With Funraise Imports, you add and edit Transaction and Supporter records in bulk by uploading a spreadsheet or by manually entering data. This article describes how to access the import tool and includes instructions for conducting a multi-object data migration (Supporters and Transactions).
We highly recommend reading this entire article before beginning your data migration. We've also included a helpful VIDEO below to walk you through the main steps.
Import tool overview
To import Transaction or Supporter records, follow these steps.
1. Click your profile icon > click Settings
2. Navigate to Imports > click New Import
3. Select the entity and action > click Upload
4. Now you're ready to upload or manually enter your data. Accepted file types for upload include: .csv, .tsv, .xls, .xlsx, .xml. To import a file > click Upload data from file
5. If you're uploading a file, you will next configure column mappings. This is where you will assign a column in your sheet with a field in Funraise. We'll do our best to guess for you!
6. Next, you can review the upload and correct any errors. We'll highlight cells with errors - you can hover over a cell to see instructions to resolve the error. You can edit cells directly in the table. Click Continue to submit the import.
After the file has been uploaded, the import will begin processing. An import will show the status of pending until the import has successfully processed.
When the import is complete, you will receive an email with a link to download a results .csv with the details of your upload. The results .csv will contain the newly created Imported Record ID for the added records. 👍
Import templates
We highly recommend using our Google Sheets import template. Access the template and make a copy to begin adding your own data.
The template includes two separate sheets: Supporters and Transactions. Each sheet includes column headers with notes.
Keep in mind that this template does not validate errors. Any cells with errors will be identified when reviewing the import file inside Funraise.
Import fields details
Below you'll find an explanation and tips for the fields that can be included with an import. Most fields are not required and the optional fields you'll want to populate will depend on your organization's strategy.
The order of columns or the column titles in your import file does not matter. You'll have an opportunity to map your columns to specific Funraise fields during the import process inside Funraise. (If you use our column titles, we'll be able to suggest a match for your review).
Supporter Fields
Supporter Fields | Description |
Import External ID | The Supporter ID from the previous system that you are migrating from.
Optional, although if you're conducting a historic migration of Supporters and Transactions, this field is critical as you will need it to cross-reference existing IDs with newly create Funraise IDs. |
Title Prefix | Supporter's name prefix, for example, Ms. or Mr. |
First Name | Supporter's first name.
Required when Institution Category is Individual and Last Name is empty. |
Last Name | Supporter's last name.
Required when Institution Category is Individual and First Name is empty. |
Suffix | Supporter's name suffix, for example, Jr. or III. |
Preferred Name | A nickname or preferred name for the Supporter. |
Supporter's email address.
Must be a valid email address. Required when ALL First Name, Last Name, and Institution Name are empty. | |
Institution Category | Required. The type of Supporter.
Valid values include:
|
Institution Name | The name of the Supporter Institution.
This should be blank when the Institution Category is an "Individual".
Required when Institution Category is anything other than "Individual".
Required when ALL First Name, Last Name, and Email are empty. |
Phone | Optional. The Supporter's phone number. |
Gender | Optional. The Supporter's Gender.
Valid values include:
|
Date of Birth | Optional. The Supporter's birthday.
Data format: |
Email Opt In | Optional. Has the Supporter opted-in to receiving emails? |
Physical Mail Opt In | Optional. Has the Supporter Opted-In to snail mail? |
Address | Optional. The Supporter's street address. |
City | Optional. |
State | Optional. |
Postal Code | Optional. |
Country | Optional. |
Assigned to ID | Optional. Assign this Supporter to a team member by including the team member's ID.
Please reach out to Funraise's technical team to access the ID for a particular team member. |
Household ID | Optional. Provide a Household ID if you would like to add this Supporter to an existing Household.
Data can not exist in this field during an initial data migration. Households must first exist in Funraise in order to assign a Supporter to a Household on import.
