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Creating Donors

Donors are the foundation of your donation management system. This guide will show you how to add new donors to DonorLog.

Donor Management

Overview​

A donor record contains all the information about a person or organization that makes donations. This information is used for:

  • Recording donations
  • Generating tax receipts
  • Sending email communications
  • Tracking donation history
Before You Begin

Make sure you have the donor's complete information ready, especially their mailing address for tax receipt compliance.

Required Information​

When creating a donor, you must provide:

  • First Name - The donor's first name
  • Last Name - The donor's last name
  • Phone Number - Contact phone number (optional; you can enter "unknown" if not provided)
  • Address - Full mailing address
  • City - City name
  • Province - Province or state
  • Postal Code - Postal or ZIP code

Optional Information​

You can also include:

  • Nickname - A preferred name or nickname
  • Email Address - For sending receipts and communications
  • Profile Photo - A photo of the donor (optional)

Step-by-Step: Creating a Donor​

Step 1: Navigate to Donors​

  1. Click on "Donors" in the main navigation menu
  2. You'll see a list of all existing donors

Step 2: Open the Create Donor Form​

  1. Click the "Add New Donor" button (usually at the top right)
  2. A form will open for entering donor information

Step 3: Fill in Required Fields​

Enter the required information:

First Name: John
Last Name: Smith
Phone Number: +1 (555) 123-4567
Address: 123 Main Street
City: Toronto
Province: ON
Postal Code: M5H 2N2

Step 4: Add Optional Information​

If available, add:

Nickname: Johnny
Email: john.smith@example.com

Step 5: Save the Donor​

  1. Review all the information you've entered
  2. Click the "Create Donor" button
  3. You'll see a success message confirming the donor was created
  4. The donor will now appear in your donors list

Tips for Creating Donors​

Duplicate Checking​

Duplicate Detection

DonorLog will check if a donor with the same name and email already exists. If a duplicate is found, you'll see a warning message. This helps prevent creating duplicate donor records. Always search for existing donors before creating a new one.

Email Addresses​

Email Best Practice

While email is optional, it's highly recommended to include it because:

  • Tax receipts can be emailed automatically
  • You can send donation confirmations
  • Email communications are more efficient
  • Reduces postage costs for mailing receipts

Address Format​

Use the complete mailing address as it appears on mail. This ensures:

  • Tax receipts are sent to the correct address
  • Mailings reach the donor
  • CRA compliance requirements are met

Phone Numbers​

Include the country code for international numbers:

  • Canada/US: +1 (555) 123-4567
  • UK: +44 20 1234 5678

Editing Donor Information​

After creating a donor, you can always edit their information:

  1. Find the donor in the donors list
  2. Click on their name or the edit icon
  3. Update any fields
  4. Click "Save Changes"

📖 Learn more: Editing Donors

Searching for Donors​

If you have many donors, use the search function:

  1. Go to the Donors page
  2. Type in the search box (name, email, or phone)
  3. Results will filter as you type

📖 Learn more: Searching Donors

What's Next?​

After creating a donor, you can:

Common Questions​

Q: Can I create a donor without an email address?
A: Yes, email is optional. However, you won't be able to email tax receipts to donors without email addresses.

Q: What if I make a mistake when creating a donor?
A: You can always edit the donor information later. Just find the donor and click edit.

Q: Can I delete a donor?
A: Yes, but be careful. Deleting a donor will also remove all associated donation records. Consider editing instead of deleting.

Q: How do I handle organizations as donors?
A: Organizations can be added as donors. Use the organization name as the "First Name" and leave "Last Name" blank, or use "Organization" as the last name.

Ready to create your first donor? Go to the Donors page and click "Add New Donor"!