Settings, roles, and billing

This page lists what each settings, members, and billing screen controls. Use it to look up a field, a role, or a permission, then make the change in the dashboard.

Settings and billing screens are gated. Any member can view most of them. Editing plans, billing, members, or roles needs the matching permission. Owners and admins hold every permission, and you can grant the same access to a custom role. Each page notes who can edit it.

This page covers the organization. Your own sign-in security (password, passkeys, two-factor authentication, signed-in devices) is under Account Settings at the bottom of the sidebar; see secure your account.

Organization settings

The Settings area is split into tabs.

General

General settings split into two forms.

Basic information:

• Display name: what donors see on your donation page and emails.
• Legal name: the entity name on receipts and statements. Leave blank to use the display name.
• Contact email.
• Website.
• Organization logo.
• Tax ID / EIN.
• Tax-exempt status.
• Fiscal year end: the month your Form 990 year ends. Drives tax report and year-end statement date ranges.

Location information (street address, city, state, and ZIP) appears on receipts and tax documents.

Appearance

• Public donation page toggle: turn your page on or off.
• Vanity URL slug: your address at givebear.io/@your-slug. Must be at least 3 characters and unique.
• Page layout: choose which sections show (Campaigns, Funds, Events, Prayer Times) and reorder them. Prayer Times needs that add-on enabled.
• Hero banner: a 16:9 image for your donation page.
• Mission statement: the story shown to donors.

Domain

Connect a domain you own (for example donate.yourcharity.org) so your donation page runs on it. You add a CNAME record at your DNS provider, then Givebear verifies it. Owners and admins only. The domain shows one of three states.

Full walkthrough: connect a custom domain.

QuickBooks

Connect QuickBooks Online to post one journal entry per Stripe payout, with income split by fund and processing fees recorded as an expense.

• Only organization admins can connect, configure, or disconnect it.
• It is a paid-plan feature. On the Free plan you see an upgrade prompt.
• After connecting, map a bank account, a fee expense account, and a default income account before syncing starts. Other mappings are optional.
• Payouts paid before you connected are not backfilled.

Full walkthrough: sync payouts to QuickBooks Online.

Texting

Enable text messaging, watch carrier verification, and set where reply notifications go and which timezone the send window uses. Texting is a Plus and Growth feature. See text messaging.

Security

The Security tab holds one setting: Require two-factor authentication for all members. Any member can view it. Only owners and admins can change it.

• While the requirement is on, a member without two-factor authentication cannot open this organization's dashboard. They see a full-page notice naming the organization, with a link to their account settings and a sign-out option. The dashboard opens as soon as they turn two-factor on.
• You cannot turn the requirement on until your own account has two-factor authentication, because you would lock yourself out.
• Turning it off lets members choose again. It does not remove two-factor authentication from anyone's account.
• Each change is recorded in the Activity tab.

Members set up two-factor authentication on their own account; see secure your account.

Activity

The Activity tab is the organization's audit trail: who changed what, and when. Only owners and admins can open it. Givebear writes each entry as the action happens. Entries cannot be edited or deleted, and they stay after the person who acted leaves the organization.

Each row shows when it happened, who did it, the action, the record it touched, and a short details digest. Select a row to see the full details, such as the values before and after a change. The list shows 50 entries per page, newest first. The actor reads System when Givebear acted on its own and Former member when that person's account no longer exists.

This is separate from the People CRM Activity log, which records calls, meetings, and notes about contacts.

Danger

• Leave organization: removes you immediately. A sole owner cannot leave; transfer ownership from Members first, or delete the organization.
• Delete organization: owners only. You type the organization name to confirm. This cannot be undone.

Members and roles

The Members page lists everyone with dashboard access and any pending invitations. Only owners and admins can invite, change roles, or remove members.

Inviting members

Invite by email and assign one or more roles. The invitation is emailed and expires after a set window. You can resend or cancel a pending invitation. A member can hold several roles at once: their permissions are the combined union.

Built-in roles

Three roles ship with every organization and are always assignable.

Custom roles

Beyond the three built-in roles, owners and admins can build custom roles from individual permission toggles on the Manage roles screen. Each custom role is specific to your organization.

To save setup time, five editable templates pre-fill a custom role's permissions. They are starting points, not pre-made roles you assign directly.

You can only grant permissions you hold yourself.

Permission areas

Custom roles toggle permissions grouped by the work they protect.

Grant the smallest set of permissions that covers the person's job.

Billing

The Billing area has three tabs.

Only owners and admins can change plans or update the billing source. Other members see billing read-only.

Plans

Givebear has three plans: Free, Plus, and Growth. Paid plans can be billed monthly or annually, and annual is cheaper per month. Each plan sets a flat platform fee on donations, included contact and email limits, and (on paid plans) per-unit overage pricing.

For current prices, fees, and limits, see pricing. The dashboard shows the exact numbers for your plan.

Changing plans:

• Upgrading from Free to a paid plan opens a card-confirmation checkout. The plan changes once the card is confirmed.
• Every other change (switching between paid plans, switching between monthly and annual, or dropping to Free) first shows a confirmation dialog that names the plans involved and what happens next. Nothing changes until you confirm; then the change applies right away.
• Dropping to Free cancels your subscription immediately. You keep your data and everything included in Free.
• To move between monthly and annual, switch the billing toggle and re-select your current plan.
• Plan changes are recorded in Settings > Activity.

Billing readiness

A plan must be billing-ready before the organization can take payments.

Usage and fees

• Plan usage: the Overview tab tracks contacts in your CRM and marketing emails sent this period against your included limits.
• Free plan caps: you cannot add contacts or send emails above the included limits. Upgrade or reduce usage to continue.
• Paid plan overages: usage above the included limit is metered and added to your next Stripe invoice.
• Donation fees: the platform fee is withheld from each gift before payout, not billed again on your subscription invoice.

Platform billing runs through Stripe. Card and bank details are never stored on Givebear servers.

Related pages