Required Columns for Data Including File Uploads/SFTP

Common Fields to Consider

While each organization’s needs are unique, we’ve outlined some general guidelines for the types of data we tend to find valuable. If you feel others may be relevant, please include them as well. More data is better than not enough. We are a SOC-2 compliant company and you can view that information here. If you have any questions, please contact us by the ticketing system for a quick response.

Donation Transaction Columns (Opportunity)

(Download a sample CSV template here.)

Include all transactions from individuals that are considered revenue for the lifetime of the organization. If channel isn’t included, please provide a criterion to distinguish it by gift codes.

• Gift ID
• Constituent ID
• Gift Date
• Gift Amount
• Original currency code (if using more that one currency)
• Payment Method
• Channel (online, direct mail, telemarketing, events, etc.)
• Recurrence Frequency (e.g. one time, monthly, etc.-at a minimum a flag indicating monthly gifts)
• Any relevant Source, Campaign, and Appeal IDs
• Gift Designation details
• Any details about presence of a premium or incentive offer

Please feel free to also provide any additional fields you think may be relevant to your organization. If lifetime data is not possible, provide at lease 7 full fiscal years plus current FYTD. (NOTE: this limits our analysis and will also require you to provide the aggregate columns listed under Constituent Records)

Donor Constituent Records Columns

(Download a sample CSV template here.)

Include all donor accounts represented by transactions above, generally at a household level (or at a contact level with household IDs preserved where possible). NOTE: if you are not including names, emails or phone numbers you will not be able to use Pathways effectively.

• Constituent ID
• Household ID (if available)
• Date Added
• First/Last Name
• Email/Phone/Address fields (including multiple or non-concurrent values when possible; can also be provided as a separate file keyed to the Constituent ID)
• ID in Email Marketing System (or normalized hash of email address for alignment with email)
• Flag: Contactable via Email
• Flag: Contactable via Phone 
• Flag: Contactable via Postal
• Any information on inception Source and Channel
• First action information if available (this can be a form or survey or petition or appeal)
• Any relevant fields that help identify donor segments or interests
• Country (if possible)
• If lifetime data cannot be provided, please provide as many years as possible and:
  • First Gift Date, Amount, Channel, and Campaign/Appeal
  • Most Recent Gift Date, Amount, Channel, and Campaign/Appeal
  • Highest Previous Gift Date, Amount, Channel, and Campaign/Appeal

Email Subscriber Columns 

This data is only needed if direct access to your email system cannot be granted.

• Email/Contact ID
• Constituent/Donor ID (or normalized hash of email address for alignment with donors)
• Date Added
• Signup Source
• Subscription Status (opted-in, non-opted-in, unsubscribed, hard-bounced, abuse complaint, etc)
• Last Activity Dates (send, open, click)
• Attrition Date (for unsubscribed, hard-bounced, or complaint emails)
• Any additional fields to understand engagement
• List or segment memberships