How the Mailchimp integration works
A PDF walkthrough of the integration: what moves between the two systems, which way, and the options you set during onboarding.
Download the guide
SmartSYNC managed integration
Keep your Mailchimp audience in sync with Raiser's Edge NXT, and build your segments from Raiser's Edge NXT queries.
At a glance
The integration
Every flow is a trigger in one system and an action in the other. Here are some of the flows SmartSYNC can run for you, to give you a feel for what moves between Raiser's Edge NXT and Mailchimp.
Raiser's Edge NXT to Mailchimp
Trigger
Action
A supporter meets the criteria on your sync list
The contact is created or updated in your audience
Giving figures, constituent codes or custom fields change
Merge fields are updated, ready to segment on
You choose which fields travel across
A supporter no longer meets your criteria
They stop being maintained in the audience
Create a Raiser's Edge NXT query with your segment
Contacts are tagged, ready to send your campaign
Optional tagging add-on, from a list or a query
Mailchimp to Raiser's Edge NXT
Trigger
Action
Someone subscribes through one of your signup forms
They are matched to a constituent, or created as a new one
A consent record is written either way
A supporter unsubscribes
An opt-out consent record is added to the constituent
An email address hard bounces
The address is marked inactive on the record
Other handling available on request
A campaign is opened or clicked
Engagement is visible alongside the rest of the record
In Raiser's Edge NXT
The SmartSYNC engagement tile sits on the constituent in Raiser's Edge NXT and shows their subscription status and rating, and every campaign they have received or opened, with dates and open counts.
Constituent record ยท Raiser's Edge NXT
Fundraisers see a supporter's email engagement while they are already on the record, without logging in to Mailchimp or asking the marketing team to run a report.
Know what a supporter has received and opened before you call, write or visit. Each campaign is listed with its date, whether it was opened, and how many times.
The tile reads from Mailchimp, with a refresh link to update it on the spot, so there are no exports to build or reports to wait for.
The data
You choose from a defined set of Raiser's Edge NXT fields. Each one you pick travels across as something your marketing team can segment and personalise on.
First name, last name and email always sync, because they underpin the match between the two systems. Custom fields are where you go beyond the standard set, nominated and mapped during onboarding.
Optional add-on
Every query you can build in Raiser's Edge NXT becomes a Mailchimp segment. Lapsed donors in one region, event guests who have not replied, major donors due a stewardship call: build the query or list, save it with a tag prefix, and the matching contacts are tagged in your audience automatically, ready to send to.
No exports, no imports, no spreadsheets.
The payoff
Supporters reach Mailchimp as they meet your criteria, with no files to build, clean and upload.
Opt-ins, opt-outs and data changes are reflected without anyone re-running an export.
The fields you choose travel with each contact, so you segment on real fundraising data.
The codes your team already maintains decide who syncs, and opt-outs come back with an auditable trail.
Raiser's Edge NXT stays authoritative. Mailchimp holds only the copy it needs.
Configuration, monitoring and changes are ours to do. Our team has worked with Blackbaud products for more than twenty years.
Resources
Two things worth knowing before a demo: how the integration works, and how far it can be shaped to your requirements.
A PDF walkthrough of the integration: what moves between the two systems, which way, and the options you set during onboarding.
Download the guideBuilt around your database
SmartSYNC runs on flows already in use by not-for-profit organisations working in Raiser's Edge NXT, so you are not starting from a blank page. But no two databases are set up the same way. Which fields travel, which list drives the sync and how exceptions are handled are all configured to your requirements during onboarding.
Bring your requirements to the demo. We will walk through the flows against your own setup and tell you what is possible.
Questions
Yes. SmartSYNC connects Mailchimp and Raiser's Edge NXT in both directions. Supporters on your Raiser's Edge NXT sync list are added to your Mailchimp audience, and subscribes, unsubscribes and hard bounces in Mailchimp are written back to the constituent record. Our team configures and runs the integration for you.
In real time, change by change, rather than in a nightly batch. When a supporter joins your sync list, or a field you have chosen to sync changes, the update reaches Mailchimp as it happens.
One Raiser's Edge NXT list decides who syncs. You build it from solicit codes: include the code that records consent to marketing email, and exclude your do-not-email codes. When your team updates a code on the record, the list updates and the sync follows.
When someone unsubscribes in Mailchimp, an opt-out consent record is added to the constituent. When someone subscribes through one of your Mailchimp signup forms, they are matched to a constituent or created as a new one, and a consent record is written either way. A hard bounce marks the email address inactive on the record.
Not in the same Mailchimp audience, because Mailchimp holds each email address only once per audience. Where constituents share an address, you choose which one is the active subscriber and exclude the others with a dedicated solicit code. The underlying records stay as they are.
You choose from a defined set: preferred name, age, birthdate, constituent type, address fields, first, latest and greatest gift, lifetime giving, active constituent codes, last action, assigned fundraiser and custom fields. Each one arrives as a merge field you can segment and personalise on. First name, last name and email always sync.
Yes, with the optional tagging add-on. Save a query or list with a tag prefix, and the matching contacts are tagged in your Mailchimp audience, ready to send to.
The starting price per year is shown at the top of this page. Every deployment starts with a consultancy engagement, configured to your Raiser's Edge NXT environment. A 30 minute demo is the best first step.
"We've been happy with SmartMAILCHIMP as a way to automatically update our constituents' files in Raiser's Edge as changes are made in MailChimp. Previously, we had to do this manually, so it's been great to not have to deal with that anymore! Overall, a really good product and highly recommended."
Linda Curtin
St Francis House
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One licence per user. Your details are used only to issue and support your licence, in line with our privacy policy.