Some local PTA units are allowed to import members. This ability is determined by the state PTA. All other organizations have the option to import members.
Items to Note:
- If you do not see the Import Members link on your Manage Members page, this option is unavailable in your state. Contact your state office to find other options for uploading your members.
- If you wish to import people who are NOT paid members to your site, you may do so by Importing Contacts, as opposed to the instructions on this page for paid members.
- Are you a state PTA looking to upload members for your units? Please see this article instead.
- Administrators can access and upload a CSV file of member information using the Memberships Module. Upon successfully uploading member records, the system will create membership records in that unit. For PTAs, this will result 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. The import results will be emailed to you.
How to Import Members
- From the toolbar, click Memberships, then select Members.
- Click the three dots at the top of the page and select Import Members.
- Read the instructions and click Download Template button.
-
Complete the downloaded CSV file with member data.
- First Name - required
- Last Name - required
- Email - email or phone number is required
- Phone Number - email or phone number is required
- Member Type - must match your member types - Parent/Guardian, Faculty/Staff, Student, Business, etc.
- School Year Ending - if the school year is 2024-2025, enter 2025
- Upload the file complete file and click the 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 specific data formats. In particular, you can’t add any columns with data in the spreadsheet.
Results will be Emailed
The import file will be queued up to run in a background task. Once the import has finished, the results will be emailed to the person who submitted the import. The results will indicate that each new person and new membership were added, and any errors will be noted.
If the import encounters any rows with erroneous or malformed data, it will skip those rows and attempt to run to completion.
Common Import Problems
-
Invalid Headers
- This error may result from 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 match the current template, please check the cell values in the Member Type and School Year Ending columns.
- Member Type must match one of your state's default member types, as seen when manually entering a member. State Member Types can be identified by checking under Memberships>Membership Products. State Member Types have a checkmark in the State Member Type column on this page.
- School Year Ending must be only the ending year (e.g. 2024-2025 must be indicated as “2025” on the import).
- This error may result from 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 match the current template, please check the cell values in the Member Type and School Year Ending columns.
-
Invalid/Illegal Characters
- If you receive an error regarding invalid input or illegal characters, please check your document to make sure only allowed characters are included (see tables of allowed and non-allowed characters below). Basically, any character where you would need to use the Insert Symbol menu instead of just typing it on a keyboard without using 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 notice any spaces at the beginning of a cell, those are the offending characters, which must be removed manually.
If you have tried all of the above and are still getting an error, please contact Givebacks support and let us know the error you are receiving and the unit name. Also, send us the CSV file as an attachment (please attach a screenshot of the error if possible).
Allowed Characters for Imports into Givebacks |
|||||||||
Upper Case |
Lower Case |
Numerals |
Common Special Chars |
||||||
65 |
A |
97 |
a |
48 |
0 |
32 |
Space |
10 |
new line-PC* |
66 |
B |
98 |
b |
49 |
1 |
38 |
& |
13 |
new line-Mac* |
67 |
C |
99 |
c |
50 |
2 |
40 |
( |
*Note: new lines within a cell can only be used on memo-type fields and should not be used on any name, number, email or address-type fields where a single line of content is expected. |
|
68 |
D |
100 |
d |
51 |
3 |
41 |
) |
||
69 |
E |
101 |
e |
52 |
4 |
44 |
, |
||
70 |
F |
102 |
f |
53 |
5 |
45 |
- |
||
71 |
G |
103 |
g |
54 |
6 |
46 |
. |
||
72 |
H |
104 |
h |
55 |
7 |
47 |
/ |
||
73 |
I |
105 |
i |
56 |
8 |
58 |
: |
||
74 |
J |
106 |
j |
57 |
9 |
59 |
; |
||
75 |
K |
107 |
k |
95 |
_ |
||||
76 |
L |
108 |
l |
||||||
77 |
M |
109 |
m |
Other Special Chars |
|||||
78 |
N |
110 |
n |
33 |
! |
63 |
? |
||
79 |
O |
111 |
o |
34 |
" |
64 |
@ |
||
80 |
P |
112 |
p |
35 |
# |
91 |
[ |
||
81 |
Q |
113 |
q |
36 |
$ |
92 |
\ |
||
82 |
R |
114 |
r |
37 |
% |
93 |
] |
||
83 |
S |
115 |
s |
39 |
' |
94 |
^ |
||
84 |
T |
116 |
t |
42 |
* |
96 |
` |
||
85 |
U |
117 |
u |
43 |
+ |
123 |
{ |
||
86 |
V |
118 |
v |
60 |
< |
124 |
| |
||
87 |
W |
119 |
w |
61 |
= |
125 |
} |
||
88 |
X |
120 |
x |
62 |
> |
126 |
~ |
||
89 |
Y |
121 |
y |
||||||
90 |
Z |
122 |
z |
Most Common Non-Allowed Characters that Break Imports |
|||||||||
128 |
€ |
192 |
À |
224 |
à |
204 |
Ì |
236 |
ì |
149 |
• |
193 |
Á |
225 |
á |
205 |
Í |
237 |
í |
151 |
— |
194 |
 |
226 |
â |
206 |
Î |
238 |
î |
153 |
™ |
195 |
à |
227 |
ã |
207 |
Ï |
239 |
ï |
161 |
¡ |
196 |
Ä |
228 |
ä |
209 |
Ñ |
241 |
ñ |
162 |
¢ |
197 |
Å |
229 |
å |
210 |
Ò |
242 |
ò |
163 |
£ |
198 |
Æ |
230 |
æ |
211 |
Ó |
243 |
ó |
169 |
© |
199 |
Ç |
231 |
ç |
212 |
Ô |
244 |
ô |
174 |
® |
200 |
È |
232 |
è |
213 |
Õ |
245 |
õ |
176 |
° |
201 |
É |
233 |
é |
214 |
Ö |
246 |
ö |
186 |
º |
202 |
Ê |
234 |
ê |
217 |
Ù |
249 |
ù |
191 |
¿ |
203 |
Ë |
235 |
ë |
218 |
Ú |
250 |
ú |
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. |
219 |
Û |
251 |
û |
|||||
220 |
Ü |
252 |
ü |
||||||
221 |
Ý |
253 |
ý |
Questions? Contact Givebacks Support.
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