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ClearPath Pledge

Your January 1 donor base, built months in advance

Pre-launch pledge drives that build your January 1 donor base months in advance: supporters commit today — anywhere from just an email address to a fully secured, multi-year pledge — and ClearPath processes every gift automatically the moment Section 25F activates. Included with ClearPath Donors.

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The Problem

Until January 1, 2027, an SGO legally cannot take a single qualifying gift — which means most will launch with zero donors and a cold list. Pledge lists built on goodwill alone leak badly: a commitment made in July is a stranger’s email by January. The organizations that win the first tax year are the ones whose donor base is committed, secured, and scheduled before the window opens.

What ClearPath Pledge Does

Why it matters

Secured pledges, not soft promises

An info-only pledge made in July is a cold intention by January. ClearPath Pledge lets supporters securely save a card or bank account at pledge time — nothing charged today, explicit consent on file — and their gift processes automatically on launch day. The pledge book stops being a call list and becomes a charge queue.

Multi-year ladders built for the credit

The $1,700 federal credit resets every tax year, so the natural major-donor ask isn't $5,000 once — it's $1,700 a year for three years. Pledge ladders schedule an annual gift each January, each one earning its own full credit, with the whole ladder set up in a single pledge.

State-conditional pledges

"My state hasn't opted in" is your biggest objection — ClearPath Pledge turns it into pipeline. Supporters in undecided states pledge conditionally: their gift processes only if their state joins the program. Until then nothing is ever charged, and your team gets a number worth taking to the statehouse.

Launch day runs itself

January 1, 2027 is the same day for every SGO in the country. While your staff is on holiday, ClearPath charges secured pledges, activates multi-year schedules, emails everyone else a one-minute complete-your-gift link, and issues Section 25F receipts — same day, no spreadsheet, no scramble.

Launch Day

January 1, 2027 happens automatically.

Every SGO in the country launches on the same day. Yours shouldn’t depend on who’s at a desk on New Year’s morning. The moment Section 25F is live, ClearPath works the pledge book end to end.

Jan 1, 2027 · 12:00 AM — Section 25F activates

In 2026: four ways to commit · On Jan 1, 2027: each handled automatically

1

Left their contact info

Email only

No amount, no commitment — “let me know when giving opens.”

Automatic · Option 1

Woken with a personal invite that morning — first gift takes a minute.

2

Pledged an amount

Soft pledge

A dollar amount on record — no payment method yet.

Automatic · Option 2

Gets a complete-your-gift link with their amount pre-filled.

3

Saved a payment method

Secured

Card or bank on file with explicit consent — nothing charged yet.

Automatic · Option 3

Charged automatically at launch. Section 25F receipt minutes later.

Card declined or expired? They get a fix-it link — and the charge retries automatically once it's updated.

4

State hasn't opted in

Conditional

Pledge waits safely on their state joining the program.

Automatic · Option 4

Processes automatically the day their state opts in — whenever that is.

Nobody on your staff is awake. All four are handled.

Multi-year ladders activate the same night: annual pledges become schedules that bill each January and stop automatically after the final year — and every completed gift gets its IRS-compliant Section 25F receipt within minutes.

The Pledge Engine

Everything a pre-launch drive needs, native to your donor platform.

ClearPath Pledge isn’t a form bolted onto a mailing list. Pledges live in the same system as your donors, campaigns, receipts, and audit trail — so the drive you run in 2026 becomes clean donor records on January 1.

Pledge drives with live goals

Campaigns

Run a named drive — "The Founding 100" — with a goal, deadline, and a public thermometer showing real pledged dollars. Every pledge counts toward the drive and flows into campaign reporting after conversion.

Every level of commitment

Flexibility

Some supporters hand you a card, some an amount, some just an email address. All three count: interest-only signups are invited the morning giving opens, soft pledges get their amount pre-filled, secured pledges charge themselves.

Pledge to your cap

Smart giving

One toggle pledges a monthly plan sized to exactly fill the donor's annual credit — $1,700, or $3,400 for a joint household pledge with both spouses on the receipt — and auto-stops the moment the cap is reached.

Pick your charge date

Control

Launch day, tax-refund season, a birthday — supporters choose any 2027 date. And nobody is ever surprised: a heads-up email (and text, if they opted in) goes out the week before anything is charged.

Card-on-file security

Conversion

Supporters vault a card or bank account with explicit off-session consent — larger pledges are steered toward bank debits, which never expire. Card expiries are tracked and nudged before launch.

Declines don't leak

Resilience

A declined launch charge falls back to a one-minute complete-your-gift email automatically. The moment a supporter saves a new card, the charge retries on the next run — staff can also retry in one click.

Self-service for supporters

Trust

Every pledge email carries a magic manage link: change the amount, schedule, date, or payment method — or cancel — in seconds. No account, no password, no calling the office.

Teams, captains & leaderboards

Acquisition

Field any number of teams per drive — parishes, classrooms, families. Each captain gets their own link, every pledge counts for their team, and the public leaderboard keeps the friendly competition alive.

Celebrations that compound

Momentum

When the drive crosses 50%, 75%, and 100%, every pledger hears about it. When an undecided state opts in, its conditional pledgers get the good news the same day — and their pledges go live automatically.

Everywhere your people are

Reach

A live thermometer you can embed on any website, downloadable QR pledge cards for pews and events, and SMS confirmations and reminders for supporters who live in their texts.

Founding-supporter wall

Social proof

An opt-in recognition wall on the pledge page — names only, never amounts — gives your drive momentum when there are zero actual donations to show. All real data, from day one.

Bilingual by default

Access

🇺🇸 English and 🇪🇸 Español on every pledge page, confirmation, and reminder — one toggle, no translated PDFs. Supporters commit in the language they think in.

What’s Included

Everything Pledge covers

ClearPath Pledge ships as part of ClearPath Donors — the same platform, the same compliance guarantees, no separate module to buy or maintain. If you run ClearPath Donors, your pledge drive is ready today.

Included with ClearPath Donors. Pledge charging uses your SGO’s connected Stripe account; nothing is ever charged before January 1, 2027.

See the full ClearPath Donors platform
  • Branded bilingual pledge pages with drive goals and live thermometers
  • Interest-only signup mode — contact capture with launch-day invitations
  • Card and bank-account vaulting with explicit off-session charging consent
  • Automatic launch-day charging with same-day Section 25F receipts
  • Pledge-to-your-cap monthly plans and joint household ($3,400) pledges
  • Supporter-chosen 2027 charge dates with a heads-up email + text before any charge
  • Self-service manage links — change amount, schedule, method, or cancel
  • Multi-year pledge ladders aligned to the annual $1,700 credit
  • State-conditional pledges with automatic opt-in celebrations
  • Team pledge pages with captains and a live public leaderboard
  • Milestone celebration emails at 50 / 75 / 100% of goal
  • Embeddable live thermometer, downloadable QR pledge cards, SMS notifications
  • Secured / soft / conditional pipeline forecast for staff
  • Quarterly nurture emails and pre-launch card-expiry warnings

Every month before launch is donor-base you either build or forfeit.

Organizations forming now can be approved, configured, and running a pledge drive well before January 1, 2027.

Start your drive
Get Started

See the platform live. Then decide.

Tell us about your organization and we’ll set up a live demo — the real product, loaded with sample data — alongside a consultation on your formation path, state, and timeline.

What happens next

1

We review your submission and respond within one business day

2

Live platform demo — the actual product on sample data, typically 45–60 minutes

3

Diagnostic consultation on your formation path, state requirements, and timeline

4

You leave with a clear scope and recommendation — even if the answer is to partner rather than form

We typically respond within one business day.