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 form apps like Jotform, Gravity Forms, Ninja Forms, Wufoo, and Google Forms. 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 online web form app 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
• Demonstrate how you can use the Bloomerang Zapier app to save time and energy by automating submissions of external web forms in your Bloomerang database.
• Explore use cases for:
  • Event registration forms
  • Volunteer applications
  • Legacy/planned giving
• Discuss how you can get started with Zapier integrations for Bloomerang

 

 
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 Data Collection Forms 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 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 you can use an external app for your data collection forms and leverage Zapier to automate the sync of these submissions to Bloomerang. Zapier can support your operational processes 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
• Demonstrate how you can use the Bloomerang Zapier app to save time and energy by automating submissions of external web forms in your Bloomerang database.
• Explore use cases for:
  • Event registration forms
  • Volunteer applications
  • Legacy/planned giving
• Discuss how you can get started with Zapier integrations for Bloomerang

We have demos throughout the webinar to show you how to set up 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]

When we use the term “data collection forms” we are talking about any form on your organizations’ website or hosted online by your organization to collect information from your constituents.

For today’s webinar, we are going to focus on web forms that do not have a payment processing component (i.e. pure data collection forms). If you are interested in learning more about syncing donations from a fundraising page outside of Bloomerang, I recommend exploring the other Bloomerang + Zapier webinars in Bloomerang Academy as we have explored a number of different fundraising and/or payment processing platforms on past webinars.

[SLIDE]

Bloomerang itself offers a suite of web forms that can be configured directly from within your Blooomerang database. These forms are free to deploy, easy to set up, and are templated for a variety of purposes.

Specifically, Bloomerang offers web forms capabilities for:

• Online giving
• Event registration
• Email sign-up
• Volunteer activity
• Constituent information

These forms can be hosted by Bloomerang or self-hosted, and may be embedded on your organization’s web page.

For some organizations, these forms are a great place to start as they offer a direct integration with Bloomerang that requires no configuration and no external automation tools.

Other organizations are looking for more robust web form functionality.

[SLIDE]

Indicators that an external web form app may be beneficial for your organization include the need for:

• Conditional logic
• Enhanced graphics/design
• Ability to assign additional coding in Bloomerang that is not collected on the form
• Streamline user experience for lengthy forms (e.g., applications)

Our webinar today is going to use Jotform, but the flows we will explore can be deployed and automated using a variety of web form applications. Common form applications include Jotform, Gravity Forms, Ninja Forms, Wufoo, Google Forms, etc. A quick search in Zapier’s marketplace will help determine if the app you currently use or are exploring is available for integration on Zapier’s platform.

We chose Jotform for this webinar as it is a powerful online application that allows anyone to quickly create custom online forms. It offers a no-code drag-and-drop user interface that simplifies form building.

[SLIDE]

Let’s dive into some common use cases for data collection forms.

[SLIDE]

The first use case we are going to focus on is a web form designed to collect registration for a free event or program. We are going to use a registration page for a donor recognition dinner.

This flow will first search for a new constituent in Bloomerang, only creating a new one if an existing one is not found. Then, an interaction is created in the timeline of the found/created constituent.

[DEMO: JOTFORM]

Before we dive into Zapier, let’s take a look at the form we’ve set up in Jotform to collect these registrations. We used one of Jotforms free form templates. This one provides a paged/stepped form to collect the primary registrant’s information, as well as some additional data for the registration (ex: # of attendees).

[DEMO: BLOOMERANG]

We’ll also want to make sure we have the appropriate custom fields set up in Bloomerang to capture the data we are collecting on our form.

The first step to this automation is setting up the custom fields in Bloomerang. Let’s hop into Bloomerang and take a look at the fields I’ve set up already.

• After logging into Bloomerang click Settings.
• Then go to Interactions.
• Create a category named Event Participant, or something similar.
• We recommend setting up the following fields:
  • For Participation Status, we created a Pick One with values for Registered and Attended.
  • For Event Name, we created a Pick One with a value for each Event you collect registration for.
  • For # of Attendees, we created a Freeform field with a data type of Number.
  • Optionally, we also have a field we call “Type” where we distinguish between different types of interactions we create. This is supportive for reporting as you can segment out different types of interactions with a single field.

