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 Classy. 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 Classy 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 successful transactions from Classy to Bloomerang
  • Dynamically code the Fund, Campaign, and/or Appeal in Bloomerang

 
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 Diana Otero, and I am the Product Marketing 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 Fundraising with Classy.

[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 Classy using Zapier can support your fundraising efforts by reducing the time spent performing data entry and ensure consistency across donation 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 Classy to Bloomerang
  • Dynamically code the Fund, Campaign, and/or Appeal in Bloomerang
• Discuss how you can get started integrating Classy and Bloomerang

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.

[SLIDE]

It is common for organizations of all sizes to use many types of software and we believe that automated integrations are essential to your donor 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.

[SLIDE]

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.

[SLIDE]

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.

[SLIDE]

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

[SLIDE]

Now, we want to start by demonstrating how to set up a basic sync of transactions from Classy to Bloomerang.

[DEMO – 7 SLIDES]

When syncing successful transactions in Classy 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. Additional steps are needed to ensure the data flows appropriately from one system to another.

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 Successful Transaction in Classy, so that’s our trigger. The trigger prompts the integration to run when that event occurs (i.e. transaction moves from pending to successful). We are going to select Classy as our app and New Successful Transaction as our trigger event.
• Next step is to test our trigger and generate sample data. This will return up to 3 recently created transactions. 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 order was processed in Classy (i.e. is not an offline donation). This is intentional as most offline donations are paid by cash, check, DAF, IRA distribution, etc. and Bloomerang will often require additional details that may not be required or captured in Classy. Best practice is to filter out these donations and manually enter them into Bloomerang. You can still add them as offline donations in Classy to ensure campaign progress is reflective of all donations received to date.
• After we’ve set up our filter, we’ll add our first action to find or create a constituent in Bloomerang for the donor. We’ll select the Bloomerang app and the Find Constituent action. We’ll select a Type of Individual.
  • If you collect donations for organizations and individuals via your Classy donation pages, there is advanced functionality in Zapier that can support conditional paths/logic to sync organization and individual donors to Bloomerang, as applicable. For this demo we are focusing on individual donors.
  • Next, we can map the donor’s first name, last name, email, phone (if collected), and address (if collected) to the appropriate fields in the search from the Classy trigger. 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 donor’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.
• The Classy Zapier app provides the date of the transaction in UTC timezone. We want to set up a formatter step to not only convert the time zone from UTC to Eastern, but also to remove the timestamp. We are going to add a new action and select the Formatter by Zapier app.
  • Select the Date / Time Action Event and a Transform of Format.
  • Map the date/time field we want to convert to the Input field.
  • In the Zap we will define the From Format and Timezone, as well as the Format and Timezone we want to convert the data to.
  • Once we test the action, then we can map the output that is returned later in our 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, Amount, and the Transaction ID from the Classy 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 Classy transactions.
• 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 Classy supporter. 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’re only collecting donations via Classy for a single purpose. However, this is rarely the case.

Many organizations that use Classy collect donations for a variety of purposes using separate Classy donation pages. A lookup table can be configured in the solution to dynamically code the Fund, Campaign, and/or Appeal in Bloomerang based on the Classy campaign the donation was made to.

[DEMO – 4 SLIDES]

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.

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 two different apps that can be used to create a lookup table in your Zap: Formatter by Zapier and Google Sheets. In order to build your understanding of Zapier, we’re going to cover when you’d use one of these vs. the other, but it’s important to note that for automating the sync of transactions in Classy to Bloomerang, we typically use a Google Sheet.

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

Google Sheets is another viable option for including a lookup table in your solution. With Google Sheets you can:

• Return multiple values in the lookup (i.e. Fund, Campaign, and Appeal based on the fundraising campaign ID)
• Easily edit the lookup table without having to touch the live Zap
• Supports lookup based on two values

Click here to view another recent Bloomerang webinar that covered the use of these lookup table options for a Classy sync.

In order to dynamically code the Fund, Campaign, and Appeal using a Google Sheet lookup table, we want to start by setting up our lookup table before building the workflow in Zapier.

We’ve added column headers that represent the data we want to pull into our integration for each Campaign. For each new Campaign created in Classy, we’ll add the Campaign ID and Campaign Name to this lookup table and add the appropriate Bloomerang coding for the event.

The Campaign ID is what will be used for the lookup to ensure the solution is future proofed (i.e., won’t break if you update the Campaign name). We can locate the Campaign ID in Classy by going to the Campaigns page. It is displayed to the left of each Campaign name.

As we create new Campaigns in Classy, we simply add the details into this GSheet to ensure donations synced to Bloomerang are coded appropriately. We can also update the Bloomerang coding, as needed, and the donations moving forward will be coded based on the updated values assigned. This is most common if you have a value that includes a year-code (ex: 2022 Annual Campaign).

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

• Following our Formatter step to convert the date, we’ll click the plus icon to add another action. We’ll select Google Sheets as the app and Lookup Spreadsheet Row as our action. After selecting our Google Sheet spreadsheet and worksheet for our lookup table, we’ll set the lookup column as the Campaign ID and map the Campaign ID from the Classy New Successful Transaction trigger to the lookup value field. Now we’ll click Test & Run to confirm this action is configured appropriately and pull in the specific coding for the donation.
• Then, we’ll go to our Create Donation action. For the Fund, Campaign, and Appeal, we’ll click the dropdown, select custom, and then map the output from our Google Sheet lookup step. This will ensure the donation, when created, is pulling this coding from the prior Google Sheet lookup step.
• Now, we are done editing and can turn on the Zap.

[SLIDE]

Getting started with Bloomerang automations is easy.

[SLIDE]

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.

[SLIDE]

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

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

[SLIDE]

Classy does not have a public app in Zapier’s marketplace. Sidekick Solutions has developed a connector that supports Bloomerang users in connecting Classy to Bloomerang via Zapier.

Following execution of a service agreement and payment of the year 1 subscription fee, Sidekick Solutions will provide an access token that is required when authenticating the app.

If you’d like support setting up this integration, we offer a bundled service that includes the first year of the Classy Zapier connector in the implementation cost. This service is optional and your organization may instead choose to implement the Classy integration DIY by purchasing just the connector.

To request a license for the Classy Zapier connector, contact Sidekick Solutions at support@sidekicksolutionsllc.com.

[SLIDE]

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!

[SLIDE]

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.