IMPORT Classes Scared Me - Do I Need A Plug-In to Make Importing More Sane?

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Maria Petulla 2
Maria Petulla 2
Seventh Anniversary 10 Comments
in Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT®: General Discussion
HI Blackbaud Community--


What do you use for Import? Standard RE, Plug-In? Please let me know.


I'm looking for constructive advice based on the experience below (but please know I also needed to constructively complain!).


I attended 6 hours of IMPORT 1 & 2 from the Learn More Subscription in RE. 


OMG, I was shocked at how backward, archaic, and low-level the IMPORT PROCESS is in RE.

I guess I could recommend to my staff to do it that way but it IS EXTREMELY HORRIBLY TIME CONSUMING.


SHAME on RE for not developing a great Import Process that is easier and less time consuming.


I worked with a non-profit short term that used IMPORT-O-MATIC (I just leraned they cost $14,000 for 3 years (including training)) and the other Non-Profit STILL needed a third (or 4th) party vendor to get the data to upload to RE with Gift Information (Campaign Fund Appeal, Tribute, etc.),


What is your solution? I appreciate all your help!


Thanks,

Maria

 
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Comments

  • Ryan Hyde
    Ryan Hyde
    Tenth Anniversary 1,000 Likes 500 Comments Name Dropper
    I understand it's not a user friendly option, but I use the built-in import process for gifts, attributes, phones, etc., on a regular basis. I have process I do weekly that results some cleaning/organizing in Excel and four separate imports. It took a little while to fine tune the process, but now it's just 20-30 minutes out of my week. No big deal.


    I'll say this - once you figure out an efficient process for whatever workflow you have, it's really not that hard. You just have to get up and over the steep learning curve.
  • James Kew
    James Kew
    Tenth Anniversary 25 Likes 10 Comments Photogenic
    I'm a happy ImportOmatic end user here.  I use it daily, and it works seamlessly with Raiser's Edge as a Plug-In.  Of course:

    1. I didn't have to configure it or create any import profiles, my math-and-computer-science-major supervisor did; and

    2. I remain blissfully unaware of the price my organization has paid/ is paying for this excellent software/service.
  • Joan Bell
    Joan Bell
    Ninth Anniversary 10 Comments Photogenic 5 Likes

    I do use ImportOmatic
    and really like it--I don't know the cost. Their support staff is
    really great and supportive.



    Now I do have an IT
    dept that does gets the data to me and then I do the
    importing.



















    Joan (Jo)
    Bell, bCRE
    GSA
    Foundation

    Database
    Coordinator

    Work:
    303.357.1067



















  • Lisa Burton
    Lisa Burton
    Ninth Anniversary First Comment Loyalty Badge Blackbaud Certified

    We have several import tools. Importomatic is great for some of our more complicated imports. There is a cost associated with it, but as you mentioned, staff time also has a cost and some things are very time consuming when using native import tool in RE. We also use Importacular for some updates because they have a plug-in for one of our third-party products. You may want to take a look at it as they offer a few "free" options for constituent records and gifts. It isn't the most user friendly set-up, but if you have some time to set-up and test it, it could be a cost-effective solution for you. 


    Lisa Burton

    Director, Advancement Operations

    Colby College

     

     

  • Jen Claudy
    Jen Claudy
    Tenth Anniversary 1,500 Likes 1000 Comments Name Dropper
    I suggest you look at Zeidman Development's Importacular.  It's free for Constituent and Gift data and has a pretty reasonable cost for additional import modules.  If you are Hosted by Blackbaud, it should already be in Plug-Ins.  If you have a Local Install, you can download and install it for free.  Either way, it's worth a look/try.  Similar to what Ryan said about the RE built-in Import function, it's most efficient when you are doing repetitive imports as you will need to build a profile to use.


    Omatic does pricing based on the number of records in your database, similar to what Blackbaud does for NXT clients.  It also uses profiles.


    The benefit to Importacular or ImportOmatic is that both will also do a duplicate search for existing constituent records that match the new data.
  • David Zeidman
    David Zeidman
    Ancient Membership 100 Comments 100 Likes Photogenic
    Thanks Lisa and Jen for the shoutout.


