Your Bloomerang database is the central donor management and fundraising platform for your organization, but Bloomerang likely isn’t the only app that you use day to day. We believe Bloomerang is your central system and that integrations supplement your Bloomerang database. Automation should start from a lens that Bloomerang is core to your donor management and fundraising technology.

Bloomerang is now connected to Zapier and Zapier connects to 5,000+ other apps, including eCommerce sites like Shopify and WooCommerce. The combination of Bloomerang and Zapier offers an all-in-one integration platform for automating your day to day workflows.

The goal of this webinar is to show you how integrating an eCommerce site with Bloomerang using Zapier can streamline data entry, save time, and reduce effort.

During this webinar, we will:

• Introduce Bloomerang + Zapier, how they work together, and why Zapier integrations are a key feature of your Bloomerang system and fundraising strategy
• Explore and demonstrate how you can use the Bloomerang Zapier app to…
  • Sync donations from an eCommerce store to Bloomerang
  • Dynamically code the Fund, Campaign, and/or Appeal in Bloomerang
  • Account for shipping charges in Bloomerang
• Discuss how you can get started with Bloomerang integrations in Zapier.

Click here to download the webinar slides.

Webinar transcript (not including Q&A):
Good afternoon, and welcome to Bloomerang Academy! Thank you for joining us. My name is Margie Worrell, and I am the Curriculum Manager at Bloomerang. You might recognize me from attending Bloomerang Academy classes or listening to our release and help videos.

Today, we’re exploring Bloomerang + Zapier: Automating an eCommerce store with Bloomerang.

[SLIDE]

I’d like to introduce our presenter today, Jessie Gilchrist. Jessie is a Zapier Certified Expert and Bloomerang Integrations Consultant at Sidekick Solutions. Sidekick Solutions is a Bloomerang Partner, specializing in system automations for Bloomerang. Sidekick Solutions has been a Bloomerang user since 2013 and most recently was part of the Bloomerang team that launched the Bloomerang Zapier app. We’re excited to have Jessie here today to share her expertise and explore Bloomerang integrations.

Thank you. Hello everyone! It’s great to be here.

[SLIDE]

The goal of today’s webinar is to show how a Bloomerang integration with an eCommerce store using Zapier can support your fundraising efforts by reducing the time spent performing data entry and ensuring consistency across coding in Bloomerang.

Our webinar today will…

• Introduce Bloomerang + Zapier, how they work together, and why Zapier integrations are a key feature of your Bloomerang system and fundraising strategy
• Explore and demonstrate how you can use the Bloomerang Zapier app to…
  • Sync donations from an eCommerce store to Bloomerang
  • Dynamically code the Fund, Campaign, and/or Appeal in Bloomerang
  • Account for shipping charges in Bloomerang
• Discuss how you can get started with Bloomerang integrations in Zapier.

We have demos throughout the webinar to show you how to set up these automations for your organization and are happy to answer questions. Please submit all questions through the Q&A.

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It is common for organizations of all sizes to use many types of software and we believe that automated integrations are essential to your customer database. Integrations can help connect these systems, creating a tech stack that supports your organization and its strategic goals.

This is where Zapier comes in. As some of you may not be familiar with Zapier, we will start with a high level overview of what Zapier is and why we believe it is a key feature of your Bloomerang system and fundraising strategy.

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Zapier is automation software that enables additional Bloomerang integration and fundraising opportunities. It’s a middleware that sits in between Bloomerang and other apps you use, helping them “talk” to each other.

Bloomerang’s Zapier app extends the power of your database by enabling integrations with over 5,000 other apps in Zapier’s directory. And, Zapier was designed for anyone to build an integration. You don’t need to be a developer or know code to build an automation.

The flexibility of the Zapier platform enables custom integrations. You aren’t limited to one-size fits all workflows, mapping, or formatting. You can build integrations that are perfect for your organization and your workflows.

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Integrations are a key feature of your Bloomerang database and can take your fundraising efforts to the next level. Data should flow in and out of your Bloomerang database, connecting to other best in class tools your organization uses. By keeping Bloomerang as the central hub of your tech stack, you will create a global record of Constituent engagement with your organization and centralize reporting.

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First, we want to do a quick poll to see how many are using Zapier and using it with Bloomerang.

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Now, we want to start by demonstrating how to set up a basic sync of paid orders from an eCommerce store to Bloomerang.

For the demonstrations in this webinar, we will be using Shopify as the eCommerce store. The flows we are going to outline can be deployed in a similar manner for other integration-friendly eCommerce platforms like WooCommerce.

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When syncing paid orders in Shopify to Bloomerang, there are two primary steps. First, we need to find or create the constituent in Bloomerang. Then, we want to create a donation on the timeline for the found or created constituent. Optionally, we can update the address, phone, and/or email on the constituent in Bloomerang with the customer’s information in Shopify.

