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Search for a Constituent (enhanced) functionality

Carol Grant

I'm using Power Automate to see if I can create new records if they don't match. I'm bringing in gifts from a 3rd party API and I want to make sure I understand how this endpoint works. I've read various posts about using it but I want to double check before I head down this path because no one wants duplicate records. (right?)

I have these fields filled in for it to search on. Does it use OR for these, meaning if the Email matches but not the First or Last name, will it find the record? Or do all of these have to match for it to find the record? Many times the email will match someone but not the first and last name. Does this need to be a two step process with conditions?

I looked at Duplicate Search endpoint but it doesn't have email in the results and for me it was confusing. I know there is rank listed but it didn't return the matches I thought it would.

How do you accomplish finding new records that need to be created? Thanks for any help

-Carol

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Crystal Bruce

Hi @Carol Grant I am tagging in @Erik Leaver and @Alex Wong to see if they can offer any insight!

Erik Leaver

Hi @Carol Grant -

I reviewed the documentation & played in the try-it console.

Documentation notes that Last Name is required. So I'm taking that as the main matching function.

Other fields are optional, such as email (which is in the documentation but that list is long). Most of those fields filter on a MATCH.

How this appears to work:

Search: Leaver
will give you all Last Names with Leaver

Search: Leaver, filter email (records that MATCH): matcherik@test.com
Gives you all the last names of Leaver that have the email address matcherik@test.com

You might need to do some loops in PA - when you layer these together in one run you are adding multiple matches.

Alex Wong

I have not use search for constituent to find existing constituent based on multiple criteria, so I can't really speak best way to do things. I have only done it with email address only.

@Erik Leaver Got some clarity needed though, there are 3 search actions:

There are 3 search API endpoints, 2 in Constituent section

1 in NXT Data Integration section

can you provide details on which action in PA is which API endpoint? and Blackbaud recommendation on which one is better to use?

From what I see/tested just now, https://developer.sky.blackbaud.com/api#api=56b76470069a0509c8f1c5b3&operation=SearchConstituent

this one may be "better" as the 1 search field can do name or email?

Carol Grant

@Alex Wong - getting back to this. I was trying to see what API endpoint but none of them really match to the Search a constituent (enhanced). I did some tests and it appears that it is not an OR which is too bad. I had some people that had a different first name or alias and it doesn't search for aliases for the first name (Peggy vs. Margaret), only the last name. I could do email and last name then maybe a condition for the first name.

I think we have abandoned matching the records through the API and using Omatic Cloud to match the records but their ability to create new records is lacking. I am unable to attend the next Power Automate group meeting but may bring it up at a later date.

Ben Regier

This is a workflow we've been using recently - fairly good results so far, though it's still new.

First, we use two "Search for a constituent" actions - one searching for the name, the other for the email address. We combine the results into a single array.

Then, we pass that array to a custom prompt we built in AI Builder. The prompt accepts a JSON object with any information we have about the constituent to be matched (name, email, address, phone, etc.), and the array of possible matches from our two searches. It instructs the AI to select any constituents that might be a match, and then sort them in order from most likely to least likely, and return them as a JSON array.

You can then decide what to do with that array in your flow - we present the options to a user for a final decision, adding the option to create a new constituent if they don't believe any of the matches are the right one.

Carol Grant

Very intriguing Ben! I looked at some documentation about AI Builder in Power Automate so I'll take a look. Thanks!

Alex Wong

Nice AI touch!