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Giving Automation Recipes for Planning Center

These recipes use Parable’s giving engagement fields (Giving Pattern, Giving Trend, Payment Alert) synced to the Parable: Giving tab in Planning Center People. Each recipe pairs a PCO List with a PCO Automation for hands-free follow-up.

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Prerequisites

Before setting up automations, confirm that:
  • Engagement scoring is enabled under Settings → Engagement
  • Giving Engagement sync is turned on under Settings → Engagement → Planning Center Sync
  • The Parable: Giving tab in PCO People contains Giving Pattern, Giving Trend, and Payment Alert fields
Parable creates the tab and its fields automatically on the first sync after you enable the toggle.
The Parable: Giving tab fields used by these recipes:

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1. New Donor Welcome

Goal: Welcome first-time givers within 48 hours.

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PCO List

  • Rule: Parable: Giving > Giving Pattern is “New Donor”
  • Automations tab > Run automation: New Donor Welcome

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PCO Automation

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2. Second Gift Follow-Up

Goal: Encourage the critical second-to-third gift transition.

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PCO List

  • Rule: Parable: Giving > Giving Pattern is “Second Gift”

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PCO Automation

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3. New Recurring Celebration

Goal: Celebrate and reinforce the decision to set up recurring giving.

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PCO List

  • Rule: Parable: Giving > Giving Pattern is “New Recurring”

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PCO Automation

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4. Build Recurring

Goal: Convert occasional givers into recurring donors.

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PCO List

  • Rule: Parable: Giving > Giving Pattern is “Occasional”
  • AND Parable: Giving > Giving Trend is “Growing” OR “Stable”

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PCO Automation

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5. At-Risk Outreach

Goal: Re-engage donors who are approaching their lapse threshold before they fully disengage.

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PCO List

  • Rule: Parable: Giving > Giving Pattern is “At-Risk”

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PCO Automation

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6. Re-engage Lapsed

Goal: Bring back donors who have missed their expected giving cycle.

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PCO List

  • Rule: Parable: Giving > Giving Pattern is “Lapsed”

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PCO Automation

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7. Welcome Back Recovered

Goal: Celebrate and retain donors who returned after a lapse.

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PCO List

  • Rule: Parable: Giving > Giving Pattern is “Recovered”

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PCO Automation

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8. Failed Gift Recovery

Goal: Quickly resolve failed payments before donors churn.

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PCO List

  • Rule: Parable: Giving > Payment Alert contains “Failed Gift”

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PCO Automation

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9. Expiring Payment Method

Goal: Proactively update payment methods before they expire and cause failed gifts.

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PCO List

  • Rule: Parable: Giving > Payment Alert contains “Expiring Payment Method”

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PCO Automation

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10. Reduce Processing Fees (Card to ACH)

Goal: Encourage card-based recurring donors to switch to ACH to reduce processing fees.

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PCO List

  • Rule: Parable: Giving > Payment Alert contains “Card Fee Savings”

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PCO Automation

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Tips for Success

Start small. Test each automation with a small group before rolling out to your full congregation.
  • Timing: Run automations during business hours for best open rates
  • Tone: Always people-first — never guilt-based or transactional
  • Personalization: Use PCO merge fields (first name, last gift amount) where available
  • Exit conditions: People are automatically removed from automations when their Giving Pattern changes and they no longer match the list rule
  • Coordination: Check that automations don’t overlap — a person should only be in one giving automation at a time