[ZAPIER DEMO – 5 SLIDES]

• Now, let’s hop into Zapier and set up our Zap.
• Click on the +Create Zap button in the upper left.
• The workflow starts with a New Paid Order in Shopify, so that’s our trigger. The trigger prompts the integration to run when that event occurs (i.e. order is updated as paid). We are going to select Shopify as our app and New Paid Order as our trigger event.
• Next step is to test our trigger and generate sample data. This will return up to 3 recently paid orders. These are samples only and will not run through the integration because they were created before the integration is turned on. Zap triggers run in real time only.
• Once we have sample data, we want to add a filter step to only continue the Zap if the Total Price of the order is greater than $0.
• After we’ve set up our filter, we’ll add our first action to find or create a constituent in Bloomerang for the customer. We’ll select the Bloomerang app and the Find Constituent action. We’ll select a Type of Individual.
  • If you receive orders for organizations and individuals via an eCommerce store, there is advanced functionality in Zapier that can support conditional paths/logic to sync organization and individual customers to Bloomerang, as applicable. For this demo we are focusing on individual customers.
  • Next, we can map the customer’s first name, last name, email, phone (if collected), and address (if collected) to the appropriate fields in the search from the Shopify trigger. For this integration, we recommend using the billing/customer, not shipping details as the order may be shipped to someone other than the purchaser.
  • We’ll leave the constituent’s cumulative giving and household information field blank as we don’t need the search to return this data.
  • We need to check the box at the bottom to create a constituent in Bloomerang if one is not found in the search. We’ll map the customer’s name and contact information to the appropriate fields to create a constituent. Now we’ll click Test & Run to confirm this action is configured appropriately. This will return a payload of data we’ll use in our subsequent action steps in the Zap.
• Next we’ll add the action to create the donation in Bloomerang for the order. We’ll select the Bloomerang app and the Create Donation action.
  • To make sure we create the donation on the timeline of the constituent we found/created in the prior step, we need to map the Constituent ID from the Find/Create Constituent test to the Constituent field in the action.
  • Map the Date (Purchased At), Amount (Total Price OR Total Line Items Price), and the Order Number from the Shopify trigger.
  • Then, assign a method of Credit Card, and select the desired Fund, Campaign, and Appeal. These are all hardcoded values, meaning the same value will be assigned for all paid orders in Shopify.
• Now, we are done editing and can turn on the Zap.
• Optionally, we can add some additional steps in our Zap to update the constituent in Bloomerang with new contact information from the Shopify customer/order. To do this….
  • Add a filter and only continue if Zap_Data_Found is true in the Find/Create Constituent action.
  • Then, add an Update Constituent in Bloomerang action. Map the ID from the found/created constituent and map the address, phone, and/or email as desired.
    • If the data matches an existing address, phone, or email, it will not duplicate it. Instead, the matched data will be promoted to the primary address, phone, or email for the constituent. The previous primary address, phone, or email (if different than the mapped data) will be demoted to secondary (not deleted).
    • If the data doesn’t match an existing address, phone, or email, the new information will be added and promoted as the primary address, phone, or email for the constituent. The previous primary address, phone, or email will be demoted to secondary (not deleted).

[SLIDE]

The workflow we just showcased is a simple, standard sync when you only want to create a single donation in Bloomerang for the full order. However, many organizations with eCommerce stores have varying coding in Bloomerang based on the product/item that is purchased.

The basic sync can be enhanced to create a split payment in Bloomerang, with each product in the order creating a separate split. A lookup table is used in the solution to dynamically code the Fund, Campaign, and/or Appeal in Bloomerang based on the products purchased in the eCommerce store, ensuring each split has the appropriate coding.

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A lookup table in Zapier is a way to convert data from your source app to the corresponding value in your target app.

The lookup key is the data we want to search for (lookup) in our table. Sometimes this will be a human readable value/label, and others it may be an ID for the value or record. When possible, we recommend using IDs as it will remain static, even if the value/label is modified. For an eCommerce store, this will often be a SKU.

If the step is successful and finds a match in our lookup table, it will return the related value for mapping into the target system.

There are a number of apps in Zapier that provide lookup functionality. For automating the sync of paid orders in Shopify to Bloomerang, you will want to use Formatter by Zapier.

Formatter by Zapier is a free app in Zapier’s marketplace that can be used to create a simple lookup table. Formatter allows you to:

• Return a single value for the lookup key
• Lookup and return a value for each line item in a record
• Assign a fallback value if the lookup key is not found in the lookup table

[SLIDE]

When adding dynamic coding into our Zap, there are three changes we need to make to our basic sync:

• Make sure our initial filter is based on Total Line Items Price
• Add lookup to return Fund, Campaign, and/or Appeal by the product SKU
• Calculate the subtotal per line item in the order (i.e., price x quantity).

[ZAPIER DEMO – 4 SLIDES]

Now, let’s hop into Zapier and update the Zap we set up in our last demo.

