Create Sponsorship or Commitment
Updated today
Use Create Sponsorship or Commitment in Zapier to create a Gratona sponsorship for an existing donor and recipient when another system manages the recurring payments.
The action creates the donor-recipient relationship and its recurring commitment. It uses External Processor as the payment method. It does not charge the donor, start automatic billing, or record a received donation.
Before you start
Connect your Gratona account in Zapier. If the app is listed as HelpYouSponsor, that is the legacy marketplace name for the Gratona integration.
The donor and recipient must already exist in the connected Gratona workspace. Have their Gratona IDs available in the source record or an earlier lookup step.
Confirm that the recipient is available for sponsorship and that your connected user can access the donor and recipient's program.
Decide which external record represents this recurring commitment and how you will store the returned Gratona IDs.
See Connect Gratona to Zapier for account setup.
Set up the action
Add a trigger for a new recurring record in your external system, such as Salesforce. Use a filter so the Zap runs only when a Gratona sponsorship should be created.
Add a Gratona action and choose Create Sponsorship or Commitment.
Select the connected Gratona account.
Map the required fields below, then add any optional dates.
Test one intended test record, check the result in Gratona, and save the returned Commitment ID and Sponsorship ID on the external record.
Publish the Zap after the mapping and result are correct.
Testing this action creates a real Gratona sponsorship and commitment. Use a test donor and recipient, or a record you intend to create.
Fields to map
Zapier field | What to enter |
|---|---|
Donor ID — required | The existing Gratona donor ID. A Salesforce Contact ID is a different identifier. |
Recipient ID — required | The existing Gratona recipient ID for the child or student. Gratona uses that recipient's program; there is no separate Program input. |
Amount Per Payment Period — required | The amount expected for each selected frequency. For a commitment of 90 every three months, enter 90, not its monthly equivalent of 30. |
Frequency — required | Select Every Month, Bi-Weekly, Every 2 Months, Every 3 Months, Every 6 Months, or Every Year to match the external schedule. |
Next Expected Payment Date — required | The next date on the external schedule, formatted as YYYY-MM-DD. This records an expected date; it does not schedule a Gratona charge. |
External Recurring Record ID — required | A stable, unique reference for this creation, up to 191 characters. For example, use the Salesforce recurring record ID. |
Start Date — optional | The sponsorship start date in YYYY-MM-DD format. Leave blank to use today. It must be on or before the next expected payment date. |
End Date — optional | An optional end date in YYYY-MM-DD format. When supplied, it must be on or after the next expected payment date. |
Save the result for later steps
The result includes Commitment ID, Sponsorship ID, Donor ID, Recipient ID, Program ID, the amount and schedule, Is Non-Charging, and Status.
Save the Commitment ID on the matching external recurring record. Use that ID if you later need to run Cancel Commitment. The Sponsorship ID identifies the donor-recipient relationship and is not interchangeable with the Commitment ID.
Retries and replacements
Keep the External Recurring Record ID and all mapped values unchanged when retrying the same creation. An exact retry returns the original result instead of creating another commitment. References are case-sensitive. Reusing a reference with different values produces a conflict.
To create a replacement from the same external recurring record, use a new creation reference that includes its change version or timestamp, such as RD-1001:create:2. Use a value saved on the source record so it stays unchanged on retries; do not generate a fresh timestamp on every Zap attempt.
A new creation reference does not cancel or reassign the previous sponsorship. Gratona rejects a second active sponsorship for the same donor and recipient, even with a different reference. If you intentionally replace that same pair, end the existing sponsorship first, then create the replacement with a new reference. For a continuing sponsorship that should move to another recipient, use the reassignment workflow instead. Continue managing charges and cancellations in the system that owns the recurring billing.
Troubleshooting
Donor or recipient not found: Check that you mapped Gratona IDs from the connected workspace, rather than external record IDs.
Recipient unavailable or access denied: Review the recipient's sponsorship availability, program, and your connected user's access.
Reference conflict: Check whether the reference was already used with different values. Keep it for an exact retry; use a new reference only for an intentional new creation.
A payment is missing: This action records a commitment, not a received payment. Record actual gifts through your payment recording workflow.