    When we developed Importacular we did so because we felt the pain of using the native RE import. Our goals were three-fold:
    1. Allow the import of many data points and related records in one pass
    2. Allow data to be imported directly from third party data sources rather than files (although you can also import from CSV or Excel formats)
    3. Allow as many people as possible to use the product by offering a free version and keeping the additional modules at a lower cost. We also always offer a free trial of those other areas.
    We have also tried to make working with it easy and consistent. Many tell us that it is intuitive to use. 


    Happy to answer any questions you may have. Just get in touch.
  • Katherine Fritz
    Katherine Fritz
    Tenth Anniversary 10 Comments Photogenic 5 Likes

    Maria Petulla:

    HI Blackbaud Community--


    What do you use for Import? Standard RE, Plug-In? Please let me know.


    I'm looking for constructive advice based on the experience below (but please know I also needed to constructively complain!).


    I attended 6 hours of IMPORT 1 & 2 from the Learn More Subscription in RE. 


    OMG, I was shocked at how backward, archaic, and low-level the IMPORT PROCESS is in RE.

    I guess I could recommend to my staff to do it that way but it IS EXTREMELY HORRIBLY TIME CONSUMING.


    SHAME on RE for not developing a great Import Process that is easier and less time consuming.


    I worked with a non-profit short term that used IMPORT-O-MATIC (I just leraned they cost $14,000 for 3 years (including training)) and the other Non-Profit STILL needed a third (or 4th) party vendor to get the data to upload to RE with Gift Information (Campaign Fund Appeal, Tribute, etc.),


    What is your solution? I appreciate all your help!


    Thanks,

    Maria

     

    We use Importomatic and I've told my CEO that if she ever decides to cut the budget for it, I will quit! :-)   It makes my life so much easier in so many ways!  I do my own profiles, which aren't that hard unless I need to use RegEx, which I don't know well, but I've generally gotten help from the Omatic community forums. 


    I have tried the Importacular free version and liked it, but we don't have the budget to add another premium import tool, but I know I have it sitting there as a backup for certain things.


    best regards,

    Katie

  • Nicole Holt
    Nicole Holt Community All-Star
    Ancient Membership 100 Likes 100 Comments Photogenic
    I just use the native import function. Admittedly, there is a learning curve, but once you're familiar with it it makes sense--doing imports multiple times per week I've found that it's speedy if your data is clean. Since I'm importing from another database where volunteers type their own info, I find that spend more time ahead of the import reviewing their data for cleanliness than I do in the actual import process. 
  • Joanne Felci 2
    Joanne Felci 2
    Ninth Anniversary 1,000 Likes 1000 Comments Photogenic
    Hmmmmm...I guess I'm truly wondering why you think the RE Import tool is hard to use, but I'm probably so used to it all is fine to me.


    I do use ImportOmatic as well and while setting up the profiles are time consuming, once all is set up it has been working great for us


    I tried using Importacular but just couldn't get it to do what I wanted to - granted I didn't give it a lot of time as I think I was trying it out during the busy season. Someone from Zeidman did reach out to me several times offering help, but again it was a busy time. That did make a very positive impression though - that they reached out to help, were proactive about offering support.


    I will say that Zeidman has a lot of great products - so many of them free. My favorite thus far is a Global Delete Participants for the events module - such a time saver, and very easy to use.


    Joanne
  • Maria Petulla 2
    Maria Petulla 2
    Seventh Anniversary 10 Comments
    HI! Ryan Hide,  Thanks for your reply. I think
    I have a lot to learn but I was taught in the classes if I wanted
    to bring in say new constituent codes for a donor report I exported
    and worked on for a few weeks, I would have to HAVE AN IMPORT ID or
    CONS ID. So, if I didn't export it then I would HAVE TO export the
    ENTIRE DATABASE and USE MATCH FUNCTION to find the NAME and ID code
    to list I wanted to import. We have more than 9,000 records. How is
    this manageable?

























    Warmly,



    Maria Petulla, Fundraising & Database Consultant

    currently seeking a long-term role


























  • Maria Petulla 2
    Maria Petulla 2
    Seventh Anniversary 10 Comments
    THANKS SO MUCH!


























