Importing Data into Donor Tools

You can import donors and donations using Donor Tools automatic import tool.

File Formats

You can import data from the following file formats:

  • Microsoft Excel
  • CSV (Comma Separated Values) text file

Data Structure

Each record must be on one line in your spreadsheet file. If a record spans multiple lines, or if there are multiple records on one line, then your import won't work.

For best results, your data should be structured in one of the following ways:

  • Donors only - a single file containing a list of donors, but not donations
  • Donations only - a single file containing a list of donations, but not donors
  • Mixed - a single file containing both donors and donations

Importing data happens one file at a time. If you have two files - one containing donors and one containing donations, you must import each file separately.

Required Fields

For donor records, there are no required fields. You can have as much or as little donor data as you like.

Donation records must have, at the bare minimum, a received date, an amount, and a donor (this can be a reference to the donor's ID or donor attributes specified on the same line). It's also recommended, but not required, to specify a fund and source (more on funds and sources).

Data Quality

Our import tool works best when the data you give it is highly consistent. What does this mean? You should have only one kind of data in each column - e.g. the amount column should have only numeric amount values, the received date column should only have date values (and they should be formatted the same way). If there are any variations in the kind of information that you have in your import file, you may end up with unexpected results.

It's best to "clean" your data prior to importing. Check for consistency, remove any unnecessary formatting, and make sure the data is correct.

Legacy Id

The legacy_id field is used to tie the donor record back to your original database. If your old database had a "primary key" or an ID for each donor, then this will become the legacy_id in Donor Tools.

Is the legacy_id required? No, it's not required. However, if you are importing donors, and you plan to subsequently import donations, the legacy_id is used to tie the donation back to the appropriate donor.

It is advisable (but not required) to specify a `legacy` id when importing a mixed file.

If you don't provide a `legacy_id`, then Donor Tools will attempt to "guess" the right donor record based on the donor's name and address.

How the automatic Legacy Id works

(You can skip this paragraph if you're scared by tech talk.) If you don't specify a legacy_id, then Donor Tools will make one up. Donor Tools will take all the attributes that you've assigned to the donor (name, address, email address, etc.) hash them using a simple MD5 hashing algorithm, and then store this as the donor's legacy_id. This gives us a consistent value that we can use to look up the right donor for subsequent donations. Here's an example: given a row with a donor named "Joe Donor", Donor Tools would create a legacy_id of b01207e (simplified). The next time Donor Tools encounters a row with "Joe Donor", it will hash the name, yielding "b01207e". Because this legacy id was already stored, we can look up the existing record for "Joe Donor". This is why it's very important to provide consistent data for your donor records - any variations in the donor's attributes will result in duplicate donor records. [See how to merge two donors together](merging-donors)

Column Names

You don't have to change the column names, or headings, in the file that you're importing. However, naming the columns can help you save some steps. For example, if you have a column named "First Name", then Donor Tools will automatically match it with the proper field. But if that field is named "Fname", then you'll have to manually set the matching field. See Importing Donors or Importing Donations for more detail about matching columns with fields. Matching column names with an imported file in Donor Tools

Multiple Attributes

You can import more than one of most attributes. For example, if you specify "Email Address" for two columns, then the donor record will end up with two email addresses. You can import multiple:

  • Names (First Name, Last Name, etc.)
  • Email Addresses
  • Phone Numbers
  • Addresses (Street Address, City etc.)