4. Communications Data Preparation Instructions

4. Communications Data Preparation Instructions

Type of information that goes in this tab of the template:

This tab is where you will enter any interactions you have, with a CONTACT in your database, that requires a date but does not require you to track the duration of the interaction. Some examples of interactions that you may want to track as a COMMUNICATION:
  1. You might send or receive email, phone calls, or paper mail 
  2. Attendance for various types of events like galas, fundraisers, support groups, etc.
  3. records that a particular CONTACT in your database was sent a solicited for donations to a particular campaign

How the information entered in this tab will be handled:

  1. Every single row will be imported as a separate COMMUNICATION record.
  2. Every column in this tab represents a field in the COMMUNICATION record in Sumac.
  3. If you do not track information that belongs in a particular column in the template, leave that column blank.
Info
Communication records can be connected to up to three CONTACTS, using the Contact ID, Contact A ID and Contact B ID columns in the spreadsheet below.

Mandatory Fields

Mandatory Field(s)
Default Value Imported (If no data present)
Contact ID
Contact IDs column needs to match Contact ID column in the Contacts Template. IF THERE ARE NO IDs THIS TEMPLATE IS NOT APPROPRIATE FOR YOUR MIGRATION.
Communication Type
[pre-sumac]
Date
1900-01-01
 

Events

If a CONTACT attends a performance or social event sponsored by your organization, that attendance is a type of COMMUNICATION. If you are able to get lists of CONTACTS who attended your events, then you can import their attendance into Sumac, to maintain a complete record of COMMUNICATIONS with your CONTACTS.

In order to import an event into Sumac we will need your data to contain the following:

Mandatory Field(s)
Default Value Imported (If no data present)
Event Name
No EVENT will be imported
Event Type
[pre-sumac]
Event Date
1900-01-01

 The above fields are in the template provided.

Campaigns

If there are Communications in your data that were made as a result of a fundraising initiative such as a CAMPAIGN, a mailed or emailed appeal, or some other named initiative for solicitation, then this data will be imported as a Campaign into Sumac and then tied to the Communication.

Mandatory Field(s)
Default Value Imported (If no data present)
Campaign Name
No CAMPAIGN will be imported

 The above fields are in the template provided. 

Example

An example of what a populated template could look like.