    Warmly,



    Maria Petulla, Fundraising & Database Consultant

    currently seeking a long-term role



























  • Maria Petulla 2
    Maria Petulla 2
    Seventh Anniversary 10 Comments
    THANK YOU!


























    Warmly,



    Maria Petulla, Fundraising & Database Consultant

    currently seeking a long-term role



























  • Ryan Hyde
    Ryan Hyde
    Tenth Anniversary 1,000 Likes 500 Comments Name Dropper
    Well yes, but you should always, and I mean ALWAYS, export constituent ID whenever you export anything. I can't imagine running an export where I didn't include constituent ID, and that's the basic reason - without it, you can't actually do anything with that data if you need to get it back into RE. So I mean, once you get into that habit of always (ALWAYS) exporting constituent ID with everything, it's fine. 


    If you don't export constituent ID, third party products are also going to struggle. They certainly do a better job of finding potentially the correct record, but you can't be 100% certain it's going to find the right record if you don't include that record's unique identifier. 
  • Michael Langley 2
    Michael Langley 2
    Eighth Anniversary 10 Comments 25 Likes Photogenic
    I use the Import function all the time. I've been using Raiser's Edge for about 14 years and using import for about 10. I find it fairly easy once you know a few basics and a few tricks. It is complicated to learn, but once I learned it I found it very rewarding to be able to import new records, new gifts, updating everything from constituents to appeal responses. My favorite though is importing the transactions from events. So much faster than hand entering all those gifts.

    Give it a chance before you jump to an outside tool.


    Michael
  • Maria Petulla 2
    Maria Petulla 2
    Seventh Anniversary 10 Comments
    Hi Jen!  This is most helpful and I appreciate
    your thoughts very much!! THANKS!


























    Warmly,



    Maria Petulla, Fundraising & Database Consultant

    currently seeking a long-term role



























  • Maria Petulla 2
    Maria Petulla 2
    Seventh Anniversary 10 Comments


    HI David,


    I'd love to set up a quick 5-minute chat?

    Thanks so much!




























    Warmly,



    Maria Petulla, Fundraising & Database Consultant

    currently seeking a long-term role





























  • Claudia Sauers
    Claudia Sauers
    Seventh Anniversary 250 Likes 100 Comments Name Dropper


    I think it largely depends on what you're importing. I use the standard RE import and with a couple of standard templates don't find it difficult or time consuming at all. Once you learn a few tips and tricks its very manageable. While it may not be very flashy there are many nonprofits that don't have the budget for an outside tool and make it work and many of them are here in the community learning how to leverage RE best from each other so you may find it helpful to ask specific import questions here. Also if say you have a list with constituent IDs but need import IDs instead, you can import just the constituent id field, with the "update existing records" function and on the summary tab create a query of the records updated and use that query to export import ids. Again lots of tips, you may find it more useful to pose specific how to handle questions.


    Best of luck!
  • Maria Petulla 2
    Maria Petulla 2
    Seventh Anniversary 10 Comments



    HI Katie,


    Thanks for writing. LBI is NEW to RE and I'm training them AND
    learning at the same time.


    So we do not have an import process. Sadly I worked for 8 months at
    an organization that had Import-O-Matic and it was a dream. It
    matches dupes and you can choose to move on or add record, I loved
    it. 



    I simply could not believe how incredibly awful, and clunky
    the import process was that was taught to us for SIX HOURS.  I
    still can't believe it.



    I'm looking into Omatic and Importacular as those seem to be
    the only options.



    THANKS SO MUCH!






























    Warmly,



    Maria Petulla, Fundraising & Database Consultant

    currently seeking a long-term role






























  • Maria Petulla 2
    Maria Petulla 2
    Seventh Anniversary 10 Comments

    HI Nicole,


    Thanks for responding.  The way I see it is that I'm just
    going to have to spend a ton of time on the native version to see
    for myself. However, we have a library and tons of people donate --
    the way I was taught to import them IS CRAZY. I would have to
    export the entire database to get their IMPORT OR CONS ID and MATCH
    in EXCEL!!!


    I don't see how it can get easier or at the very least NOT insult
    my intelligence (that database processes should be streamlined).
    But thanks so much for what you wrote!

