Matching donors, members and events: a guide for nonprofits
By the Analistable team · Updated · 2 min read
Nonprofit data lives in donation platform exports, membership lists, event sign-ups and a supporter spreadsheet. The work is matching them on email or supporter ID to claim Gift Aid, chase lapsed members and avoid duplicate mailings. Analistable does that in your browser, so supporter data is not uploaded to another server.
The multi-sheet jobs nonprofits actually do
- Donations to Gift Aid: match donations to declarations so every eligible gift is claimed.
- Combining donation exports: stack exports from several giving platforms into one donor history.
- Members vs payments: match the membership list to payment records to find lapsed or unpaid members.
- Event registrations vs attendance: see who signed up but did not attend, for follow-up.
- Merging supporter lists: combine mailing lists without duplicate contacts.
| File | Typical source | Join key |
|---|---|---|
| Donations export | Giving platforms | Email or supporter ID |
| Gift Aid declarations | Declaration form sheet | Supporter ID, name + postcode |
| Membership list | Membership spreadsheet | Member ID |
| Payment records | Bank or payment provider | Reference or member ID |
| Event registrations | Ticketing tool |
Supporter data is personal data. Analistable processes rows in your browser and does not store them, but you remain responsible for how the source files are kept and shared.
How Analistable helps
Load the exports and ask "which donations this year have no Gift Aid declaration?" or "which members paid last year but not this year?". The answer comes back as a list you can check, with the SQL visible. Nothing is written back to your files. For a quick merge of exports, the free combine tool runs entirely in your browser.
Start here
- Match donations to Gift Aid declarations
- Combine donation exports into one spreadsheet
- Match a membership list to payment records
- Match event registrations to attendance
- Event attendance reconciliation template
- Merge contact lists without duplicates
- Join on email addresses safely
- Match names spelled differently across sheets
Frequently asked questions
- Does Analistable submit Gift Aid claims?
- No. It helps you find which donations are matched to a declaration; you prepare and submit the claim through your usual process.
- What if supporters use different emails on different platforms?
- Email matches will miss them. Match on a supporter ID where you have one, or on name plus postcode as a second pass, and review those matches by hand.
- Is there a cost for small charities?
- The free browser tools under /tools need no account and process files on your device. Asking questions across files in the full app requires signing in.