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Tags | Optional. Tags are the most flexible way to organize Supporter data. You'll be able to filter Supporters by tags. A Supporter can have one or many tags. For example, you might use tags like
Delineate tags with a space and
|
Transaction Fields
Transaction Fields | Description |
Supporter ID | Required. The Funraise Supporter ID that this transaction should be assigned to.
A Supporter ID is always required. This means you must import Supporters before importing their Transactions.
For new Supporters created through an import, you'll receive an import results .csv that can be used to map the new Supporter IDs to your transaction records. |
Supporter Import External ID | The Supporter ID from the previous system that you are migrating from.
This is a special column. You will not import this column. This column is only here so that you can use it to map the newly created Funraise
Here's why: A Transaction is required to have a Funraise Supporter ID, which is only created after importing new Supporters. After the Supporter Import, you'll receive a results .csv that has the new |
Import External Id | Optional. The Transaction ID from the previous system that you are migrating from. |
Amount | Required. The amount of the Transaction. Do not include the currency symbol.
For example, |
Source Currency | Required. The original currency of the Transaction. In most cases, this is USD.
Funraise does not do any currency conversions on import, here you're just declaring the currency the transaction was conducted in. |
Source Amount | Required. The amount of the Transaction in the original currency.
If the Transaction was never converted from another currency, this field should match the "Amount".
Do not include the currency symbol. For example, |
Tax Deductible Amount | Required. The tax-deductible amount of the Transaction. This is the amount of the Transaction for which no goods or services were exchanged.
In most cases, this column will match your "Amount" column. |
Transaction Date | Required. The date of the Transaction. Data format:
For example, |
Status | Required. The status of this Transaction.
Valid values include:
|
Payment Method | Required. The payment method for this Transaction.
Valid values include:
|
Recurring | Optional. Is this a recurring donation? |
Form ID | Optional. The ID of the Funraise Giving Form this transaction should be assigned to.
Transactions are not required to be assigned to a Giving Form, but it may be helpful for organization. |
Allocation ID | Optional. The ID of the allocation this transaction should be assigned to. |
Subscription ID | Optional. The Funraise Subscription ID for this Transaction.
If this is a recurring donation that is tied to an existing Funraise subscription, use this column to assign the Transaction to the appropriate Subscription. |
Campaign Page ID | Optional. The Funraise Campaign Site Page this Transaction should be assigned to.
Adding a Transaction to a Page will impact the Page's Goal attainment. |
Soft Credit Supporter ID | Optional. The ID of the Supporter who should be soft-credited with this Transaction. |
Household ID | Optional. Provide a Household ID if you would like to add this Transaction to an existing Household. |
Payment Processor ID | Optional. The transaction ID from your payment processor. |
Payment Method ID | Optional. The payment method ID from your payment processor.
In almost all cases, you'll leave this column blank. |
Check Number | Optional. If the payment method is Check, you can include the check number here. |
Memo | Optional. If the payment method is Check, you can include the check memo here. |
Dedication Name | Optional. If this Transaction was dedicated, include the name of the person it was dedicated to. |
Dedication Email | Optional. If this Transaction was dedicated, include the email address of the person it was dedicated to. |
Dedication Message | Optional. If this Transaction was dedicated, include the dedication message from the donor. |
| Optional. If this Transaction was dedicated, select the type of dedication.
Valid values include:
|
Company Match Name | Optional. If the donor suggested an employer match, include the Company name. |
Company Match Employee Email | Optional. If the donor suggested an employer match, include the donor's company email address. |
In-Kind Description | Optional. If this is an In-Kind donation, include a description of the donation. |
In-Kind Hide Amount | Optional. If this is an In-Kind donation, do you want to hide the amount of the In-Kind donation on donation receipts and yearly donation summaries? |
Tags | Optional. Tags are the most flexible way to organize Transaction data. You'll be able to filter Transactions by tags. A Transaction can have one or many tags. For example, you might use tags like
Delineate tags with a space and
|
Note | Optional. A custom note for this Transaction. |
Comment | Optional. If the donor left a comment with the donation, enter their comment. |
Pledge | Optional. Is or was this donation a pledge? |
Anonymous | Optional. Is this an anonymous Transaction?
