Recipients in GC Outreach

Recipients are the email addresses that will receive the email outreach from the GC Outreach product. 

Recipients can be added to an outreach via a few workflows including uploading a list of email addresses via csv, selecting from a segment across the GC platform, or selecting a segment when creating outreach in the general outreach workflow.

Uploading Recipients

Utilize the "Add Recipients" button on the recipients tab of your outreach to upload a CSV of all recipients you want to send your outreach to. Format your csv with the following columns: "external_id", "first_name", "last_name", and "email_address". The only required column to upload is the email_address column but all need to be present in the csv. Here is a template to get you started.

After uploading a csv, it will process each row. While it processes, you will be taken back to the editing page to adjust your content if you wish while you wait. 

Processing your csv file will involve the following: 

• removing any known "bad" email addresses from the csv
• filtering out any email addresses that have chosen to unsubscribe
• and filter out any people (any of their email addresses) that have a mapped solicit code to GC Outreach in school level settings through the Data Importer

You can utilize more than one csv upload and any duplicate email addresses will be removed. 

Segments across the GiveCampus Platform

If you choose not to upload a csv of recipients from scratch, you can utilize the GiveCampus segments from across the platform to pre-fill the recipient list. 

The following segments are available and can be found in the following spots:

• Event Registrants - send outreach from the "Registrants" tab on a specific event to pre-fill the recipient list with all email addresses that submitted the registration and that have an RSVP status of "attending" to that specific event
• Event Guests -  send outreach from the "Guests" tab or the "Event Attendance" tab on a specific event to pre-fill the recipient list with all of those that are registered guests that have an RSVP status of "attending" for that specific event. These are people that you should expect to attend the event. Not all guests are required to have an email address so all guests that did not have an email address will be filtered out
• Event Attendees - send outreach from the "Guests" tab or the "Event Attendance" tab on a specific event to pre-fill the recipient list with all guests with email addresses that have the "Checked-In" status
• Event Non-Attendees - send outreach from the "Guests" tab or the "Event Attendance" tab on a specific event to pre-fill the recipient list with all guests with email addresses that have the "Not Checked-In" status
• Campaign / Giving Form Donors - send outreach from the "Manage Gifts" -> Donors tab from a specific campaign or giving form to pre-fill recipients with successful donors (authorized or paid status) for that campaign or giving form
• Campaign / Giving Form Recurring Subscriptions- send outreach from the "Manage Gifts" -> Recurring Subscriptions tab from a specific campaign or giving form to pre-fill recipients with all the email addresses for donors that successfully started a recurring subscription on that campaign or giving form. 
• Campaign / Giving Form Should-Be Donors - send outreach from the "Manage Gifts" -> Should-Be Donors tab from a specific campaign or giving form to pre-fill recipients with those that should have been donors but did not have a successful payment in some way an hour after trying to make it. 

Navigating to outreach through the "send outreach" button on any of these pages will pre-fill recipients for you and you can filter and adjust the list from there manually

Any recipients that previously unsubscribed, have mapped solicit codes, or invalid email addresses will be filtered out automatically in the same way that they do for uploaded csv recipients.

Filtering Your Recipient List

Once you have any recipients in the list either via upload or from a GiveCampus segment, you can filter the list down further using the filter sidebar. 

All filters work off of data on the person record in GiveCampus that is matched to recipients via external id first and then email address if that is not provided. This is used to match with data uploaded in the Data Importer and any data from GC Events, Social Fundraising, or Giving Forms linked to that person / email address. If there is data missing for a filter you have selected, those recipients will be filtered out as well. 

Custom Merge Tokens

If you would like to utilize merge tokens that are not available in the standard dropdown of options in the email editor, you may choose to upload custom merge tokens alongside your recipient list upload that can be used in that specific outreach. This is only available on the recipient upload option on an outreach and will not work for segments / pre-builts / etc to choose from. 

Each custom merge token should be added as it's own individual column to the recipient upload and be formatted with the wording "custom_" in front of the name of the merge token. You cannot re-use the same column more than once. If this is done, the email will choose the first one to utilize. These custom merge tokens once uploaded will now be available in the editor dropdown to be added to the outreach email body. 

There is a limit of 50 custom merge tokens per Outreach. There is currently no character limit for your custom merge tokens.

CSV column requirements for recipient uploads

Your CSV must include the standard headers below and can include additional custom merge token columns.

Allowed standard headers

• For email campaigns: external_id, first_name, last_name, email_address
• For text campaigns: external_id, first_name, last_name, phone_number

Important: All four standard headers must be present—even if some cells are blank. Only the channel-specific field (email_address for email or phone_number for text) needs data for each recipient.

Custom merge token columns

• Additional columns must be prefixed with custom_ (for example, custom_consecutive_giving).
• A maximum of 50 custom merge token columns are allowed per outreach.

