Bulk Upload Donations


To upload multiple donations, you will need to upload a spreadsheet in CSV (comma-separated value) format.

You can create this CSV file using Excel, Google Sheets or a similar spreadsheet program, or you can export it from your CRM or other data management software and then modify it.

  1. In order for the data to upload correctly, the spreadsheet needs to include certain required fields (columns) and the correct field names.
    A sample template is here. Make a copy of this file if you want to use it.
    You can find an explanation of the fields below.
  2. Export the spreadsheet in CSV format and save it on your computer somewhere that will be easy to remember and retrieve.
  3. In your HiRaiser Dashboard, select Upload Donations from the Tools menu.
  4. Select the campaign the donations should be uploaded into.
  5. Select the CSV file to upload from your computer, and click “Upload.”
  6. After the upload, you will have the following options:
    1. Date Format: If you entered dates in the spreadsheet, choose which format was used for the dates, or choose to use the current (upload) date/time.
    2. Pledge or Paid: Do you want HiRaiser to consider these uploads as paid donations or pledges
    3. Currency: Usually not relevant.
  7. After uploading and processing the file, HiRaiser will display a summary of the data to be imported (and report any issues or errors). Review the data and click “Save” to continue or “Clear All Data” to cancel, modify the file and try again.


Spreadsheet Fields

  • Date (optional). Only if you want HiRaiser to record the actual date of the donations you are uploading, usually for the purpose of ordering them by date or general record-keeping. Otherwise, you can leave this blank and the system will use the upload date/time.

  • Last Name* (required). In its own separate field.

  • First Name* (required). In its own separate field.

  • Amount* (required). The amount of the donation.

  • Email (recommended). Not required but recommended for better tracking of multiple donations from the same donor.

  • Display Last Name (optional). If the way the last name should be publicly displayed is different from the actual name. 

  • Display First Name (optional). If the way the first name should be publicly displayed is different from the actual name.

  • Sort by Name (optional). Sometimes we need to finesse the ordering using this field, in the case of a couple with different last names or a fund/organization name. This field determines what will be used for the alphabetical ordering of this donation. (The automatic default ordering is LastName FirsName.)

  • Anonymous (optional). If this donor wishes their donation to be anonymous (i.e., no name displayed publicly), write “Y” in this field. Otherwise, leave blank.



Stagger Donations - Donation Upload Automation


When running a crowdfunding campaign, uploading offline donations in bulk can result in a sudden, unnatural surge of donations if they are added to the campaign all at once.

Using the Stagger Donations tool, when you upload a list you can instruct HiRaiser to take the list and automate adding X number of donations every X minutes.

After uploading your spreadsheet file, choose "Stagger" from the Donation Date Options dropdown menu.