New Personalization Workflow - Personalize Giving Experiences with Ease

Before You Start

Make sure the following are in place:

1. School Level Data Importer data is uploaded with at least: Constituent ID, First Name, Last Name, and Preferred Email. Without these mapped fields, personalization tokens cannot be generated. Get started on uploading data here. 
2. A live giving form or campaign exists that you want to direct personalized giving to.
3. A custom segment is created (via query builder or CSV upload) containing the audience you want to personalize for. More info on segment creation here.

Known Limitations

• Only custom segments are supported (not pre-built or Smart Segments).
• Limited Personalized Elements: Personalized elements are limited to: Greeting Name, Greeting Message, Designation, Ask Amount, and collapsing/passing-through known SLDI fields.
• Household emailing (sending to both spouses) is not supported in this version.
• Only one personalization can be created per segment in the first phases.

Creating Your Personalization

• Step 1: Open your segment
  Navigate to GC Outreach → Segments → select your target segment. You'll see a new Personalization tab to the right of the segment list. 

  
  
   

• Step 2: Create a personalization
  Click Create Personalization. In the modal, give it a name (e.g., "Spring Appeal 2026"), select whether you're connecting to a Campaign or Giving Form, and choose the specific live form/campaign.

  
  
   

• Step 3: Configure your personalization

• Greeting Name — Choose how donors will be greeted (First Name, Preferred Name, Nickname, or First & Last Name). If a donor is missing the selected field, the system falls back: Preferred Name → Nickname → First Name.
• Greeting Message — Write a short message (up to 400 characters) that appears on the form. ⚠️ Do not include personally identifying information — personalization does not require donor authentication.
• Ask Amounts  — Use a constituent's imported ask amount, or use Smart Ask Amounts, powered by GC Intelligence.

  Ask Amount Overrides in Previews

  • Manual ask amount overrides entered for individual tokens—whether by editing tokens one-by-one or via a CSV upload—now display in personalization previews even if the Ask Amounts source is unset (empty or unconfigured). This means that manually set amounts are shown regardless of whether Smart Ask Amounts or imported ask amounts are selected.

  • The override appears in both the Ask Amounts column in the personalization token table and in the individual donor preview when you click a token. Use either preview to confirm the exact amount a donor will see.

  • When a manual override exists, it takes precedence over the project’s default amounts. If no override is set, the system uses the configured source or the project default amounts, as described elsewhere in this article.

  What to check when previewing ask amounts

  1. If you edited an individual token, open its preview to ensure the override appears as expected.
  2. If you used a CSV upload, verify the Ask Amounts column in the token table shows the correct values before delivering or exporting.
  3. If a token displays a project default amount, no manual override was applied, and the system is falling back to the configured source or the default amounts.
  • Smart Ask amount data is regenerated on a weekly basis to account for new data uploaded.
• Designation  — The designation auto-filled for these personalization tokens. You may add up to 5 designations.Designations first must be created under Online Giving > School-Level Settings to appear here.

• Step 4: Update tokens
  Click Update Personalization Tokens. The system modifies personalized links based on your configuration for every eligible constituent in the segment.
  
   

• Step 5: Preview
  Click any token in the table to open the donor's personalized giving experience in a new tab. Verify the greeting name, message, and collapsed fields look correct.

  
  
   

• Step 6 : Deliver
  Two options:
  • Export — Download a CSV of all (or selected) tokens with personalized URLs for external email tools or direct mail.
  • Draft Outreach — Drafting an Outreach from Personalization will pre-populate the outreach with the segment applied and the personalization link pre-populated. Note: Links will not be pre-populated when applying templates

Making Changes

• Edit the whole personalization: Click Edit Personalization to change the greeting name or message for all tokens at once.
• Edit individual tokens: Select specific constituents and update their greeting name or message individually. Manually edited tokens are flagged with a tooltip and can be "locked" so bulk changes don't override them.

• Delete tokens: Remove tokens for specific constituents, or delete the entire personalization. Donors can still access the base form/campaign link, but it won't be personalized.

  What the "update email" and "Not me" links do for donors

  When donors use a personalized giving form, two links appear at the top: update email and Not me. These links let the donor choose between the personalized experience and the standard form.

  • Where these links appear

    • They appear at the top of the form when personalization is applied.

  • What "Not me" does

    • Clicking Not me opens the standard (non-personalized) form. This option is for donors who want to complete the gift without the pre-filled personalization (greeting, designation, ask amount, or collapsed fields).

