Templates are Microsoft Word documents that you customize with merge fields from CommunitySuite and your own language and branding. Once the customized Word document is uploaded to CommunitySuite through the Templates area, users can generate template documents like tax receipts, fund statements, grant letters, and more.
You can build custom templates by downloading and customizing CommunitySuite example templates or by converting your existing Word documents with CommunitySuite merge fields. Merge fields will automatically populate with data from CommunitySuite records when the template is generated.
Who: Donor services teams, communications staff, grant or scholarship administrators, or finance staff who generate tax receipts, grant letters, fund statements, and other customized documents for donors, fund advisors, grantees, students, and more.
Use Templates to Generate Documents
Use custom templates to:
- Generate tax receipts for charitable contributions, including year-end tax receipts.
- Create fund statements for fund advisors reporting on fund activity and investment performance.
- Print checks on pre-printed check stock with proper positioning for payee information and amounts when CommunitySuite check printing formats do not fit your stock.
- Send grant or scholarship award letters to recipients before cutting a check.
- Create grant letters to recipients when grant checks are posted.
Template Tags and Merge Field Requirements
Templates require opening and closing tags and correctly formatted merge fields that match the template type. Templates also support customization using Microsoft Word design features.
Template Opening and Closing Tags
Template opening and closing tags define where content begins and ends in your template and do not display any visible data. Do not delete these tags from the beginning or end of the template, they are required for the template to generate properly.
Opening Tag Location
Template opening tags begin with {{#foreach...}}. The opening tag must be the first field at the beginning of your template because it tells the template that content is now beginning for the whole document.
Closing Tag Location
Template closing tags begin with {{/foreach...}}. This field must be located at the end of your template and tells the template to end the content for the whole document.
Opening and Closing Tags are Template-Specific
Each template type has unique opening and closing tags that cannot be used interchangeably. For example, tax receipt templates must start with {{#foreach donation}} and end with {{/foreach donation}}, while fund statement templates start with {{#foreach fund}} and end with {{/foreach fund}}.
Opening and closing tags must match each other and be the same template type. For example, a template that starts with {{#foreach donation}} but ends with {{/foreach fund}} will not work correctly.
Foreach Item Tags
Some templates, including tax receipts and fund statements, will have additional sections of data that have start and end points. These are item-specific tags that appear in a table format within the body of the template document for displaying data like donation details and itemized transaction lists.
Foreach item tags can only be used within the foreach table, and cannot be used within separate paragraphs outside of the table.
Opening Foreach Item Tag Location
The opening tag {{#foreach item}} should be the first field at the beginning of your table section. This field will not be visible when you generate your template, but it is necessary to include.
Closing Foreach Item Tag Location
The closing tag {{/foreach item}} must be the last field at the end of your table section. This field will not be visible when you generate your template, but it is necessary to include.
Other templates like fund statements and advance grant or scholarship letters also have opening and closing tags that require their own {{#foreach_.....}} {{/foreach_.....}} sections.
Foreach Table Formatting
Table borders can be removed or customized using standard Word table formatting options. Keep table gridlines visible while editing to see where data will populate, but hide borders before uploading if you prefer a cleaner look in generated documents.
Merge Field Formatting Rules
Copy and paste merge fields exactly as the All Fields document lists them. Verify the pasted field carefully. Merge fields with missing or mismatched components will not populate data in generated documents.
- Do not replace the double curly brackets {{ }} with single curly brackets { } or another bracket type.
- Do not remove underscores.
- Do not add spaces in the merge fields.
- Merge fields are case sensitive.
For advanced merge field formatting, see Change the Date or Number Format of a Merge Field. To include custom fields created in CommunitySuite, see Custom Fields in Templates. To add conditional statements that control which text displays based on whether a condition is met, see Template Conditions.
Supported Template Design
Templates support Microsoft Word customization of:
- Layout and page design
- Font types for most standard fonts
- Digital letterhead, images, and logos
- Text colors, font sizes, bolding, and highlighting
Formatting applied to merge fields (bold, italic, underline, font size, color) will appear in generated documents. For example, if {{donor_name}} is formatted as bold 14pt text in your template, the donor's name will appear bold and 14pt in all generated receipts.
