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 — 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.