Uploading Designations and Designation Groups

Introduction

Uploading designations is an easy way to create a large number of designations and/or designation groups. Below are various sections that will help you prepare to successfully validate and upload your designations and/or designation groups.

The sections within this article increase in complexity. If you're only looking to upload standalone designations, we recommend reading through the "Helpful tips while preparing your file", "How to Validate Your File", and "Uploading Designations" sections. 

Here are some additional resources

• Video walkthrough
• Example annotated upload file

If you have any questions about how to accurately structure your file, please reach out to us at support@givecampus.com

How to Prepare Your File

• Include all column headers in your file
  • Even if you do not plan to use all columns, you must include all of the column headers. Not every column needs to have data in it, but all columns must be included in the file and no additional columns should be added.
  • The column headers are:
    • name
    • backend_identifier
    • write_in
    • group
    • program_priority
    • group_name1
    • group_name2
    • group_name3 
      Note: We recommend downloading the sample file on your designations page to work build on instead of starting from scratch. 

• Upload files should be in a .CSV format. Other file types such as .XLSX will not upload. 
• The uploader will automatically deduplicate. If all data within a row is the same as existing an existing designation/designation group, then it will not be processed. 

How to Upload Individual Designations

While files need to contain all column headers, not all columns need to have data within them. The only column that is required to have data in it is the ‘name’ column. This ‘name’ column will be the name of the designation as it will appear to donors when used on a donation form. It is also recommended that you provide a `backend_identifier` to allow for easy matching to a fund ID within your CRM. Any True/False fields that are left blank (‘write_in’ or ‘group’) will automatically default to FALSE when no value is provided. 

As an example, this file would create 3 designations - each with a backend ID:

A file with this structure (blank ‘write_in’ and ‘group’ columns) would also create 3 designations - each with a backend ID - since blank values translate to FALSE:

How to Upload Designation Groups

It is now possible to not only upload designations via a .CSV file, but designation groups as well. Groups are a convenient way to organize designations in a donor-friendly way. To create a group, you’ll need to provide data in the ‘name’ field and set the ‘group’ column to TRUE (T, t, TRUE, True, and true are all accepted values). It is recommended to include a ‘Program Priority’ for each group by entering the name of the designation in the ‘program_priority’ column of the file. Program Priorities are the designations to which funds will be allocated if the donor just selects the group-level option. The designations referenced in the ‘program_priority’ column needs to be included elsewhere in the file or the designation needs to have previously been created. A designation will not be created by including it as a ‘program priority’. 

If you would like to create a designation that is automatically nested under a certain group, in the designation’s row, the group name should be included in the ‘group_name1’ column. 

In the example above, two designations would get created - “Annual Fund for Academics” and “Where It’s Needed Most (Academic Focus)”. The group “Academics” would also get created. “Annual Fund for Academics” would be set as the program priority for Academics meaning donors who only select the group-level of “Academics” would have their gifts directed to this designation. “Annual Fund for Academics” would not appear as a designation within the “Academics” group though. “Where It’s Needed Most (Academic Focus)” would automatically be added as an available designation under the “Academics” group.

How to Upload Tiered or Nested Designation Groups

Not only can designations be nested under groups, but it is also possible to nest groups within groups. For example, there could be a group of “College of Arts & Sciences” and within that group are additional groups for “Department Funds” and “Endowed Scholarships” - each of which has various designations within those sub-groups.

In order to accomplish these multi-tier groups, the ‘group_name2’ and potentially ‘group_name3’ will need to be used. The “group_name1” will always be the top tier group and should be duplicated among any groups or designations that should fall under that top tier group. For example:

NOTE: If creating tiered groups, the groups must be uploaded such that any values included in “group_name1”, “group_name2”, or “group_name3” are either previously uploaded or referenced in a row above the row in which they are referenced in “group_name1”, “group_name2”, or “group_name3”. For example:

In the example above (which can be downloaded here), the designations and groups would upload correctly. Chemistry Department would be a group nested under Departmental Funds which is a group under College of Arts & Sciences. 

