How to Write a URL Hook for your Online Giving Page

Following these instructions will help you create auto-filled donation forms to steer your users to give specific amounts. With these guidelines you are able to construct your specific give form URL to very precise specifications. You might not need to specify every single item on the form, but here we show you how to choose which fields you do want to have auto-filled.

• The URL will always begin with the following: utdirect.utexas.edu/apps/utgiving/online/nlogon/?
• Your hook begins with the word: menu.
• If there is only one place where you wish to direct your users, it will be written as: menu
• If you are going to have multiple funds prepopulated then you want to start with menu1, you will then be able to have build outs for menu2 and menu3 if you so choose…but let’s keep it simple for now and just do 1 prepopulated drill-down URL at a time.

Fund Code

• After each menu tag you will have an equals sign. The equals sign (=) in the URL drill-down the location. MENU = Fund Code.
• Next you write the fund code. There is a corresponding code for each department or scholarship to which someone might donate. For instance, if you are creating a donation form for the AIM Investment Center, the code would be: GRAI
• Now you have the option of stopping here or to prepopulate your give form further.
• Before each further add on for the URL, you need to use the “&” symbol. For instance, let’s say I want to give to the Department of Kittens & I want it to be a sustaining gift & I want it to be $20…the “&” will denote each subsequent detail.
• Now let’s talk about some more details and more optional hooks for your url.

Type of gift

• You can choose from four types of gifts: one time, recurring, future, sustaining.
• In your URL build you would type &type=onetime or &type=recurring etc…

Frequency of gift

• You can choose from monthly or annual.
• To add a specific frequency you add the tag &frequency=annual or &frequency=monthly to your URL.

Duration of gift

• You can choose how many months or how many years you want the gift to be made.
• To do this you add the tag &duration=2 (if you chose &frequency=monthly this would mean it would last 2 months)

Amount of gift

• You can then specify the amount of the donation with the word: amount
• If the donation amount is $50, then type: &amount=50.00

Recognition for gift

• You can give a gift in recognition of another person.
• It can be an honorary or memorial gift.
• To specify which type add this element to your URL: &recog= H(honorary) or &recog= M (memorial)
• If you want people to give in recognition of someone else you will want to share their name.
• To do this type &recogname=John%20Doe
• The %20 is equivalent to a space for the search engine crawlers and is required for prepopulating to read as 2 separate words.

Eid

• If you are sending direct mail to individuals and would like to prepopulate their EID to make it easier for them you can do that by adding the EID tag.
• Simply adding the tag &eid=miller345 (or whatever their EID is)
• If you use this tag make sure the emails you send are secure and are sent to the specific individual.

Comments

• You can even add your own comments to the prepopulated form.
• Say for instance you want to make sure each person who signs up acknowledges that this is a corporate gift.
• You would add the tag &comments=corporate%20gift.
• These comments can be as long as you want but keep in mind, the longer you want it to be, the longer your url will be.
• For instance...your comment is This is for a Legacy Gift then &comment=this20%is20%for20%a20%legacy20%gift.
  
• Don't forget the 20%. They are your spaces.
  

Tracking your gift

• For a specific campaign, the tower can give you a unique code to better track your gifts.
• To include your tracking code simply include the tag &source=yourcode
• You will need to get this code from the tower but it can be very useful for tracking giving-push campaigns.

Multiple gifts at a time

• As we mentioned earlier, you can have multiple gifts prepopulated through one URL (up to 3)
• To do this you need to make sure you use the format:
  ?menu1=fundcode&amount=50&menu2=otherfundcode&amount2=25
• See how the amount number follows the corresponding menu number?
• You can build out further drill-downs but make sure each one of them starts with a numbered menu.

FAQ

Do I have to fill out every hook?
No. Only fill out what you would like to be autofilled for your donors.

Do I have to list the hooks in that exact order?
There is no order to listing the hooks, but we would suggest establishing an order. It helps maintain uniformity for each link you make and reduces confusion when you revisit your hooks later.

I can't find a code for a specific scholarship/department.
Please contact the Giving Office.

How long can the optional comment be?
As long as you'd like! Word of caution: the longer the comment is, the longer your URL will be, and shorter URLs are generally preferable. 

Best Practices

• To maintain uniformity and reduce confusion, write each URL in a particular order.
• After writing out your URL, test it to make sure each hook is working properly.

Examples

Example 1: BHP Giving

Objective: Direct users to donate a one-time gift to the McCombs School of Business, Business Honors Program. We want the form to automatically fill in a donation amount of $20.00.

