Virtuous CRM has an open API available for your organization to work with and create a variety of custom integrations, including from your preferred giving platform! The Application Programming Interface (API) is a set of defined rules that allows your different software applications to communicate with each other. If your organization is building an integration to create Gift information into Virtuous, this 3-tiered guide walks through our best practices for Gifts flowing into Virtuous to give you a few options depending on how complex your integrations needs to be.
Getting Started
Before you begin, check out the overall API guide and general best practices here.
For all three of the Gift Integration flows outlined below, we recommend sending Gifts over in bulk through the Gift and Contact Import Tool. By posting through the batch transaction end point, you reduce the risk of running into the rate limit (1500 calls/hour). Not only does this reduce the risk of a rate limit, but the Gift and Contact Import tool has built-in matching and validation logic. This means, the system will flag any Contact information that is new or different from the existing record for the user to confirm. This ensure the data is clean going in the first time and reduces duplicates. Learn more about the Gift and Contact Import Tool here.
Simple Gift Transaction Integration
This Simple Gift Transaction Flow outlines the basic process of sending Gift Transaction data to Virtuous CRM via the API. This flow uses the Gift Transaction Endpoint, which is the recommended way to create a Gift. Using this Endpoint ensures the Gift is matched using the Virtuous matching algorithms for Contacts, Recurring Gifts, Project Designations, etc.
Gift Transaction Integration with Added Calls
Building on the Simple Gift Transaction sync, created a Gift Transaction Integration with Added Calls for additional projects allows for a more advanced process of sending Transaction Data via the API. This flow includes calls to find or create objects like Campaign Segments, Projects, or Premiums.
Gift Transaction Integration with Contact Create
Continuing on the Gift Transaction sync, this third option for Custom Gift Integrations supports passing over additional data that is not supported by the Gift Transaction Endpoint. While the flow still primarily uses the Gift Transaction Endpoint, along with the addition of finding or creating objects at the Transaction Endpoint, there is the addition of the Webhooks Queue to store any data that can be synced after a Contact match is made in Virtuous. Learn more about Webhooks here.
The addition of the Webhooks Queue listens for new Contact or Individual data to be created or updated. For example, if in addition to a Gift, Volunteer History, a Planned Gift, or another Contact-related object needs to be created, the Queue will store the information. Any updates between when the data was generated in the Partner Database and when the Batch is Imported into VCRM, Virtuous Webhooks keep in the Queue. Once Imported and a Contact match is made, the Contact or Individual updates will be created.