Quick examples

Email example (with one custom token):

external_id,first_name,last_name,email_address,custom_consecutive_giving
12345,Alex,Jordan,alex.jordan@example.edu,5
,Sam,Lee,sam.lee@example.edu,2

Text example:

external_id,first_name,last_name,phone_number
98765,Maria,Gonzalez,+15551234567
,Chris,Patel,555-987-6543

Troubleshooting checklist

• Verify all four standard headers are present and spelled exactly as shown.
• Confirm you used email_address (for email) or phone_number (for text) and that each recipient’s record includes the correct field.
• Ensure each custom merge token column starts with custom_ and that you have 50 or fewer custom columns.

  Troubleshooting CSV header and custom merge token errors

  If your recipient upload fails with a header- or token-related error, the platform returns a specific message indicating the issue and how to fix it.

  • Error message: "your CSV columns do not match the required columns for this upload. Please check the naming and ensure they are all present and try again."

    • Cause: One or more required column headers are missing or misnamed.
    • Solution:
      1. Verify that you included the required columns exactly as spelled: external_id, first_name, last_name, and email_address (for email) or phone_number (for text). All four headers must be present, even if some cells are blank.
      2. Ensure you used email_address for email campaigns or phone_number for text campaigns, as the channel-specific field must contain data.
      3. If using a spreadsheet program, export to CSV (not Excel format) and check the file in a text editor to confirm there are no hidden characters.

  • Error message: "your CSV contains an improperly named custom merge token. Please check the naming and try again."

    • Cause: One or more custom merge token headers do not follow the required pattern.
    • Naming rule: Custom merge token headers must begin with custom_ and include only lowercase letters, numbers, and underscores (e.g., custom_consecutive_giving is valid). Variations such as Custom_ConsecutiveGiving, custom-consecutive, or custom consecutive are not accepted.
    • Solution:
      1. Rename the offending column(s) to meet the naming rule.
      2. Re-export the file as CSV and verify the headers in a text editor.

  • Error message: "your CSV contains more than 50 custom merge tokens. Please remove some and try again."

    • Cause: The CSV includes more than 50 columns beginning with custom_.
    • Solution:
      1. Count the columns that start with custom_ in your header row. If there are more than 50, remove or consolidate less-used tokens.
      2. If you need additional fields, split your recipients across multiple uploads so that no single upload exceeds 50 custom columns.

  Quick checklist before uploading

  1. Confirm all four standard headers are present and exactly spelled: external_id, first_name, last_name, and email_address (or phone_number for text).
  2. Ensure custom merge token columns follow the rule (begin with custom_ and use only lowercase letters, numbers, and underscores).
  3. Verify you have no more than 50 custom merge token columns.
  4. Open the exported CSV in a plain-text editor to check that headers are correct and have no hidden characters.

  If you still encounter errors after these checks, re-save a fresh CSV file (using File → Export as CSV) and try the upload again. The error messages above reflect the exact responses from the uploader, and following these steps should resolve most header and token issues.

 

Handling Multiple Recipients with Same Constituent ID

Sending to Both Household Members

Common variations of this question:

• How do I send to both spouses with the same constituent ID?
• Will emails go to both parents if they share one ID?
• How does householding work in GC Outreach?

If your CRM uses householding (where spouses share one constituent ID):

1. Upload separate email addresses: Create a CSV with both parents listed on separate lines, even if they have the same constituent ID

2. Each unique email gets the message: The system will send to each unique email address in your upload

3. Format your CSV properly: Include both email addresses:

`

external_id,first_name,last_name,email_address

12345,John,Smith,john@email.com

,Jane,Smith,jane@email.com

Result: Both parents will receive the outreach email, even though they share the same constituent ID.

Finding Past Recipients and Segments

Where to find previously uploaded recipient lists

When looking for recipient lists from previous outreach campaigns:

1. For Email Recipients: Go to GC Outreach > Reporting > Recipients to view all previously uploaded recipient lists

2. Segments: Navigate to GC Outreach > Segments to view all saved segments that can be reused

Common variations of this question

• "Where are my old recipient lists?"
• "I can't find my alumni list from last year"
• "How do I find previous text message recipients?"
• "Where did my saved segments go?"

Recipients in GC Outreach

Recipients are the email addresses that will receive the email outreach from the GC Outreach product. Recipients can be added to an outreach via a few workflows including uploading a list of email addresses via csv, selecting from a segment across the GC platform, or selecting a segment when creating outreach in the general outreach workflow.

Uploading Recipients

Utilize the "Add Recipients" button on the recipients tab of your outreach to upload a CSV of all recipients you'd like to email via your outreach. The CSV must include a column titled "email" and can include additional columns for merge token values. If you have additional data in your CSV, you can utilize those additional columns as merge tokens within your email. For more information on utilizing merge tokens, check out this article.

Adding Recipients via Segment

You can add recipients to your outreach by utilizing segments already built in the GiveCampus platform. Segments built from the School Level Data Importer (from your CRM) or Smart Segments can be used as sources of recipients for your outreach. You can add multiple segments to a single outreach. For more information on building new segments for your outreach, check out this article.

Filtering Your Recipient List

GC Outreach provides several filtering options to help you target your messaging more effectively and ensure the right people receive your communications.

