish.
Option 2 — Shortcode
Shortcodes are great for sidebars, widgets, or page-builder sections.
– Add a Shortcode block or a Shortcode widget where you want the leaderboard.
– Basic shortcode: [charitable_donor_leaderboard]
– With parameters: [charitable_donor_leaderboard view=’card’ number=’12’ campaign=’123′] (replace campaign=’123′ with the campaign ID from the campaign edit URL, e.g., post=123).
– Shortcodes also work inside Elementor, Beaver Builder, SeedProd, and other builders.
Bonus: Build a donor portal
A donor portal lets returning supporters view their donation history, manage recurring gifts, and update personal info without contacting your team. That reduces admin work (no more manual receipts or status updates) and improves retention because donors feel in control. Charitable supports donor-facing pages—follow a donor portal guide to set up pages for account management and donation history quickly.
FAQs
Can I show a leaderboard for one campaign only?
Yes. Use the Donor Leaderboard block and select the specific campaign, or add the campaign parameter to the shortcode.
Can I control what information appears?
Yes. Show or hide avatars, donation amounts, counts, last donation date, campaign names, and supporter levels via block settings or shortcode attributes.
Will the leaderboard update automatically?
Yes. It refreshes as donations are processed.
Can I place the leaderboard anywhere?
Yes. Use the block on pages and posts or the shortcode in widgets, sidebars, footers, and page-builder sections.
Does a donor leaderboard really increase donations?
Yes. Leaderboards add social proof and friendly competition. Seeing others give builds trust and often encourages larger or recurring gifts.
Next steps to grow your nonprofit site
After adding a leaderboard, consider these improvements:
– Accept international payments and multiple currencies.
– Add a fundraising thermometer for progress visualization.
– Install other nonprofit-focused plugins to enhance donor experience (forms, CRM integrations, email receipts).
– Apply donation form best practices: simple forms, clear suggested amounts, progress indicators, and mobile-friendly layouts.
If you found this helpful, follow WordPress tutorial channels and plugin blogs for more guides on fundraising tools, plugin setup, and nonprofit site best practices.