Using the Zapier integration
In this article:
Overview
This article describes how to set up the Zapier integration in your LGL account, specifically:
- Setting up a Zapier account
- Creating a Zap: in your Zapier account, linking a Trigger with an Action
- Managing incoming data: where to find the data that comes into your LGL account from Zapier
What is Zapier?
Zapier is "middleware" that sits between two other services. It allows software services to create Triggers and Actions. Each combination of a Trigger and an Action is called a Zap. As the names suggest, a Trigger is what gets a Zap started and an Action is what happens on the receiving end.
Last but not least, here's a tip on how to pronounce Zapier: It rhymes with "happier".
Examples of how our integration could be used
- Twitter => LGL -- Twitter has a Zapier Trigger called "you have a new follower." You could use this Trigger to update a new or existing constituent record in LGL.
- Gravity Forms => LGL -- If you use Gravity Forms in your WordPress account, you can use their Trigger to push a donation over to LGL. (Of course, LGL Forms is nice because it already has a powerful integration built in.)
- Google spreadsheet => LGL -- This might be the simplest way to test out a Zap of your own. You can use a Google Sheet as the Trigger so that any time a new row is added to a sheet it triggers a Zap.
There are over 1,500 applications that have built Triggers or Actions for Zapier, so there are a lot of software services to choose from. Little Green Light has created one Action called "Import Constituent/Gift Data", which allows you to create or edit a constituent record and optionally to add an associated gift record. To see if the software you want to use has a Zapier Trigger, try doing a web search for your software and Zapier, such as "Facebook zapier".
Steps for setting up the integration
Zapier account
You need to have a Zapier account to be able to use the integration.
Pricing: Zapier is free for up to 5 different Zaps, and you can have up to 100 Tasks performed (a Task is counted each time a Zap is triggered). The free version checks for Zaps every 15 minutes, so it's not truly instantaneous. Paid plans start at around $20/month; see Zapier's pricing page for details. Zapier offers a small discount on paid plans for nonprofits: You can apply for nonprofit pricing here.
If you don't already have a Zapier account, sign up for one here.
Be careful if you have a change in Administrator for your LGL or Zapier account: Unless you're paying for a Zapier tier that supports teams, only one user can work in any given Zapier account. That same user has to be an Administrator in their LGL account AND they have to have access to the "Trigger" software they're integrating. For example, if John Greene is using Zapier to link data from a Google Sheet to his LGL account, ALL of the following must be true:
- The work will be done in John Greene's Zapier account
- John Greene needs to be an Administrator in his LGL account
- John Greene needs to have access to the Google Sheet he wants to use as the data source (Trigger)
If John Greene leaves his nonprofit, then a new Administrator will need to re-create John's Zapier integrations in their own Zapier account (and have access to the Trigger software).
Create a Zap
Creating a Zap involves defining the Trigger and the Action, each of which has multiple steps:
Trigger
- Choose the software service where the data will be coming from
- Select the exact Trigger to use (your selected software may provide more than one)
- Complete any other necessary steps (i.e., identify a specific source file)
We don't provide specific instructions for choosing your Trigger, because the exact steps will vary based on the software you choose.
Action
- Choose App: Little Green Light (1.0.1)
- Choose Action Event: Import Constituent/Gift Data
- Choose Account: Select: your LGL account
- Customize Import: Map incoming data fields to receiving fields
Use the search bar to find the Little Green Light app:
Troubleshooting tip: If at this point Zapier tells you things are taking too long, we have found that using the Incognito window in Chrome, or the equivalent in another browser, helps get past that issue.
At this step, you are defining how you want LGL to handle the data you're sending over.
Per the screenshot shown below,
- You'll see all of the possible fields you can set. It's a long list because it encompasses many of the fields for constituent and gift records. You'll likely leave most of them blank (unless you're gathering a lot of information in your Trigger).
- "1" - Note that some fields are required. See "1" in the screenshot below.
- "2" - Three of the required fields ask you to select how you want the incoming records to match to your existing constituent records and whether you want the incoming records to wait for your review in the Integration Queue. The dropdown arrow will show you the available choices. See the arrows pointing from "2" in the screenshot below.
- "3" - All other fields allow you to map the fields from the data sent by your Trigger. If you click on the fields icon on the right, you'll see the fields that are being sent from your Trigger. Alternatively, if you want to pass in a fixed value, you can simply type in the blank field and whatever you type will be passed on to LGL. See the arrows pointing from "3" in the screenshot below.