[DEMO: ZAPIER]

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 Form Submission in Jotform. The trigger prompts the integration to run when that event occurs (i.e., form is submitted). We are going to select Jotform as our app, New Form Submission as our triggering event, and then select the desired form in Jotform.
• Next step is to test our trigger and generate sample data. This will return up to 3 recent submissions. 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’ll add our first action to find or create a constituent in Bloomerang. We’ll select the Bloomerang app and the Find Constituent action. We’ll select a Type of Individual.
  • If your form could be submitted by an individual or an organization, there is advanced functionality in Zapier that can support conditional paths/logic to sync organizations and individuals to Bloomerang, as applicable. For this demo we are focusing on individuals only.
  • Next, we can map the individual’s first name, last name, email, phone (if collected), and address (if collected) to the appropriate fields in the search from the Jotform 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 individual’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 interaction in Bloomerang for the form submission. We’ll select the Bloomerang app and the Create Interaction action.
  • To make sure we create the interaction 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 Created At date from the form submission to the Date for the interaction.
  • Enter the desired subject (ex: Registration – 2023 Donor Recognition).
  • Select the Purpose, Channel, and whether the interaction was initiated by the constituent.
  • We’ll map our comments field from the form to the Note field.
  • Select the interaction Type as “Event Registration” and a Participation Status of “Registered”.
  • Then, select the Event Name for the 2023 Donor Recognition event.
  • Last, map the # of Attendees field from the form submission to the corresponding custom field.
  • Click Test & Run to confirm this action is configured appropriately.
• Now, we are done editing and can turn on the Zap.

[SKIP 2 SLIDES]

[SLIDE]

The next use case we are going to focus on is a web form designed to collect details for individuals who are interested in volunteering.

This flow builds off of what we did for the free event registration. Ultimately, it will find/create the constituent and create an interaction. In addition to this core flow, two formatting steps are needed to convert multi-select fields on our form to the appropriate format to assign each value in Bloomerang and we have added a step to update the constituent in Bloomerang, if an existing one was found.

[DEMO: JOTFORM]

Let’s take a look at the form we’ve set up in Jotform to collect these applications. We used one of Jotforms free form templates for this as well.

[DEMO: BLOOMERANG]

Now, let’s review the custom fields we set up in Bloomerang to capture the data we are collecting on our form.

• After logging into Bloomerang click Settings.
• Then go to Constituents.
• Create a category named Volunteer Info, or something similar.
• We recommend setting up the following fields:
  • For Interests, we created a Pick Many with values for the different areas where a constituent could volunteer.
  • For Availability, we created a Pick Many with a value for each day of the week.
  • Optionally, we created a Freeform field with a data type of Date to capture the most recent volunteer application the individual had submitted.

[DEMO: ZAPIER]

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 Form Submission in Jotform. The trigger prompts the integration to run when that event occurs (i.e., form is submitted). We are going to select Jotform as our app, New Form Submission as our triggering event, and then select the desired form in Jotform.
• Next step is to test our trigger and generate sample data. This will return up to 3 recent submissions. 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 are going to add two (2) formatter steps to convert the Interests and Availability responses to the necessary format in order to assign multiple values in Bloomerang. These steps are identical except for the input data.
  • Click the + icon to add an action.
  • Select Formatter by Zapier as the app and Text as the action.
  • Select Split Text as the transform.
  • Map the Availability or Interests field from the Jotform trigger, as applicable in the Input.
  • Enter a separator of “; “. It is important to include the space after the semicolon.
  • For the Segment Index, select All (as Line-Items).
  • Once we test the action, then we can map the output that is returned later in our Zap.
  • Repeat these steps for the other field that needs to be converted.
• Next, add another action to find or create a constituent in Bloomerang. We’ll select the Bloomerang app and the Find Constituent action. We’ll select a Type of Individual.
  • If your form could be submitted by an individual or an organization, there is advanced functionality in Zapier that can support conditional paths/logic to sync organizations and individuals to Bloomerang, as applicable. For this demo we are focusing on individuals only.
  • Next, we can map the individual’s first name, last name, email, phone (if collected), and address (if collected) to the appropriate fields in the search from the Jotform 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 individual’s name and contact information to the appropriate fields to create a constituent.
  • Then, map the output of our Formatter steps to the Availability and Interests custom fields.
  • Optionally, map the Created At date from the form submission to the Last Application Submitted field.
  • 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 interaction in Bloomerang for the form submission. We’ll select the Bloomerang app and the Create Interaction action.
  • To make sure we create the interaction 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 Created At date from the form submission to the Date for the interaction.
  • Enter the desired subject (ex: Volunteer Application).
  • Select the Purpose, Channel, and whether the interaction was initiated by the constituent.
  • We aren’t going to map the data from our form submission to a custom field on the interaction. Instead, we are going to create a transcript of the form submission in the Note field for historical reference.
  • We’ll also select the interaction Type as “Volunteer Application”.
  • Click Test & Run to confirm this action is configured appropriately.
• Add a filter and only continue if Zap_Data_Found is true in the Find/Create Constituent action. This will ensure the Zap only performs the Update Constituent action if the Find/Create Constituent action matched to an existing account in Bloomerang.
• 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).
  • Then, map the output of our Formatter steps to the Availability and Interests custom fields.
  • Optionally, map the Created At date from the form submission to the Last Application Submitted field.
• Now, we are done editing and can turn on the Zap.

[SKIP 5 SLIDES]

[SLIDE]

The last use case we are going to focus on is a web form designed to collect details for individuals who are interested in making a legacy/planned gift.