  • What "update email" does

    • Clicking update email has the same effect as Not me. It lets donors use a different email address or complete the gift using the non-personalized version of the form.

  • Practical tips for administrators

    • Use the token Preview in the Personalization tab to confirm the donor’s view, including greeting, message, designation, and ask amount.
    • To provide a non-personalized experience in outreach, include the base form/campaign URL (instead of the personalization token) or instruct recipients to click Not me upon opening their personalized link.

  This section details the current behavior of the links to help you explain donor options and set clear expectations in your outreach.

• Edit with .CSV: Modify the personalization for individual constituents via a .csv file. Set unique display names, greeting messages, designations, or modify ask amounts for specific constituent in the segment through a .csv upload.

FAQ & Troubleshooting: Why token counts can be lower than your segment rows

Q: I uploaded a segment with 190 rows but only 106 personalization tokens were generated. Why?

A: Tokens are created per unique, matchable Constituent ID—not per CSV row. The token count represents the number of unique Constituent IDs in your segment that match a record in your School Level Data Importer. If rows share Constituent IDs, or reference IDs that don’t exist in your data, fewer tokens are generated.

Common reasons for fewer tokens than rows

• Duplicate/Shared Constituent IDs: Multiple rows using the same Constituent ID (for example, household members listed separately) generate one token per unique ID. Household emailing is not supported, so expect one token per record.

• Missing constituent records: If a row’s Constituent ID does not match a record in your School Level Data Importer data, no token is created. Ensure your data uploader includes all required records.

Minimum fields required for token generation

A token is generated only if the constituent record includes the following fields:

• Constituent ID
• First Name
• Last Name
• Preferred Email

Diagnosing low token counts

1. Open the Personalization tab and review the token table to identify which Constituent IDs have tokens.
2. Export your segment as a CSV and review the Constituent ID column for duplicates.
3. Compare the Constituent IDs from your segment export to those in your School Level Data Importer records. Identify any missing matches.
4. Verify that each constituent record has the required fields (Constituent ID, First Name, Last Name, and Preferred Email).

Resolving common issues

• Duplicate IDs: If you require personalized links for individual rows (for instance, for separate email addresses for household members), ensure each record has a unique Constituent ID. As household emailing isn’t supported, shared IDs will always yield a single token.

• Missing records or fields: Update your School Level Data Importer dataset to include all necessary records with the required fields. Once updated, return to the Personalization tab and click Update Personalization Tokens to generate tokens for the newly matchable records.

• Unexpected blanks in preview: If a preview is missing a name or email, verify that the corresponding constituent record contains valid values. The system falls back from Preferred Name to Nickname to First Name if the chosen field is empty.

Additional notes

• The token count reflects only unique, matchable Constituent IDs. For example, a segment with 1,000 rows might yield a much lower token count if many rows share IDs or reference non-matching IDs.
• Manual overrides (such as changes to ask amounts, greetings, or designations) only update existing tokens and do not trigger token creation for unmatched rows.
• After correcting your School Level Data Importer data, navigate to GC Outreach → Segments → select your segment → Personalization tab and click Update Personalization Tokens to update your token count.

For detailed instructions on preparing and uploading your School Level Data Importer data, please refer to the Before You Start section of this article.

FAQ — Why does the personalized form show internal affiliation codes in the "Not [First Name], [Affiliation]" prompt?

Q: The confirmation prompt displays something like "Not [First Name], [InternalCode]". These internal codes shouldn't appear to donors. How do I fix this?

A: The prompt pulls the affiliation text from the value stored in your School Level Data Importer. If your import included internal codes instead of public-facing labels, those codes will display.

How to control what appears to donors:

1. Map your internal values to public-facing labels so that GiveCampus uses friendly text (e.g., "Alumnus/a", "Parent") instead of raw codes:

   • If the affiliation value doesn’t match an existing Online Giving affiliation, create the needed type under Online Giving > School-Level Settings > Affiliations.
   • Map your imported affiliation values to the correct public label under School Dashboard > Settings > General Settings in the Affiliations section. The table shows your imported values in the Imported Affiliation column; use the Online Giving Affiliation column to choose the matching public label.

2. Review the mapping before importing affiliation values via the School Level Data Importer. This ensures that the personalization preview and the confirmation prompt display the correct labels.

If you already imported internal codes:

Set up the proper mappings under School Dashboard > Settings > General Settings (the Affiliations section). Once mapped, the uploaded affiliations will be updated for personalization, so previews and forms show the intended labels. If none of the existing options fit, create a custom affiliation under Online Giving > School-Level Settings > Affiliations and then map your imported values accordingly.

