Bloomerang Automations: Zapier Frequently Asked Questions [Webinar]
The connection of Bloomerang to Zapier, an automation platform, enables additional integrations that can be customized to meet your organization’s use case. Utilities in Zapier can support your organization in solving common integration challenges and create automations customized to your use case.
Instead of spending hours each month manually entering data between two or more systems or running tedious spreadsheet imports, let Zapier automation do the work for you. Zapier is an automation platform that connects to 5,000+ other apps and offers an all-in-one integration platform for automating your day to day workflows.
During this webinar, you will learn:
- Intro to Zapier
- When to explore Zapier automations
- Answers to frequently asked questions about Bloomerang integrations, automation uses cases, and Zapier
- Answers to your Bloomerang and Zapier automation questions
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 covering frequently asked questions about Bloomerang + Zapier integrations.
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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 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 Diana. Hello everyone! It’s great to be here.
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Our webinar today answers common questions from Bloomerang users and provides an opportunity for you to ask your automation questions!
- Intro to Zapier
- When to pursue Zapier integrations
- FAQs
- Q&A
To add your integration question to our queue, please add it into the Q&A, not the chat. This is what we’ll be looking to during the Q&A portion of today’s session.
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Let’s take a quick poll to see how many of you have attended prior Bloomerang + Zapier webinars.
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Zapier is automation software. It sits in between your Bloomerang database and any other apps helping them to “talk” to each other. This can even come in the form of Bloomerang to Bloomerang automations to support operational tasks.
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.
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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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When we talk about Bloomerang integrations, there are two types we should differentiate between: native and custom Zapier.
Native integrations, often called “direct” integrations, are built within your Bloomerang software. These are often the most user-friendly form of integration and offer a standardized, templated sync of data between two systems.
The other option is pursuing custom integrations using Zapier. Zapier allows you to build custom workflows that align with your organization’s use case.
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Organizations pursue a custom Zapier integration when:
- No native integration exists
- Native integration does not align with organization’s use case
- High level of customization required
- Desired functionality is not provided in native integration
- Multi-app automations
It is a good practice to explore native integrations first, if one exists, and pursue a Zapier integration if a native one does not exist or does not align with your use case.
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Let’s dive into questions that we get asked about Bloomerang automations, Zapier, and getting started with integrations.
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How does the Find Constituent search work?
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- First and Last Name are required
- At least one of address, phone or email are required
- Search is looking for an exact match
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Will Update Constituent overwrite data?
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- Will overwrite all standard and custom fields, except address, phone, and email
- For address, phone, and email…
- The new (or matched) data will be promoted as primary
- The previous data will be demoted to secondary (not deleted)
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How quickly does my Zap trigger?
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- Dependent on the plan purchased in Zapier
- Free Plan: 15 minutes
- Starter Plan: 15 minutes
- Professional Plan: 5 minutes
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Can Zapier connect multiple apps in a single Zap?
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Zaps can be configured to connect one or many apps
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What are the most common automations for Bloomerang
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- Fundraising apps
- Email marketing
- Accounting
- eCommerce
- Event registration
- Reporting dashboards
- Notifications
- Online data collection forms
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What are some of your favorite Bloomerang automations?
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- Bloomerang to Bloomerang
- Dashboards
- Notifications
- Drip email campaigns
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What are your best trips/tricks for pursuing automations?
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- If possible, do not use team-member specific credentials to connect
- Draft/write out what the flow needs to do first
- Plan out any known conversions/transformations
- When in doubt, start simple and enhance over time
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How much does Zapier cost?
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- Tiers based on different task allotments per month
- Average cost for Bloomerang users is $20-$75/month
- 15% discount available for non-profits
- Upgrade / downgrade as needs change
- Bloomerang Zapier app is free to use!
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Do we need a paid plan in Zapier to deploy Bloomerang automations?
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- Depends on the use case
- Required for:
- Multi-step Zaps
- Premium apps
- Average Bloomerang client is on Starter or Professional plan (under 10,000 tasks/month)
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What is a task in Zapier?
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- An action your Zap successfully completes
- What counts as a task?
- What doesn’t count as a task?
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What happens if we hit our task limit in Zapier?
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- Each pricing plan has a different task limit per month
- Zapier will providing notification when you hit 80% of allotment
- Tasks get placed in a “held” status for 30 days
- Can replay tasks when usage resets or subscription is upgraded
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Can I easily change my Zapier subscription?
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- Yes, Zapier allows you to upgrade or downgrade
- Annual vs. monthly billing options
- If data volume is cyclical, may be able to downgrade in slow months and upgrade in higher months
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How do we connect Constant Contact and Bloomerang?
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- Bloomerang > Constant Contact
- Triggering events
- New Constituent
- Updated Constituent
- New Transaction
- Actions
- Find or Create Contact
- Update Contact
- Cannot map to custom fields
- Triggering events
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- Constant Contact > Bloomerang
- New Contact
- Find or Create Constituent in Bloomerang
- Recommend only syncing when there is a First/Last Name
- New Email Open
- Create interactions or notes
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Does Zapier integrate with Gmail and place emails as interactions into Bloomerang?
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- Yes, Gmail is has an app in Zapier
- Triggering events
- New email (in specified mailbox)
- New starred email
- New labeled email
- New email matching search
- Recommend using Bloomerang’s BCC feature
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Do you know of any platform that works well with Zapier where we can send letters via a mail house?
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- Only client who uses Handwrytten
- Others likely available in Zapier’s marketplace — www.zapier.com/apps
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How can we have donors make pledges online with a payment schedule and have it sync to Bloomerang?
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- Bloomerang API can support creation of a pledge in Bloomerang, but…
- Cannot set it up to be auto-processed by Bloomerang
- Can only be created with standard frequencies (i.e., annual, monthly, etc.) not custom
- Alternative is to a pledge/fundraising app and syncing payments only to Bloomerang
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After integrating PayPal with Bloomerang, can the PayPal option appear on my Bloomerang website giving form?
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- PayPal is not a payment gateway option for Bloomerang online forms
- Place PayPal button at the top of webpage where the form is embedded
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When using a PayPal button with two options, how do we enter the correct Fund in Bloomerang?
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- Use a lookup table to convert the selection to the corresponding Bloomerang Fund
- Resources
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How do I get started with Bloomerang automations in Zapier?
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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.
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.
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Now we’d like to open things up and answer your integration questions. If you haven’t already, please add your questions to the Q&A so we can get them queued up.
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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.
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Thank you for attending today.