# A digital donor wall that keeps up with every new gift

> A digital donor wall for your school: list every donor by level and year, tell the stories behind the gifts, and fix a name without a new plaque.

Source: https://history-showcase.com/use-cases/digital-donor-wall · HistoryShowcase · Updated 2026-10-26

Thank every donor on one touchscreen in the main lobby. Names sit in clean rows by giving level, and each one can open to the story of what the gift made possible.

## What is a digital donor wall?

A digital donor wall is a screen, often a touchscreen in a school lobby, that lists donors by name and giving level and can show what their gifts supported. With HistoryShowcase, the advancement office keeps donors in ledger rows by level and year, opens leadership gifts to full profiles, and previews every change privately before publishing.

- Made for: advancement directors and development officers
- Where schools put it: Main entrance lobby, Outside the advancement office, Your giving web page
- Layouts: Honors ledger, Profiles, Photo gallery
- Visitors can filter by: Giving level, Connection, Year
- Cost: Free to use. No payment details required.

## Plaques fill up. Donor lists keep growing.

A bronze or acrylic donor wall is finished the day it goes up. Then the next year’s donors arrive, a family moves up a giving level, a name turns out to be misspelled, and every fix means ordering a new plate and waiting weeks. Before long the wall shows one moment in time while the advancement office keeps the real list in a spreadsheet nobody sees.

A digital donor wall holds the whole list and stays correct. Your office adds names in rows by level and year, fixes a spelling in minutes and publishes when the list is right. Because each name can open to a profile, the wall can also show what the gifts did: the renovated library, the new turf, the scholarship a senior just received.

## How does a digital donor wall compare with engraved plaques?

| What matters | Engraved plaques | HistoryShowcase |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Adding a new donor | Order, engrave and mount a new plate | Type the name in, preview, then publish |
| Fixing a misspelled name | Remake the plate | Edit the entry and publish again |
| Telling the story of a gift | Room for a name and a level | A profile with a biography and project photos |
| Space on the wall | Limited by the size of the wall | Collections and folders grow with the list |
| Seeing it from home | Only in person, on campus | Anyone with the published link can open it |

## What belongs on a digital donor wall

- **Donors by giving level.** Clean rows of names grouped by the levels your office already uses, with the year of the gift beside each name.
- **The story behind major gifts.** Leadership donors can open to a profile with a short biography, why they gave and photos of the project their gift supported.
- **Gifts in honor and in memory.** A separate collection for tribute gifts, so the person being honored is named alongside the donor.
- **Alumni, parents, staff and friends.** Note each donor’s connection to the school in the subtitle, such as a class year, a current parent or a retired teacher.
- **Businesses and community partners.** Local companies and organizations that support the school, each with its own entry and a logo or storefront photo.
- **Projects your donors made possible.** A photo gallery of the finished spaces and programs, from the science lab to the new band uniforms.

## How to organize your donor wall

Mirror the giving levels your office already uses. Ledger rows keep long lists readable; profiles carry the stories behind leadership gifts.

Site: Our Donors

- **Donors by level** (Honors ledger): One sub-collection per giving level, with names and the year of the gift.
- **Leadership gifts** (Profiles): Full profiles for donors whose gifts shaped a building or program.
- **In honor and in memory** (Honors ledger): Tribute gifts, with the honoree named in the subtitle.
- **Gifts at work** (Photo gallery): Photos of the spaces and programs donors made possible.

Visitors can filter by: Giving level, Connection, Year.

## How do you set up a digital donor wall?

1. **Open the Donors & Giving example.** Add the Donors & Giving example pack to see a finished donor list, then swap in your own levels and names.
2. **Bring in your donor list.** Import the spreadsheet your office keeps, one row per donor, or upload a printed honor roll and let Smart Add suggest entries to review.
3. **Check every name, then publish.** Preview the wall privately, have a second person check spellings and levels, and publish when the list is right.

## Where should a digital donor wall go?

- **Main entrance lobby.** Visitors, families and returning alumni pass it on the way in.
- **Outside the advancement office.** Donors coming in for a meeting or a tour see their names right away.
- **Your giving web page.** Share the published site’s web address so donors far from campus can find their names.

## Digital donor wall questions

### Can we list donors anonymously or by a preferred name?

Yes. You type each name exactly as the donor asked to be listed, such as “The Ramirez Family” or “Anonymous”. Nothing goes on screen until someone with publishing access publishes it.

### How do we add next year’s donors?

Add new names to the right level, or import a fresh spreadsheet, then preview the changes privately and publish. Existing names stay where they are unless you move them.

### Can we prepare a gift announcement ahead of time?

Yes. Edits save to a private draft and archived stories stay hidden, so you can have the donor’s profile ready and publish it on the day the gift is announced.

### Who on our team can make changes?

Add colleagues by email as owners, publishers, editors or viewers. A gift officer can enter names as an editor while the director keeps publishing access.

## Related

- [Capital Campaign Donor Recognition](https://history-showcase.com/use-cases/capital-campaign-donor-display): Recognize campaign donors through every phase, then keep them with the building after the campaign ends.
- [Giving Society Recognition Display](https://history-showcase.com/use-cases/giving-society-recognition): Show your giving societies, their levels and the donors who have given year after year.
- [Annual Fund Donor Recognition](https://history-showcase.com/use-cases/annual-fund-donor-recognition): Thank each year’s annual fund donors by name, from first-time parents to class agents, without a new wall.
- [Hall of Fame Plaque Alternative](https://history-showcase.com/use-cases/plaque-wall-alternative): Engraved plaques run out of wall and room for words. Profiles hold every inductee’s whole story.

Thank every donor where people can see it Free to use. No payment details required. Start building, no account needed: https://history-showcase.com/start