Collecting email consent & preferences / repurposing RE forms (Event forms, donation forms)

Suzie Capps

I have used NXT for years, but never the 'public facing' elements such as form building / online express etc.

However I'm ready to learn if it can help us with some of our activities! Does anyone have advice for repurposing one of RE's form tools (e.g., Events Form / Donation Form) for ONLY collecting consent for emails? On a webform we would like to allow people visiting our website to:
a) Give name and email address
b) Tick a box to opt-in to our general email newsletter
c) Select from a list what their key interests are (e.g., Volunteering, Fundraising etc.)
d) Tell us how they heard about the charity (either free text or we could make this a drop down list of options)
If anyone has any idea whether that is possible or worth me doing more research on, that would be amazing! Even better would be if you have an example of where this works and could send me a link to the webpage!

Thank you in advance to this wonderful community as I settle into my role at a new charity with a whole new host of RE challenges!!

Christine Robertson

@Suzie Capps Last I knew with Online Express, the form is limited to name fields and an email address and it is a general opt-in (not specific to different types of email).

Heather Fields

@Christine Robertson @susie Capps
I am looking to do something similar. Is there a way to create an email opt-in form for our website that simply captures name and email address and have it feed directly to constituent records in RE? I know I can add it to the donation form, but I would also like it to stand alone.

SmartTHING Developers

@Heather Fields

We are BB partners and our SmartPORTAL system does that… just Google for it or message me for more info.

Christine Robertson

@Heather Fields Online Express used to do that (I think it still does), but it does only connect first name, last name and email so you can end up with some duplicates when you can't tell if it is the same John Smith or not.

Dan Snyder

@Heather Fields If you know Power Automate or want to learn, you could set something up with Microsoft Forms as well.

Austen Brown

@Suzie Capps - I've heard of someone doing this with an event form, as you can submit information without a payment - but it is definitely a band-aid and the user experience isn't great. I recommend the same as @Dan Snyder, utilizing an online census form with Power Automate, would enable your donors to have an easier experience without adding additional work to your plate.

If you're interested in automation, but not building it yourself - check out AutomateGenius. We've partnered with many non-profits to build custom automations like this.