Verifying the fix:

After updating your mappings, open GC Outreach → Segments → select your segment → Personalization tab, and use the token Preview to confirm that the donor-facing prompt now shows the correct label.

Notes:

• Mapping preserves internal codes in your data store while showing friendly labels publicly. Avoid re-uploading sanitized values unless you intend to change the canonical data.
• The General Settings page includes a link to view or add Online Giving Affiliations—use it to create a new label if needed.

Q: I uploaded a recipient CSV (or added recipients directly to a segment) with greeting names and ask amounts – why isn’t that data appearing in personalization?

A: GC Outreach uses two distinct CSV workflows. Uploading a recipient CSV (or adding recipients) defines WHO receives the message; it does NOT import per-person personalization data.

• Recipient upload format: Accepts only external_id, first_name, last_name, email_address, plus optional columns prefixed with custom_ for merge tokens. Columns like greeting_name or ask_amount are not supported and will cause the upload to fail.

• Personalization overrides: Use the Personalization → Edit with .CSV workflow within a segment to set greeting names, messages, designations, and ask amounts per person. This is a separate file and upload step.

Q: How do I add per-person greeting names, messages, designations, or ask-amount overrides to a segment?

A: Use the segment’s Personalization tab’s Edit with .CSV flow:

1. Navigate to GC Outreach → Segments and select your segment.
2. Open the Personalization tab and choose your personalization configuration.
3. Click Edit with .CSV to download the template CSV.
4. Fill out the template and upload it using the same Edit with .CSV button.
5. Click Update Personalization Tokens to apply the overrides.

The template includes (verbatim) the following columns: constituent_id, greeting_name, greeting_message, designation_1_name, designation_1_backend … through designation_5_name/designation_5_backend, along with ask amount columns default_ask_amount and suggested_ask_amount1–suggested_ask_amount6 (if applicable). Use the template headers exactly as provided.

Q: How does CSV matching work and what might be skipped or preserved?

A: The matching and processing rules are:

• Each row in the Edit with .CSV upload is matched by constituent_id to a segment member. Unmatched rows are skipped.
• A column is processed only if its header is present and at least one row contains a non-blank value. Blank columns are ignored to preserve existing overrides.
• The greeting message has a 400-character limit; rows exceeding this limit will fail processing.
• If default_ask_amount is populated, its value must exactly match one of the suggested_ask_amount values on the same row, or the row will be rejected.
• For duplicate constituent_id values, the last row wins; the system applies the final encountered values without warning.

Q: How can I verify that my per-person data was applied correctly before sending?

A: Verify using token previews in the Personalization tab:

1. Click on any token to open the donor’s personalized giving experience and check the greeting name, message, designation, and ask amount.
2. Confirm the Ask Amounts column in the token table reflects your uploaded values or manual overrides.
3. After an Edit with .CSV upload, remember to click Update Personalization Tokens.

Q: Can I source ask amounts from another data source instead of uploading them every time?

A: Yes. You can import per-constituent ask amounts via the School Level Data Importer (SLDI). Once the ask amount exists in SLDI, go to GC Outreach → Segments → Personalization and select Use Constituent's Imported Ask (or Smart Ask Amounts where available) as your Ask Amounts source.

Q: What are the common checklist items and gotchas?

• Ensure the constituent IDs in your Edit with .CSV match those in your segment and School Level Data Importer records. Unmatched rows are skipped.
• Do not include greeting_name or ask_amount columns in your recipient CSV; use Edit with .CSV instead.
• For minor updates, you can edit tokens one-by-one in the Personalization tab. Note that these edits become manual overrides visible in previews.
• Always click Update Personalization Tokens after uploading overrides.
• Use the token preview to verify the display for a specific donor.

Q: What is a quick-flow example if I already have a recipients CSV that I want to reuse with personalization?

1. Upload your recipients CSV to create the segment or add recipients (this sets WHO receives the email). Ensure segment members have valid constituent IDs in SLDI.
2. Go to GC Outreach → Segments and select your segment, then open the Personalization tab.
3. Click Edit with .CSV, download the template, and add the per-person values (greeting name, greeting message, designations, ask amounts) tied to each constituent_id.
4. Upload the template and click Update Personalization Tokens; preview a few tokens for confirmation.
5. Use Draft Outreach from the Personalization tab (preferred) or insert the Personalization Link via GC Links in an existing draft. Preview tokens again before sending.