When a Transaction is marked as anonymous, the donor's name is not displayed with the Transaction in public Campaign Site feeds. |
Operations Tip Amount | Optional. This is a historic field that is no longer used. In almost all cases, you'll leave this blank.
Do not include the currency symbol. For example: |
Step-by-step data migration walkthrough
This step-by-step video is an example of a full data migration, which includes both Supporters and Transactions. A data migration that includes Supporters and Transactions requires some basic excel or Google Sheet knowledge.
Step-by-step data migration summary
1. Copy the template and enter your data
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2. Import Supporters into Funraise
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3. Download the Supporter import results .csv
TIP: You only need to copy two columns from the results .csv into your import template working document:
TIP: After copying these two columns to a new sheet in the import template, reverse the order of the |
4. Map new Supporter IDs to Transactions
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5. Import Transactions into Funraise |
Frequently asked questions
Do we need to import Supporters or Transactions?
No, it's not required. If your team does not have the resources to organize your historic data or doesn’t plan to utilize historic data through features such as Funraise Intelligence or any other aggregated information that can be provided through Funraise, data migration is not necessary.
Is there a maximum import limit?
An import is limited to 10,000 records. If you have more than 10,000 records, you'll need to conduct several import actions.
Can I undo an import?
No. Imports are final and can not be undone. Funraise does not provide support to clean up or reverse imports. Be sure to double-check your data before uploading.
Will a blank cell on an import file remove data that exists?
No. A blank cell in an imported file will not overwrite or remove existing data.
How much data should I import?
It depends — what data would you like to access in Funraise? Factors to consider:
How much of the data will you utilize for analysis/supporter outreach with Funraise tools.
Will Funraise be the source of truth for your organization's entire history?
What values should I use for Form, Allocation, and Tags?
This is up to your data organization strategy and will impact how you can filter transaction records. You'll be able to filter Transactions by Giving Form, Allocation, and Tags. These details will help you create your strategy:
Giving Form — This is the highest level of organization for transactions. Transactions are not required to be assigned to a form. Transactions can be assigned to one form. You might create a form called, "Imported" to assign to your imported transactions, but this is not required.
Allocation — Allocations are the next layer of organization. Each transaction can be assigned to a single Allocation. Allocations are often used to assign transactions to a particular fund, location, chapter, or another segment. Allocations are not required. Learn more about Allocations.
Tags — Tags are the most flexible way to organize transactions. One or many tags can be applied to a Transaction. Tags are not required. Tags are delineated by a space and
#- not a comma! For example#tag1 #tag2.Tags can not contain spaces
Only letters, numbers, underscores, and hashtags are valid, other symbols are invalid
Tags are not case sensitive
Do I need to complete an import before I publish Giving Forms and start collecting donations online?
Nope. A data import is entirely optional and is not required to begin using Funraise. A data import can be conducted at any time.
Does imported data sync with integrations, such as Salesforce?
During an import, data does not sync with integrations. This is by design because in most cases imported data already exists in an integrated system and a migration sync could cause issues with your integrated system API limits.
Are Households created when importing Supporters?
No. Households are not created when importing Supporters. Although, you can assign Supporters to an existing Household when importing records by entering the Household ID on the Supporter row.
If a Supporter is assigned to a Household, will imported Transactions for that Supporter be assigned to the Household automatically?
No. Mapping a Transaction to a Supporter will not automatically add the Transaction to a Household. To map a Transaction to a Household, a Household ID must be specified with the Transaction.
Can I import Supporters without a Transaction?
Yes.
Can I import Transactions without a Supporter?
No. All Transactions require a Funraise Supporter ID.