Import

Roma Sharma

Hi is anybody can share how they import Just Giving data without any plugin?


Many thanks in advance.


Kind Regards

Roma

Faith Murray

I import things all the time .... I am importing a list of Annuity gifts right now from our planned giving software. But I am unfamiliar with JustGiving and how it outputs data fields.


No matter what platform you are importing from, you will need to obtain from JustGiving an excel or csv file with at minimum the gift date, donor last name, first name, fund, and gift amount. Then,

• Step 1: Go into your Admin-Import tab in Raiser's Edge database view, and create an Import file for getting your column headers. It's helpful to create a query with 3-4 existing gifts of the same type you are planning to import, and use that to create the output fields in your import template.
• Step 2: configure your JustGiving spreadsheet to the exact same format as the Import template you just created from Raiser's Edge. This means that column headers must be the same. It also means you must include donor constituent IDs in your file. If JustGiving has your RE constituent IDs, you're in luck. Otherwise, you may have to add them manually. Same with fund and appeal data.
• Step 3: Add any necessary data fields. RE will want a gift date and amount, but also a post date, post status, gift type, and receipt amount, fund, appeal, and campaign. You can bulk add fields like "Cash" and "Not Posted" into the appropriate columns in your excel.
• Step 4: Test your new file. Go back to Admin-Import and link your new JustGiving file to your Import. Click "Validate Data Only" (Important!). Then process. This will tell you if your data has any problems prior to actual import.
• Step 5: Test again. If there are no problems, select just the first two lines of your JustGiving import file and import just 2 gifts into RE, for real this time. Then look up the finished records in RE to make sure they look right.
• Step 6: Import full file. Be sure to select "create exception file" and "create query of imported records" so that you can locate the new records in case any future corrections are needed.

While I can't help you with the JustGiving export side of things, I'd be happy to help if you need any help walking through the Raiser's Edge importing side of things.

Katherine Swank

Faith! That's great to hear! I wish more organizations would record their planned gifts within their CRM too - not just in a spreadsheet or in another software program. Do you have a standard procedure for doing this.... like once a quarter, once a year, etc? ..... and most importantly what information do you import and into what fields? I think your process might be informative for other organizations. Thanks in advance, K-

Elizabeth Perron

Hi,


I have moved this helpful forum post from the Community Help Forum to the Organizational Best Practices because it can apply to many different Blackbaud Products and Verticals.


In harmony and inclusion,

Elizabeth

Blackbaud Community Team

Faith Murray

Well, importing planned gifts specifically, is a new process for us. After investing in our Planned Giving staff began to bear fruit, we decided to also invest in our database software with the Planned Gift module in Raiser's Edge. This gave us a new "Planned Gift" gift type along with the usual Pay-Cash and Pledges, and it also gave us a huge number of extra fields, such as Gift Vehicle (annuity, life insurance, etc.), Maturity year, "Gift has been realized", Annuity Payout percent, Insurance Policy Carrier, etc. It also gave us the ability to include or exclude Planned Gifts from our revenue reports and donor lifetime summaries.


Before, without having the Planned Gift module, the only planned gifts we recorded in Raiser's Edge were Annuities, with minimal information like gift amount, fund, and receipt (tax-deductible) portion; for everything else we used Constituent Attributes to carry the information. However, if we had been unable to get the Planned Gift module, and if I were being creative, I might have suggested using a Pledge-type gift, with a dedicated Planned Gift fund, marked "Do Not Post", Vehicle gift subtypes (annuity, etc.), and an array of Gift Attributes to achieve a similar effect. But the module is much easier. ?

Crystal Bruce

Discussion moved to Raiser's Edge, thanks!

Cathleen Mai

Faith perfectly answered your question. I know you specifically asked for a no plug-in solution. If the reason is cost I just want to mention that Zeidmans importacular is free for constituents and gifts and would help match up the constituents in case there are no constituent IDs on the Just Giving export.