If you encounter issues when building or generating templates, see Common Template Issues for troubleshooting guidance.
All Fields Documents for Available Merge Fields
All Fields documents list all merge fields available for each template type and serve as a primary reference when building templates. Access All Fields documents for each template type through the Example Templates and Available Merge Fields article.
What All Fields Documents Contain:
- List of available merge fields for each template type
- Descriptions of what data each merge field pulls
- Expected behavior of the merge field
Use All Fields Documents to:
- Identify which merge fields are available for your template type
- Reference field descriptions when deciding which fields to include
- Verify exact field syntax when copying and pasting or typing merge fields
If a merge field is not on the All Fields list for your template type, it is not available to use in the template. Merge fields are not interchangeable between template types and may be available in one template type but not another.
Template Fields List
Template Fields List is a feature within the CommunitySuite Templates area and is an additional resource to review and test available fields for a template. Template Fields List provides detailed guidance.
Download and Customize Example Templates
To download an example template from CommunitySuite:
- Navigate to the Templates page and click Examples in the left-side menu.
- A new browser tab opens to a Support Hub article called Example Templates.
- Click the name of an example template and download a copy to your computer.
- Customize the example template in Microsoft Word as needed.
Example Template Files
Example template files serve as starting points for your templates and include:
- Page breaks inserted at proper locations in front of the opening tag {{#foreach_...}}.
- Required start and end tags {{#foreach_... and {{/foreach_... at the beginning and end of the template. Do not delete these, they are required for the template to function properly.
- Generic placeholder language that can be formatted to your preference.
When customizing your downloaded template, replace placeholder content, adjust formatting to match your branding, and add or remove merge fields that are compatible to the template type.
Convert Your Existing Documents to Templates
If you have Word documents from a previous system or existing letter templates, convert them by replacing merge fields with CommunitySuite merge fields. The instructions in the All Fields Documents for Available Merge Fields section outlines where to find available merge fields.
Copy and Paste Merge Fields Exactly
Copy and paste merge fields exactly as the All Fields document lists them. Verify the pasted field carefully - fields missing components will not populate data in generated documents. If a merge field is not in the All Fields list, it is not available for that template type.
Place Page Breaks before Opening Tag
Make sure page breaks are built into your Word document. Page breaks should be inserted in front of the opening tag {{#foreach_.....}}. This ensures each new document starts at the top of the page instead of where the last one in the batch ended. In most versions of Word, this can be found by right clicking anywhere on the page and selecting "Paragraph". The "Page Break Before" section can be found in the "Line and Page Breaks" tab.
Upload Templates
After building or customizing your template, upload it to CommunitySuite to make it available for generating documents. See Upload Templates for instructions.
Build a Template and Review Merge Fields Video
The video below walks through the components of an example tax receipt template, including foreach opening and closing tags, merge fields, and foreach item tables. For a list of available merge fields for each template type, see Example Templates and Available Merge Fields.
- Opening and Closing Tags (:17) - An overview of foreach opening and closing tags and how they define where data populates in a template.
- Foreach Item Tags (1:38) - How foreach item tags differ from foreach donation tags and why both require opening and closing tags.
- Site Fields (2:03) - What site fields pull from CommunitySuite and when to remove them from a template.
- Address and Donation Fields (2:43) - The donor address, name, amount, date, and other fields available between the foreach donation tags.
- Foreach Item Table (3:17) - How the foreach item table captures one-to-many relationships and itemizes records by row.
- Table Formatting (4:07) - How to remove table borders in Word and why keeping gridlines visible while editing makes template building easier.
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Closing Tag (5:41) - How the closing tag signals the end of data population in the template.
Add Merge Fields to a Template Video
The video below demonstrates how to use All Fields documents to identify available merge fields and how to add merge fields to a template by copying or typing them directly. It also covers how formatting applied to a merge field in Word, such as bold or underline, will carry through to generated documents. For a list of available merge fields for each template type, see Example Templates and Available Merge Fields.