This flow builds off of what we did for the last two use cases. Ultimately, it will find/create the constituent, create an interaction, and update the constituent. In addition, one formatting step is needed to convert multi-select fields on our form to the appropriate format to assign each value in Bloomerang and we will be creating a task in Bloomerang for a team member to follow-up with the individual.

[DEMO: JOTFORM]

Let’s take a look at the form we’ve set up in Jotform to collect these applications. We used one of Jotforms free form templates for this as well.

This form has conditional logic to display an additional field based on the individual’s response.

[DEMO: BLOOMERANG]

Now, let’s review the custom fields we set up in Bloomerang to capture the data we are collecting on our form.

• After logging into Bloomerang click Settings.
• Then go to Constituents.
• Create a category named Volunteer Info, or something similar.
• We recommend setting up the following fields:
  • For Interest Date, we created a Freeform field with a Date data type
  • For Giving Source(s), we created a Pick Many with values for the different ways the individual may make a planned gift
  • For Estimated Value, we created a Freeform field with a Currency data type
  • For Recognition Name, we created a Freeform field with a Text data type
  • Optionally, create a field to track the Interest Date as a Freeform field with a Date data type

[DEMO: ZAPIER]

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 Form Submission in Jotform. The trigger prompts the integration to run when that event occurs (i.e., form is submitted). We are going to select Jotform as our app, New Form Submission as our triggering event, and then select the desired form in Jotform.
• Next step is to test our trigger and generate sample data. This will return up to 3 recent submissions. 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 are going to add one formatter step to convert the Giving Source(s) responses to the necessary format in order to assign multiple values in Bloomerang.
  • Click the + icon to add an action.
  • Select Formatter by Zapier as the app and Text as the action.
  • Select Split Text as the transform.
  • Map the Giving Source(s) field from the Jotform trigger, as applicable in the Input.
  • Enter a separator of “; “. It is important to include the space after the semicolon.
  • For the Segment Index, select All (as Line-Items).
  • Once we test the action, then we can map the output that is returned later in our Zap.
• Next, add another action to find or create a constituent in Bloomerang. We’ll select the Bloomerang app and the Find Constituent action. We’ll select a Type of Individual.
  • If your form could be submitted by an individual or an organization, there is advanced functionality in Zapier that can support conditional paths/logic to sync organizations and individuals to Bloomerang, as applicable. For this demo we are focusing on individuals only.
  • Next, we can map the individual’s first name, last name, email, phone (if collected), and address (if collected) to the appropriate fields in the search from the Jotform 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 individual’s name and contact information to the appropriate fields to create a constituent.
  • Map the output of our Formatter step to the Giving Source(s) custom field
  • Map the Estimated Value field to the corresponding custom field.
  • Map the Recognition Name to the corresponding custom field.
  • Optionally, map the Created At date to the Interest Date custom field
  • 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 interaction in Bloomerang for the form submission. We’ll select the Bloomerang app and the Create Interaction action.
  • To make sure we create the interaction 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 Created At date from the form submission to the Date for the interaction.
  • Enter the desired subject (ex: Planned Giving Interest).
  • Select the Purpose, Channel, and whether the interaction was initiated by the constituent.
  • We aren’t going to map the data from our form submission to a custom field on the interaction. Instead, we are going to create a transcript of the form submission in the Note field for historical reference.
  • We’ll also select the interaction Type as “Planned Giving”.
  • Click Test & Run to confirm this action is configured appropriately.
• Now we will add an action to create a Task in Bloomerang for follow-up. We’ll select the Bloomerang app and the Create Task action.
  • To make sure we link the constituent to the Task, we need to map the Constituent ID from the Find/Create Constituent test to the Constituent field in the action.
  • Select the Channel and User.
  • In the Due Date field, enter “tomorrow”. Zapier will read this value and appropriately set the task for the following day.
  • Enter the desired subject (ex: Follow-up with Planned Giving prospect).
  • Select the Purpose.
  • Enter relevant data in the Note. We recommend adding the Giving Source(s), Estimated Value,and Notes from the interest form. This will support the user in completing the follow-up action.
  • Click Test & Run to confirm this action is configured appropriately.
• Add a filter and only continue if Zap_Data_Found is true in the Find/Create Constituent action. This will ensure the Zap only performs the Update Constituent action if the Find/Create Constituent action matched to an existing account in Bloomerang.
• 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).
  • Map the data in the same manner as we did in the Find/Create Constituent to the Interest Date, Giving Source(s), Estimated Value, and Recognition Name.
• Now, we are done editing and can turn on the Zap.

[SKIP 6 SLIDES]

[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]

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]

If your team would like support setting up an automation from your online data collection form, we offer an integration bundle for Bloomerang customers. This bundle includes end-to-end configuration and deployment of your automation.

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.

[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 schedule a consult to explore your use case and tech stack, please let us know.

[SLIDE]

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

[SLIDE]