     


























    Warmly,



    Maria Petulla, Fundraising & Database Consultant

    currently seeking a long-term role




























  • Maria Petulla 2
    Maria Petulla 2
    Seventh Anniversary 10 Comments

    Joanne, Thanks so much for your reply.  We have tons of
    Library donations and that gets imported in RE six times a year.
    Imagine having to export the whole database to MATCH in EXCEL feels
    insulting to me. I think I just have to get over it.


    Thanks so much agian.



























    Warmly,



    Maria Petulla, Fundraising & Database Consultant

    currently seeking a long-term role




























  • Maria Petulla 2
    Maria Petulla 2
    Seventh Anniversary 10 Comments

    HI Claudia, Thanks so much for writing. You got the
    bulls-eye!  Yes it does depend on what we are importing. We
    are a library and have to import the tons of library donations six
    times a year -- so I would need to export my entire database to
    MATCH in Excel.  Uggh. I will have to get over it. It's just
    SO BACKWARD!

     


    Thanks so much!



























    Warmly,



    Maria Petulla, Fundraising & Database Consultant

    currently seeking a long-term role




























  • Maria Petulla 2
    Maria Petulla 2
    Seventh Anniversary 10 Comments


    HI Michael,


    Thanks for this. After everyone's awesome response, I'm going to go
    through the painful process of native import. We have tons of
    Library donations and that gets imported in RE six times a year.
    Imagine having to export the whole database to MATCH in EXCEL feels
    insulting to me. I think I just have to get over it.


    Thanks so much!




























    Warmly,



    Maria Petulla, Fundraising & Database Consultant

    currently seeking a long-term role





























  • Claudia Sauers
    Claudia Sauers
    Seventh Anniversary 250 Likes 100 Comments Name Dropper

    Maria Petulla:

     


    HI Claudia, Thanks so much for writing. You got the bulls-eye!  Yes it does depend on what we are importing. We are a library and have to import the tons of library donations six times a year -- so I would need to export my entire database to MATCH in Excel.  Uggh. I will have to get over it. It's just SO BACKWARD!

     

     

    Thanks so much!

     


























    Warmly,


     


    Maria Petulla, Fundraising & Database Consultant


    currently seeking a long-term role





























     

    Maria,


    If you are ever importing a smaller group, 500 or less, you can use the one of function in query to match address lines or last names. Its less exact then exporting your entire database, but unquestionably faster.

    https://kb.blackbaud.com/articles/Article/41666


    Good luck! We're here for you!


     

  • Sheila Lutz
    Sheila Lutz
    Eighth Anniversary 10 Comments 25 Likes Connector Level 1
    My problem with native importing is it seems I can import actions, etc. for current constituents with a Const ID OR new contacts without a Const ID, but according to RE support if I want to upload both at the same time and don't know which each of the contacts are, I'm out of luck.
  • Ryan Hyde
    Ryan Hyde
    Tenth Anniversary 1,000 Likes 500 Comments Name Dropper
    Yes, that sort of situation would be better solved by a 3rd party option.


    That said, with some planning, you can avoid this sort of scenario by making sure, again, that you always export Constituent ID. If you're having a 3rd party do some work for you, like maybe a telephone campaign, then make sure the data you provide them includes the constituent ID and that any results they provide you also includes the constituent ID. Then you'll know that the records with IDs are existing records, and records without IDs are new records (so in this scenario they're also doing prospecting for you). 
  • Sheila Lutz
    Sheila Lutz
    Eighth Anniversary 10 Comments 25 Likes Connector Level 1
    Interesting, Ryan. My first response was, I can't do that, that's the point! But once I got past the gut reaction, I started thinking through how we might actually do it - it would involve buy-in from the rest of the development staff and depend on them taking the time to make the Constituent ID is something they do, every single time.. It's an interesting way of looking at my data, for sure. Thank you for the perspective!
  • Ryan Hyde
    Ryan Hyde
    Tenth Anniversary 1,000 Likes 500 Comments Name Dropper
    I really hope you can find a way to make the switch. Every single person in my org knows to output a constituent ID if they need to export anything, be it a gift history or a simple mail file, and they all do it without even thinking. It just takes some training and time.
  • Dariel Dixon 2
    Dariel Dixon 2 Community All-Star
    1,500 Likes Seventh Anniversary 1000 Comments Photogenic

    Maria Petulla:

    HI Blackbaud Community--


    What do you use for Import? Standard RE, Plug-In? Please let me know.