Exclusions

Exclusions allow you to remove specific recipients from your outreach, even if they were included through segments or CSV uploads. This helps you avoid sending messages to people who shouldn't receive them.

Exclude via Existing Segment

Pick any segment type to remove from the send. You can select from:

• Custom segments built from your data

Exclude via CSV Upload

Upload a list of constituents to exclude from your outreach.

How Exclusions Work

Exclusions always take priority over inclusions — if someone appears in both your recipient list and your exclusion list, they won't receive the outreach. You can combine multiple exclusion sources for maximum flexibility.

The Removed Constituents banner and detail overlay give you full visibility into who was removed and why, helping you understand exactly who was excluded from your send.

Required CSV Column Headers for Recipients

Standard Column Requirements

When uploading recipient lists via CSV, use these exact column headers:

Required columns (must be present even if empty):

• external_id - Your internal ID for the recipient (can be blank for non-database contacts)
• email - Email address for the recipient

Optional columns for enhanced personalization:

• first_name - Recipient's first name
• last_name - Recipient's last name
• class_year - Graduation year
• affiliation - Relationship to institution
• Any custom fields you want to use as merge tokens

CSV Formatting for Text Campaigns

Simplified CSV Upload for Direct Recipients

When uploading recipient lists directly to an outreach (rather than creating segments), you can use a simplified approach:

Required columns (even if left blank):

• external_id - Can be left completely blank for non-database contacts
• first_name - Recipient's first name for personalization
• last_name - Recipient's last name
• email_address - Required for email campaigns
• phone_number - Required for text campaigns

For text campaigns without constituent IDs: `csv

external_id,first_name,last_name,email_address,phone_number

,Caroline,Smith,,555-123-4567

,John,Doe,,555-987-6543

`

Merge Token Reference for CSV Uploads

When using CSV-uploaded data, use these merge tokens:

• $Csv_Recipient_First_Name$ - First name from your CSV
• $Csv_Recipient_Last_Name$ - Last name from your CSV
• $Csv_Recipient_Email_Address$ - Email from your CSV

These merge tokens will pull data directly from your uploaded CSV file, regardless of whether the recipients exist in your GiveCampus database.

Required CSV Column Headers for Recipients

Standard Column Requirements

When uploading recipient lists via CSV, use these exact column headers:

Required columns (must be present even if empty):

• external_id - Your internal ID for the recipient (can be blank for non-database contacts)
• first_name - Recipient's first name
• last_name - Recipient's last name
• email_address - Recipient's email (required for email campaigns)

Optional columns:

• phone_number - For text messaging campaigns
• Custom fields with custom_ prefix (e.g., custom_class_of, custom_cell_phone)

Troubleshooting CSV Upload Errors

Common header issues:

• Incorrect spacing: Use underscores, not spaces (e.g., first_name not First Name)
• Case sensitivity: Use lowercase for standard headers
• Missing required columns: All four standard columns must be present
• Custom field formatting: Custom fields must start with custom_

Example of correct headers: `

external_id,first_name,last_name,email_address,custom_class_of,custom_cell_phone

`

Custom Field Guidelines

• Prefix all custom fields with custom_
• Use underscores instead of spaces in custom field names
• Custom fields can contain any additional data you want to use in merge tokens
• Custom fields are optional but can enhance personalization

Dynamic Recipient Updates for Scheduled Outreach

How Scheduled Outreach Handles Changing Segments

When you schedule an outreach to send later using dynamic segments (like event registrants or custom segments), the recipient list is automatically refreshed at send time, not when you create the schedule.

Key Points:

• Recipients are generated fresh when the outreach actually sends
• Dynamic custom segments are refreshed to reflect current data conditions
• Static CSV uploads remain fixed at upload time

Example scenario: You schedule an email to "All Event Registrants" on Monday to send Wednesday. Any new registrations between Monday and Wednesday will automatically be included in the Wednesday send.

Troubleshooting the "Outreach must have at least one recipient" error

If you see the error message "Outreach must have at least one recipient" when you click Send Outreach or Schedule Send, it means your outreach has no valid recipients and cannot be processed.

What to check

1. Go to the Recipients tab (next to the email content tab) and confirm that at least one recipient is listed.
2. If you haven’t added any recipients yet, click Add Recipients to upload a CSV, select a GiveCampus segment, or use a pre-filled list from Events or Campaign pages.
3. If you recently uploaded a CSV, wait until processing is complete; the recipient count might temporarily show zero.
4. If recipients were uploaded or selected but the list is still empty, review whether recipients were automatically filtered out. The system removes recipients who:
   • Have unsubscribed,
   • Have invalid email addresses, or
   • Are excluded by mapped solicit codes or other filters.

Checklist before sending or scheduling

• Verify that the Recipients tab shows one or more recipients.
• Ensure any CSV upload has finished processing.
• Check the list for recipients removed by filters.

Why this happens

GiveCampus prevents sending or scheduling an outreach with no valid recipients. Confirming the recipient list helps resolve this error.