Imported single ask versus an uploaded ask ladder

For school administrators using GiveCampus Outreach. Controls can differ between the classic email editor and the newer Composer editor.

Constituent's Imported Asks reads the person's CRM ask amount as one suggested value. Smart uses generated asks for the selected strategy and number of amounts. A person-specific workflow override takes precedence over either source. Do not describe Smart Asks as guaranteed to outperform the school's own ladder.

The newer personalization override upload supports an ask ladder when its configuration and school feature are available. Use the workflow's own exported/template CSV, retaining its required headers and constituent identifiers. The ask columns are suggested_ask_amount1 through suggested_ask_amount6, with default_ask_amount identifying one of those values. Values must be positive; a specified default must match one of the suggestions. This is a workflow override upload, not the ordinary CRM single-ask import.

The upload matches constituents within the workflow's segment. A populated ask row replaces that person's existing ask override. Entirely blank ask columns are ignored; when ask columns are active elsewhere in the file, a row with no suggestions clears that person's ask override. Review a small representative set and the generated donor links before applying a larger change. To compare school ladders and Smart Asks, keep the intended groups and override precedence explicit; set up and verify any comparison groups explicitly.

Will blank CSV ask amounts turn off Smart Asks for a recipient?

No. In a personalization configured to Use Smart Ask Amounts, clearing a recipient's manual or CSV ask override allows that recipient's generated Smart Asks to appear again. Clearing an override does not turn off the Smart Ask source for that person. If the ask columns are blank throughout the entire file, the upload ignores those columns and preserves existing overrides.

To use only the amounts you explicitly supply, open GC Outreach → Segments, select the custom segment, open its Personalization tab and the relevant personalization, then choose Edit Personalization. In Ask Amounts, select Use Manual Ask Amounts, apply the choice, and click Update Personalization Tokens. If prompted, select Keep Overrides to retain individual or CSV-uploaded amounts you want to keep. This changes the ask source for the whole personalization: recipients with an override use it; recipients without one receive no personalized ask amounts and can still see the giving form's standard suggested amounts.

If you want Smart Asks to continue for everyone else, use a separate segment and personalization for the recipients who should not receive generated asks, or replace those recipients' asks with explicit positive amounts in the override CSV. In a populated override row, default_ask_amount, when supplied, must match one of suggested_ask_amount1 through suggested_ask_amount6. Zero is not a supported suppression value.

Preview representative recipient links after updating, including a recipient with a supplied override and one without. Changing the personalization's ask source does not remove the giving form's own suggested amounts.