The URL should be: http://utdirect.utexas.edu/apps/utgiving/online/nlogon/?menu1=GRB2&type=onetime&amount=20.00

Example 2: AIM Investment Center

Objective: Direct users to donate a recurring gift of $10.00 per month for 10 months. We want the form to automatically reflect these variables.

The URL should be:
http://utdirect.utexas.edu/apps/utgiving/online/nlogon/?menu1=GRAI&type=recurring&frequency=monthly&duration=10&amount=100.00

*Note: the amount is the total amount you want donated. Because it is $10.00 for 10 months, the amount total is $100.00

Example 3: MPA Program

Objective: Direct users to donate a sustaining pledge of $50.00 each year to the MPA Program. You also want them to donate in honor of John Doe.

The URL should be: http://utdirect.utexas.edu/apps/utgiving/online/nlogon/?menu1=GRAP&type=sustaining&frequency=annual&amount=50.0&recog=H&recogname=John%20Doe

Fund Codes

Fund codes

Fund code	Department/Scholarship
GR**	Area of Greatest Need
GRFA	40 Acres Scholarship - Kozmetsky
GRAI	AIM Investment Center
GREA	Accounting Alumni Endowed Excellence Fund
GRAB	Accounting Centennial Excellence Fund
GRAC	Accounting Centennial Gala
GRAD	Accounting Centennial Scholarship Fund
GRAG	Accounting, Dept of
GRAA	Alumni Annual Fund
GRVW	Andrew and Veronika Whinston Endowed Professorship
GREF	BBA Alumni Endowed Excellence Fund
GRCS	BBA Career Services
GRBL	BBA Legacy
GRFE	Center for Energy Finance Education and Research (CEFER)
GRRI	Center for Risk Management and Insurance Research
GRCC	Christopher Cornett Scholarship for Excellence in Business
GRDT	Deloitte & Touche Accounting Endowed Excellence Fund
GRBC	Deloitte Classroom Fund
GREL	EMBA Legacy
GRMI	Energy Management and Innovation Center
GREY	Ernst & Young Accounting Endowed Excellence Fund
GREE	Executive Education
GREM	ExxonMobil Employee Endowed Excellence Fund
GRFU	Faculty Support
GRFS	Finance Scholarships
GRFN	Finance, Dept of
GRFO	Ford Career Center
GRHK	Herb Kelleher Center for Entrepreneurship
GRPE	Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst Center for Private Equity Finance
GRIS	IROM Scholarships
GRGN	Information, Risk, & Operations Management, Dept of
GRIC	International - Ctr. for Intl Business Educ & Rsrch
GRKP	KPMG Accounting Endowed Excellence Fund
GRDF	Larry Jones Deloitte Foundation Fellowship
GRMA	MBA Alumni Endowed Excellence Fund
GRMP	MBA Executive Program
GRBA	BBA Program
GRBS	BBA Scholarships
GRSL	BBA Student Organization & Leadership
GRTB	BBA Study Abroad
GRBH	BHP 40 Acres Scholarship
GRHE	BHP Excellence Fund in Business Education
GRH0	BHP Make a Mark Scholarship
GRBF	Business Foundations Program
GRB2	Business Honors Program
GRGS	Business, Government & Society, Dept of
GRBM	MBA Legacy 2011
GRL2	MBA Legacy 2012
GRBG	MBA Program
GRTS	MBA Scholarships
GRDM	MBA, Dallas Evening Program
GRHM	MBA, Houston Evening Program
GRMC	MBA, Mexico City Program
GRTM	MBA, Texas Evening Program
GRPA	MPA Legacy
GRAP	MPA Program
GRPS	MPA Scholarships
GRNS	Management Scholarships
GRMN	Management, Dept of
GRAS	Marketing Scholarships
GRMK	Marketing, Dept of
GRTC	Master of Science in Technology Commercialization
GRSO	McCombs Social Enterprise Fund
GRPW	PricewaterhouseCoopers Accounting Endowed Excellence Fund
GRLH	PwC/Lauren C. Huddleston Memorial Endowment
GRFR	Real Estate Finance and Investment Center
GRSF	Students Hooked on Texas - Business
GRSC	Supply Chain Management Center of Excellence
GRTL	TEMBA Legacy
GRUB	Undergraduate Business Council
GRVL	Venture Labs
GRWC	William H. Cunningham Endowed Excellence Fund in Marketing
GRCF	William W. and Ruth F. Cooper Fellowship