Tips to Avoid Errors

Following the tips below can help prevent errors during the import process.

All Imports

• Make sure you've downloaded the correct template: All templates contain columns specific to your Campaign. Make sure to you've downloaded the spreadsheet template for the correct Campaign.
• Don't change columns: Keep the column names when you download the template (changing them will cause the import to fail). Any changes to the column names, adding or deleting columns will cause the import to fail.
• Fill out all required information: Only the columns with the information you selected as “required” in the Campaign setup will need to be filled out. Required information must be entered to complete a successful import. Columns that don’t pertain to your required information can be left blank.
• Properly format phone numbers: When entering phone numbers, only include the numbers. Do not include any parenthesis '()' or dashes '-'.

A-Thon and Peer-to-Peer Imports

• Import Teams before Participants: You’ll want to make sure you’ve added all your Teams before importing Participants, as you can only import Participants to Teams already created. If you import a Participant to a team that hasn’t been created, the Participant will still be added to your fundraiser but not connected to any team. 
• Enter the activity exactly as it is written in Campaign Setup: If you are running a jog-a-thon and have entered the activity as ‘Running Laps’ in Campaign Setup, this exact text is required on the import template. Using only ‘Running’ will cause the import to fail. You can find the text required in the A-Thon section in Campaign Setup.
• Properly format goal units: This field needs to be filled with a numeric value of the Participant’s fundraising goal. Adding a “$” will cause the import to fail.
• Include email addresses if necessary: You’ll need to fill in the email address column if you’d like Participants to edit and customize their Personal Fundraising Page, track their progress, view their donors, and more. If you don’t want Participants to access these features, leave the email column blank.

When importing Participants, you can send them an email notifying them that they've been added to the fundraiser:

This email will include:

• Link to their Personal Fundraising Page
• Link to their Participant Dashboard

How-to: Find Your Participant or Team Dashboard