    I'm looking for constructive advice based on the experience below (but please know I also needed to constructively complain!).


    I attended 6 hours of IMPORT 1 & 2 from the Learn More Subscription in RE. 


    OMG, I was shocked at how backward, archaic, and low-level the IMPORT PROCESS is in RE.

    I guess I could recommend to my staff to do it that way but it IS EXTREMELY HORRIBLY TIME CONSUMING.


    SHAME on RE for not developing a great Import Process that is easier and less time consuming.


    I worked with a non-profit short term that used IMPORT-O-MATIC (I just leraned they cost $14,000 for 3 years (including training)) and the other Non-Profit STILL needed a third (or 4th) party vendor to get the data to upload to RE with Gift Information (Campaign Fund Appeal, Tribute, etc.),


    What is your solution? I appreciate all your help!


    Thanks,

    Maria

     

    WOW!  This thread is a great example and learning tool.  I know I've made the mistake multiple times of not exporting IDs.  But, it's a necessity, and while other matching methods can be employed, ID matching is the most accurate method.  Otherwise, you run the risk of creating duplicates and other problems.


    Since you're trying to set things up in Excel, I'm trying to think whether this would be an opportunity to set up a LOOKUP function.  


    I've had the same issue.  Had an external vendor that we used to collect donations at an event.  The IDs weren't provided to the vendor, and so we (this really means I) had to enter the gifts manually by hand in a batch.  It took over a week, but we were finally able to get it done.  I also took the time to educate my team on what caused this and how exporting the IDs can make it easier to import back in.  Everyone got it.  No one questioned why it was taking so long either. 


    I also realized that we could pass that information along to the vendor, and that they would pass it back to us.  They did the matching on their end, so if the name and email address were the same, they would append the ID.  It's never perfect, and you'll often still have plenty of manual importing to do, but that is better than nothing.


    I'm going to remember this thread and show it to others as a lesson to always export those IDs.  There's never a reason not to.

  • Faith Murray
    Faith Murray
    Ninth Anniversary 2,500 Likes 1000 Comments Photogenic


























    I've been using the native RE Import for about 4 years. Once you get the hang of it, it's fairly straightforward, and I've had no real problems. RE Import does include a duplicate search to prevent importing duplicate records, although of course you would want to always always export constituent IDs whenever you do a raw data export for updates. I've found that to be good policy even without Import -- it's useful for Global Add, Global Change, for adding bulk appeal and action info, etc. Every export I do includes Constituent ID. Unlike my counterparts, I don't have weekly imports. Ours are done quarterly, for ncoa updates, bulk new constituents and data appends. It takes an afternoon every couple of months, which isn't that bad.



























  • Tatyana Leifman
    Tatyana Leifman
    Tenth Anniversary 25 Likes 10 Comments Photogenic
    In addition to all the situations already listed by everyone (import, Global Update, etc) where the Constituent ID is imperative, I've found that it simplifies checking the actual RE record of a constituent in a list.  If I pulled a list of names for a fundraiser based on some criteria, and they question why a name appears on it or just want to see information that was not included in the Export I pulled, the ID guarantees that they (and I) find the correct record.  We have about 113K records and we have several very popular names each belonging to several different individuals (not to mention the numerous possibilities of typos if the only way to search is by name/address).  That's another reason I always train users to include the Constituent ID in any pull from the database no matter for what purpose.


    Tatyana

     

    Faith Murray:



























    I've been using the native RE Import for about 4 years. Once you get the hang of it, it's fairly straightforward, and I've had no real problems. RE Import does include a duplicate search to prevent importing duplicate records, although of course you would want to always always export constituent IDs whenever you do a raw data export for updates. I've found that to be good policy even without Import -- it's useful for Global Add, Global Change, for adding bulk appeal and action info, etc. Every export I do includes Constituent ID. Unlike my counterparts, I don't have weekly imports. Ours are done quarterly, for ncoa updates, bulk new constituents and data appends. It takes an afternoon every couple of months, which isn't that bad.



























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