If you were to add both the Diversity Funds and College of Arts & Sciences groups to a form, it would result in a designation selection dropdown like this:

Note that one fund (Chemistry Diversity Mentorship Fund) can be listed in multiple places. To accomplish this, you must list it in two separate rows in the upload with the same designation name and backend_identifier, but under a different group_name mapping. This will NOT create a duplicate designation; simply add it into both groups.

Common Designation Group Errors

Make sure to add your Designation Group rows first

When building your file to upload, make sure you list your Designation Groups first, then the singles designations that fall into them after. In the example below, the first row “Scholarships” would create an error because the group hierarchy of “Academics” > “Chemistry” had not previously been established and is listed in rows AFTER the designation that uses it. 

Only mark group as True for the Designation Group name, not a single designation

The file will be read row by row so the group column should only be marked as TRUE if the row lists the name of a designation group. If a single designation is a part of a designation group, it should be listed as FALSE since that designation is NOT a group.

How to Validate Your File

When uploading a file, it is possible to validate your file prior to uploading the actual designations and designation groups. The validation will check for the most common errors in these files such as referencing a program priority that isn’t a designation for your school or not including all column headers in your file. 

To validate that the file is accurate, use the upload function within the Designations page of your school’s dashboard. Once you’ve clicked “Upload Designations”, you’ll see a preview page with an option to “Validate Upload”. Pressing this button will review the uploaded file and display any issues with your file. If there are no errors, click “This looks good!” to process the designations/designation groups. If you need to make adjustments, click “Something’s off. I need to try again.” and make any needed corrections before repeating the process. 

You may see the following messages if your file has errors:

• Incorrect headers:
  ”The provided CSV headers are incorrect. Please use the headers of the downloadable sample file.”
• "Name" field, which is required, is not populated:
  “Row [#]: "name" must be populated.
• If a designation already exists and a row would create a duplicate of that designation:
  “Row [#]: Designation "Sciences" already exists and will be skipped.”
• If a designation is included multiple times within the same file:
  “Row #: Designation "Example Designation" is in the upload multiple times. Original entry is on row #, and row # will be skipped.”
• If a designation group already exists (previously created or within this file):
  “Row [#]: Designation Group (name: "[Example Group]", group_name1: "[Example Group 2]") already exists and will be skipped.
• When a designation group is included multiple times:
  “Row #: Designation Group (name: "[Example Group]", group_name1: "[Example Group 2]") is in the upload multiple times. Original entry is on row [#], and row [#] will be skipped.
• When a program priority is given that doesn't have an existing designation on the upload or in the school's db already:
  Row [#]: Program Priority "[Example Designation]" is not listed as a designation in a separate row, and does not already exist. Group will be created, but no program priority will be attached to the group.
• When “group_name1”, “group_name2”, or “group_name3” are not correctly referencing another record on the spreadsheet or within your school’s designation groups:
  “Row [#]: The group of (group_name1: "[Example Group]", group_name2: "[Example Group 2]", group_name3: "[Example Group 3]") is referenced here, but isn't a group that currently exists for your school, nor exists in this spreadsheet.”
• When “group_name1”, “group_name2”, or “group_name3” are correct, but the row they're referencing is after the current row on the spreadsheet: Row [#]: The group of (group_name1:
  "[Example Group]", group_name2: "[Example Group 2]") is on row [#], but it must be listed prior to this row.
  • Note: See “Creating Tiered Groups” section for more information about this structure.
• When group_name2 is populated without group_name1 populated, or group_name3 is populated without group_name1 or group_name2:
  “Row [#]: "group_name1" and "group_name2" must be populated if "group_name3" is populated.”

Other Upload Options 

GiveCampus offers a custom API that allows for designation data to be retrieved from GiveCampus into your CRM and allows for your CRM to send over new designations that are created at your school. Learn more about our API! 

Adding Designation Groups to your Giving Forms and Campaign Forms

Got your Designation Groups uploaded and you’re ready to add them to a Giving Form or Campaign? Learn more about your options when adding Designations Groups to forms here.