This FAQ clarifies the difference between the recipient CSV (which defines who gets the email) and the personalization override CSV (which sets what personalized data is applied). Follow the Edit with .CSV workflow in the Personalization tab to ensure your greeting names and ask amounts display correctly.

FAQ — How do I add a personalization link to an outreach I'm already composing?

Q: How do I insert a personalization URL into an existing email draft so each recipient gets their individualized ask amount and link?

A: Click the GC Links button in the email editor toolbar to insert the personalization token.

Steps to insert a personalization link in the email editor:

1. Open your outreach draft in the GC Outreach email editor and click the GC Links button in the toolbar.
2. In the dropdown, use the Destination selector to choose Campaign or Giving Form and then select the corresponding live campaign or giving form configured in your segment personalization.
3. Select the Personalization Link option.
4. From the Personalization Tags dropdown, choose the tag that matches your segment personalization.
5. Click Insert Link to add the token to your message body.
6. Use the Preview option on tokens in the Personalization tab (Segments → Personalization) to confirm the display for donors.

Before you begin:

• Ensure personalization is already configured on your segment by navigating to GC Outreach → Segments → [your segment] → Personalization tab. Create and configure your personalization (Greeting, Designation, Ask Amounts, etc.) and click Update Personalization Tokens.
• Ask amounts must be sourced via Smart Ask Amounts (powered by GC Intelligence) or Use Constituent's Imported Ask. Manual overrides in the token table will appear in previews and take precedence over the configured source.
• Only custom segments (query-built or CSV-uploaded) support personalization. Smart Segments and pre-built segments are not supported.

Important notes:

• Templates: If you use a saved template, the personalization token will not be updated automatically. After applying a template, use the GC Links button to insert the personalization token into your message.
• Workflow differences: Clicking Draft Outreach from the Personalization tab will automatically insert the personalization token in a new outreach. The GC Links method provides the same token insertion for drafts composed or modified outside that flow.

Before sending, confirm the following:

• The segment has a configured personalization (check Segments → Personalization for updated tokens).
• At least one token preview displays the correct greeting, ask amount, and designation.
• The personalization token is inserted via GC Links (Destination → Personalization Link → Personalization Tags → Insert Link).
• If you used a template, reinsert the token via GC Links and verify with a preview.

Questions? Reach out to our team at support@givecampus.com

Templates and personalization links

When creating an outreach from personalization, the system handles links differently:

Personalization links are only added in newly created outreach

If you click Draft Outreach from the Personalization tab and create an outreach without applying a saved template, the system automatically inserts the correct personalization token into the message. Each recipient receives their individualized URL.

Templates retain their original links

If you start with a saved template, the content is copied as-is, without replacing generic links with personalized URLs.

Recommended approach

• Click Draft Outreach from the Personalization tab. • Create the outreach content from scratch (do not apply a template initially). • Verify that the personalization link appears in the message body. • Save this outreach as a template for future use. • For subsequent sends with the same segment, use the saved template.

Important considerations

• A saved template with a hard-coded generic link will not produce individualized URLs. • Use Preview on tokens in the Personalization tab to confirm that the personalized URL appears before sending. • Templates created outside of the personalization workflow do not include the necessary personalization tokens.

Templates and personalization links

When sending outreach with personalization, the way links are handled depends on whether you compose your message from scratch or use a saved template. This behavior ensures each recipient receives an individualized URL.

• Draft Outreach without a template: Clicking Draft Outreach from the Personalization tab creates a new outreach with the segment already applied and automatically inserts the personalization token. Compose your message from scratch and verify the token appears in the message body.

• Using a saved template: When you apply a saved template, the system copies the content as-is, including any generic or hard-coded links. These templates do not automatically replace links with personalized tokens.

Recommended workflow for creating templates that work with personalization:

1. In the Personalization tab, click Draft Outreach (do not apply a saved template).
2. Compose your outreach content and confirm that the personalization token appears via the token preview.
3. Save this outreach as a template for future use. Templates saved this way will include the necessary personalization tokens.

What to check and common gotchas:

• If you expected a personalized link but see a generic one, the template likely contained a hard-coded link. Recreate the outreach via Draft Outreach and save the updated version as a template.
• If you manually insert a personalization token after applying a template, use the Preview option on tokens to verify that each recipient will receive an individualized URL.

Following this workflow ensures donors receive individualized URLs and accurate click tracking.