When importing your donation history or offline donations into REACH, follow this process. 

Here are some extra details to assist you when importing your donation history:

You can use our predefined templates or your own files. While our templates are recommended for simplified data matching, they are not mandatory.

Required Fields#

There are ten fields required* for your donation history:

• first_name
• last_name
• address1
• postal
• city
• country
• date
• amount
• payment_type
• currency 

*Important Note: If the supporters are already listed in REACH, you can link a donation to an existing supporter by using the permalink REACH created for them, or their email address.  The field requirements mean those columns must be present, but the rows can be left blank if the supporter’s address is already in REACH.

If you are bringing in your donation history and using sponsorships in REACH, it’s crucial to follow this sequence for correct record linkage: begin with Sponsorship Images, then move on to Sponsorships, Supporters, and finally Donation History.

Using the Donation History Template#

Navigate to Data Setup > Data Import/Export > Imports tab and select the Donation History Import Template from the System Import Templates dropdown menu to download the template. 

• The template includes a Column Definition sheet, detailing what should be entered in each column; the second tab is where you will enter your data for the import.
• You will see additional sheets for each Referral Type and the associated Referrals. Use these to ensure donations are attributed to the correct Purpose. If a Referral Type and Referral is not included, the record will be entered as General Donation.
  • Note: Multiple items on one donation need to be listed as separate records in the import template. They will be listed as separate items in the supporter’s donation history in REACH.
• Input your data into the second sheet, being sure to include the required fields, first_name, last_name, address1, postal, city, state, country, date, amount, payment_type, currency. Remember, each of these columns must be present but if the supporters are already in REACH, you can use the permalink or email address (and not the first_name, last_name and address fields) for your import.

Delete any empty rows from your spreadsheet. Empty columns should not cause a problem. 

Importing your Donation History Data#

Now, you can prepare to import your file. 

Remember, you can consult our Importing your Records article for detailed instructions. 

It’s highly advisable to first conduct a test import with a small number of donation history records. This allows you to observe how each data field maps and correct any errors before proceeding with the import of all your records.

*Completing a test import is especially important for importing your donation history as donation history imports cannot be over-written with a re-import. Re-import will result in duplicate records.

Navigate to Data Setup > Data Import/Export > Imports tab.

• Click + New Import
• For the Import Type, select Donation History
• Review the required and optional fields and edit your data as needed. 
• Click Show field definitions for more details.
• Browse to choose the file to import
• Click Submit 
• Match your imported columns, click Import Data. 

If successfully matched, your import will begin processing and you will receive an email once complete. 

If any columns were not matched correctly, the necessary corrections will be specified in red. If needed, make corrections in your import file, and return to Step 2.

Once completed, you will see a status page that details the name of your import file, the import type, the status, uploaded date and a list with links to the records imported.