Message Templates

Message templates let you define reusable content for both email and SMS channels. Templates support merge fields that are populated with contact and foundation data at send time.

MessageTemplate model

Field	Type	Description
id	UUID	Primary key
foundation_id	UUID	Owning foundation
name	string	Template name (e.g., “Donation Thank You”)
channel	CampaignChannel	email or sms
subject	string?	Email subject line (null for SMS templates)
body	string	Message body with merge field placeholders
merge_fields	JSON?	Metadata about which merge fields are used

Merge fields

Templates support the same merge placeholders used across campaigns and sequences:

• first_name — Contact’s first name (Email, SMS)
• last_name — Contact’s last name (Email, SMS)
• foundation_name — Foundation’s display name (Email, SMS)

Each placeholder is wrapped in double curly braces in your template content.

Merge field replacement happens at send time in the EmailService and SmsService. The merge_fields JSON column on the template stores metadata about which fields the template uses, for UI display purposes.

Email templates

Email templates include both a subject and body field. The body contains HTML:

{
  "name": "Donation Receipt",
  "channel": "email",
  "subject": "Thank you for your gift, {{first_name}}!",
  "body": "<p>Hi {{first_name}},</p><p>Thank you for your generous donation to <strong>{{foundation_name}}</strong>. Your support makes a real difference.</p><p>With gratitude,<br>{{foundation_name}}</p>",
  "merge_fields": ["first_name", "foundation_name"]
}

SMS templates

SMS templates have a body only (no subject):

{
  "name": "Event Reminder",
  "channel": "sms",
  "subject": null,
  "body": "Hi {{first_name}}, reminder: our annual gala is this Saturday at 6pm. We'd love to see you there! - {{foundation_name}}",
  "merge_fields": ["first_name", "foundation_name"]
}

Using templates

Templates are reference content that can be copied into campaigns and sequence steps. When creating a campaign or sequence step, you can start from a template and customize the content.

The body content from a template is used as the starting point — it is copied into the campaign or step, not referenced. Changes to a template do not retroactively affect previously sent messages.

API endpoints

Method	Path	Description
GET	/api/message-templates	List all templates
POST	/api/message-templates	Create a template
GET	/api/message-templates/{id}	Show a template
PUT	/api/message-templates/{id}	Update a template
DELETE	/api/message-templates/{id}	Delete a template

All endpoints follow Laravel’s apiResource conventions and are scoped to the authenticated user’s foundation.