Member Import Tool for PTA State Leaders

Note: Are you a local PTA looking to upload members for your unit? Please see this article instead.

The Membership Importer tool is free, live, and available at any time to state leaders in the state site Compliance Management. Only state site admins can import a list of paid PTA members into a unit's Givebacks Site.

Using the Compliance Manager, state administrators can access unit details and upload a CSV file of member information. Upon successful upload of member records, the system will create membership records in that unit, resulting in an outstanding state dues remittance balance.

IMPORTANT: Before starting an import, please be sure that you are logged into Givebacks using an email address where you receive emails because the import results will be emailed to you.

How to Import Members

• Click on the Compliance Manager button on the left side 
• Click the Units button
• Search for the unit and select it 
• Click the Import Members link on the directly below the Unit Name
• Read the instructions and click Download Template button 
• Complete the downloaded CSV file with member data. Make sure the final document is in a csv format with correct column titles and information complete.
• Check the boxes verifying these statements are true:
• Upload the file complete file and click Import button

It’s important to read and understand the instructions listed under Step 1, of the downloaded template, before you complete your spreadsheet. You must adhere to certain data formats. In particular, you can’t add any additional columns with data in the spreadsheet.

Results will be Emailed

The import file will be queued up to run in a background task and once the import has completed the results will be emailed to the person who runs the import. For each new person and new membership the results will indicate that they were added. 

If the import runs into any errors before it is able to start the process, you may see an error message with instructions. 

If the import runs into any rows with erroneous or malformed data it will skip those rows and attempt to run to completion.

Common Import Problems

Invalid Headers

• People Imports: 
  • This error is the result of not using the proper template with the correct headers. Please download and use the template provided on the Import People page through Admin > People.
• Member Imports:
  • This error may be the result of not using the proper template with the correct headers or it may be the result of one or more cells containing a value that is not allowed under that header. If the headers do not match the template downloaded from the Member Import page through PTA Manager > GoTo Unit, please use the template. If the headers do match the current template, please check the cell values in the Member Type and School Year Ending columns. 
    • Member Type must exactly match one of the default member types for your state, as seen when manually entering a member and as listed on the Member Import page.
    • School Year Ending must be only the ending year (e.g. 2019-2020 must be indicated as “2020” on the import).

Invalid/Illegal Characters

If you receive an error regarding invalid input or illegal characters, please check your document to make sure only allowed character are included (see tables of allowed and non-allowed characters below). Basically, any character where you would need to use the Insert Symbol menu, as opposed to just typing it on a keyboard without the use of a hotkey or programmed shortcut, will break an import. If you find any non-allowed characters, they must be removed or replaced with allowed characters (e.g. replace “é” with “e”). 

Tip: Change the font in your spreadsheet to Verdana to make symbol versions of common characters, like commas, apostrophes, hyphens, etc., stand out more. If it doesn’t match the version in the Allowed Characters list below, it is a symbol that needs to be replaced with regular text.

If you cannot locate any non-allowed characters, it might be a non-printing character causing the problem. These can be tricky to find because they are often invisible. Using the Trim and Clean functions in your spreadsheet program will eliminate most of the common non-printing characters. After using the =Trim(Clean(CELL)) formula on your spreadsheet, if you visibly notice any spaces at the beginning of a cell, those are the offending characters, which will need to be removed manually.

If you have tried all of the above and are still getting an error, please submit a support request that includes the error you are receiving, the unit name, and the CSV file as an attachment (please also attach a screenshot of the error if possible).