Splitting multiple values
You can pass multiple values to a multi-select constituent category in LGL. Just be sure to use either a comma or semicolon to separate the values. Our Zapier integration automatically splits these into individual values. For example, if you are passing in "Alumni; Volunteer" to Groups, then those will come in as two values: "Alumni" and "Volunteer".
Test your Zap and publish it
Zapier has a nice testing process built in, so you can test your connections along the way and see how the Zap will work. They ask you to have at least one submission in your Trigger app so that you can work with a real record as you do your initial mapping. As the final step in setting up your Zap, you will click a button to publish your Zap. Then it's a good idea to test it again by submitting another record and making sure that data arrived in your LGL account. NOTE: The free version of Zapier says to expect up to a 15-minute delay for the data to get processed.
Managing incoming data
When you map your Zap, you will see an option to require review (which is set to yes by default). If your Zap requires review, you will find incoming records in the Integration Queue in your LGL account:
If you have instead selected not to require review, then the records will be processed all the way into your LGL account. You can see every saved Zapier submission by looking in the Saved folder in your Integration Queue.
Resources
Complete list of fields you can map to
These are the LGL fields you can map to using our Zapier Action:
Import settings Import name [required] Constituent matching preferences [required] Require review? [required] Add gifts to QBO sync list? About constituent External constituent ID Constituent type Contact type Annual report name Birthday Background info Name info Prefix First name Middle name Last name Suffix Marital status Spouse/partner name Employer/Organization Contact info Email address Email type Email preferred? Phone number 1 Phone number 2 Phone type Phone preferred? Address line 1 Address line 2 City State/province Postal/ZIP code Address type Full/formatted address Address preferred? Country Website/URL Website type Constituent categories Capacity Groups Interest level Stewards MailChimp status Constant Contact lists Acknowledgment preference Custom Constituent Categories Communication tags Contact report info Contact rpt. name Contact rpt. type Contact rpt. date Contact rpt. text Contact rpt. team member Membership info Membership end date Membership level Membership note Membership start date |
Class-Year info Class affiliation Class affiliation grad. year Class affiliation note Notes info Note type Note date - Original Note text Task info Task name Task description Task due date Task type Task owner Send reminder? Event infoAttended? Inv. notes RSVP status Inv. attendee count Inv. guest names Date attended Gen. event name Gift info External gift ID Gift type Gift category Gift date Gift amount Gift amount divided by 100* Deposit date Deposited amount Deposited amount divided by 100* Deductible amount Deductible amount divided by 100* Payment type Check/reference no. Campaign name Fund name Appeal name Event name Gift note Tribute Name Tribute Hon./Mem. Name Tribute Dedication Tribute Recipient Name Tribute Recipient Salutation Tribute Recipient Email Tribute Recipient Address Tribute Notification Template Ack. mailing template Volunteer info Vol. category Vol. date Vol. end date Vol. hours Vol. description |
*divided by 100: These fields will take the value submitted and then divide by 100 before writing it to the LGL field. This is necessary if the software you are getting the data from is sending the number in full cents, for example 1950 instead of 19.50.
What can you NOT do using this integration?
You can use Zapier to get data into LGL but not to get data out of LGL. To get data out of LGL in a systematic way, one option to consider is a Scheduled Report and the Permanent Link option.
It is not possible to bring these field types into LGL via Zapier:
- Relationships (because you can't map to two constituents at once with Zapier)
- Education info
- Pledges
- Goals
- Related gifts (soft credits, peer credits, matching)
In addition, it is not possible to bring these constituent fields into LGL via Zapier:
Constituent fields Maiden name Salutation Addressee Alt. salutation Alt. addressee Spouse/partner first name Spouse/partner name Spouse/partner last name Honorary name Annual report name Job title Birthday Assistant name Full Name Last, First LGL constituent ID Deceased? Deceased date Date added Nicknames Spouse/partner nickname Gives anonymously? Constituent Categories Primary steward |
Contact info Email type Email preferred? Inactive/invalid email? LGL email ID Phone type Inactive/invalid phone? Phone preferred? LGL phone ID Address line 3 County City, state, zip Inactive/invalid address? Seasonal from Seasonal to LGL address ID |
Glossary
You can view this Glossary of Zapier technical terms.
Examples of Zap templates
Several examples of available Zap templates are included in the Examples tab of your Zapier Integration page. You can browse and select from among these choices or click the "See more Little Green Light integrations powered by Zapier" link below to see all available options.
