Importing Donors and/or Potential Guests

Note:  If you are a returning user, you should be migrating data from your previous site(s). You can do this by migrating your own data from your account management page.  

Donors and Potential Guests utilize the same User record format (and thus, data fields). The only difference is that Donor records are flagged as donors (actual or potential) so their name will appear in a dropdown menu for assignment when items are being entered into the catalog.    Since both use the same data fields, the instructions for preparing your spreadsheet are also identical - but you'll need to prepare one spreadsheet for Donors and another for Potential Guests.  If you think some donors will also be guests, import them as donors to avoid creating duplicate user records.

The spectrum for a data import can range from simple (allows basic functionality of software) to very complex (allows comprehensive records to be moved to/from another database).  These instructions will focus on the most commonly imported data fields, but will include links to documents designed for data gurus and complex imports, as well as Shortcuts for scaling an import back to the simplest format to allow basic functionality for your event.

For general information, see Importing Data.    Submit your import request and prepared spreadsheets to [email protected].

Data Field Names for Donors and Potential Guests:

Data Field Names for Donors and Potential Guests:

Be sure to specify Donors or Potential Guests on your spreadsheet.

Most commonly imported data fields = column headers:

  • is_business (dictates appropriate name field(s)
  • business_name (required if  is_business = yes)
  • first_name  (required if  is_business = no)
  • last_name
  • full_name (alternate to first/last, see below)
  • address
  • city
  • state
  • zip
  • email_primary
  • phone_primary

Shortcut:  a donor record must be created before an item can be entered into the software, so importing Donor records that only contain the donor's name will at least allow you to enter items quickly and to display the donor of an item in the online catalog and on bid and description sheets.

See Available Data Fields or Sample Spreadsheet for Importing Users (donors or potential guests)  for a complete list of available data fields/column headers.

Name formatting:

Name formatting:

1.  Business Names:  The software has different fields for Business vs. Individuals names which allow greater flexibility and more specificity for reporting and creating mail merge documents.  For example, it allows you to create and send a procurement letter tailored to your business donors or a thank you letter written specifically for your non-business donors.  it also allows you to analyze the revenue from items donated by businesses vs. individuals.  

To take advantage of these features, your spreadsheet must use separate columns for Business and individuals' Names.

2.  Individuals' Names:  The software has separate fields for first and last names, but your spreadsheet may not.  Our import process can accommodate the most common name formats, but you may need to edit your column headers and/or individual cells.  Refer to the illustration to determine which column header(s) to use for your import.  Note:  If your spreadsheet contains a combination of methods or a format not described above, you will need to edit the non-compliant cells to one of the allowed formats.

Shortcut:  You can import all donors/potential donors as businesses and the Donor Name will display exactly as entered in the cell.  You will lose the ability to distinguish between business and individual donors but this is the easiest way to import data that is not consistently formatted.