• First, we’ll click on our initial Filter and update this from Total Price to Total Line Items Price.
• Then, we’ll add another action. Select Formatter by Zapier as the app and Utilities as the action.
  • Select Lookup Table as the Transform.
  • Map the Line Items SKU as the Lookup Key. You could also use Line Items Name, but the Zap will require updates if the name of the product is changed after initial entry in the lookup table.
  • Add a row for each product variant in Shopify. Enter the SKU on the left and the corresponding Appeal code you’d like to assign in Bloomerang on the right.
  • If desired, assign a Fallback Value that will be used if the Zap runs and the product is not listed in the lookup table.
  • Now we’ll click Test & Run to confirm this action is configured appropriately. This will return a payload of data we’ll use in our subsequent action steps in the Zap.
• Then, we’ll add another action. Select Formatter by Zapier as the app and Numbers as the action.
  • Select Spreadsheet-Style Formula as the Transform.
  • Map the Line Items Price, type in an asterisk (*), and then map in the Line Items Quantity. This action has line item support and will multiply the price of each item by the quantity purchased. If you offer discounts on products in your eCommerce store, further calculation may be needed to account for any discounts.
  • Now we’ll click Test & Run to confirm this action is configured appropriately. This will return a payload of data we’ll use in our subsequent action steps in the Zap.
• Then, we’ll go to our Create Donation action.
  • Click in the Amount field, select Custom, and map the output from the calculation action.
  • For the Appeal, we’ll click the dropdown, select custom, and then map the output from our lookup step. This will ensure the donation, when created, is coded appropriately.
  • If we have custom fields set up, we can map additional data points like the product name and quantity.
• Now, we are done editing and can turn on the Zap.

[SLIDE]

There is one other quick flow we’d like to showcase. Some organizations, when creating a split payment for line items in the order, also want a donation created if the order has associated shipping costs.

We are going to showcase this today as a separate Zap. Organizations with the Professional plan (or higher) in Zapier can take advantage of paths in Zapier to incorporate the Shipping and Line Item Zaps into a single Zap.

[SLIDE]

Similar to our basic sync, our workflow will have an initial filter so it only continues if the Shipping Total is greater than $0. Then, it will find or create the constituent in Bloomerang before creating a donation for the shipping cost.

We have a delay in this Zap (after the filter) to ensure this Zap offsets from our flow that syncs the line items to Bloomerang. We don’t want the find/create constituents actions in these two Zaps to run simultaneously as it could result in duplicate accounts being created in Bloomerang.

[ZAPIER DEMO – 4 SLIDES]

Now, let’s hop into Zapier and set up our Zap.

• We’ll set up the trigger in the same manner we did our earlier Zaps. Select an order in the samples that includes shipping in order to access the necessary fields for mapping.
• When we set up the filter, we’ll select the Shipping Lines Price and only continue if the amount is greater than 0.
• Next, we need to add our delay action. Select Delay by Zapier as the app and Delay For as the action. Set the time delay to 2 minutes.
• The find/create constituent in Bloomerang action is next. The mapping to this action is the same as in our earlier Zap.
• When we add the Create Donation in Bloomerang action, the mapping is nearly identical to the basic sync. The primary difference is that you will map the Shipping Lines Price as the Amount and select the desired Fund, Campaign, and Appeal coding.
• Now, we are done editing and can turn on the Zap. You won’t want to add the optional update to the constituent in this Zap as it will be duplicative of the line items Zap.

[SLIDE]

We want to quickly point out some additional enhancements that can be made to the flows we covered today.

• Support for Individual and Company (Organization) customers
• Support for international customers (address formatting)
• Conversion of Shopify data to Bloomerang custom fields
• Account for discounts and tax

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Getting started with Bloomerang automations is easy.

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The first step in getting started is signing up for a Zapier account, if you don’t have one already.

All Zapier accounts begin with a 14-day free trial of the Professional tier functionality. Following the free trial, your plan is converted to a Free plan until you choose to upgrade. Most organizations will need to upgrade to the Starter plan, at a minimum in order to build multi-step Zaps.

It is also important to remember that Zapier provides a 15% discount to nonprofits. If you sign up for a paid plan, make sure to apply for the discount.

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After signing up for Zapier, connect your Bloomerang database. After logging in:

1. Click My Apps on the left menu.
2. Click Add Connection.
3. Search for and select Bloomerang
4. Grant access using your Bloomerang login credentials.

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If your team would like support setting up an automation from Shopify or WooCommerce to Bloomerang, we offer an integration bundle for Bloomerang customers. This bundle includes end-to-end configuration and deployment of your automations for one (1) eCommerce store.

This service is optional and your organization may instead choose to implement Bloomerang automations in Zapier DIY.

Zapier subscription costs are not included in this pricing.

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If you prefer to build your automations DIY or want to learn more about Zapier, there are plenty of resources available.

• Search available apps in Zapier’s marketplace
• Look at Bloomerang Zap templates
• Review Zapier resources on getting started with building Zaps
• Begin building!

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Thank you for attending today.

We are going to launch a poll. If you’d like to work with a consultant to set up an integration or explore your use case and tech stack, please let us know.

[SLIDE]

Now, we’d like to open it up for questions.