When a donor gives through Almabase, each gift needs to be linked to the correct person in your database. This link is called a mapping — it connects an incoming gift to an existing constituent.

Mapping is what ensures that every donation is attributed to the right person. Without it, the gift sits unlinked — it won't appear on the constituent's giving history, it won't sync to your CRM if you use a native integration (Raiser's Edge or BBCRM), and while it will still appear in giving exports, it won't be connected to a constituent on the file. Whether you sync data automatically or export it manually, mapping is the step that keeps your records accurate and complete.

A handful of unmapped gift records is normal after a giving day or campaign — a first-time donor the system has never seen, a long-time supporter whose email changed, someone who gave under a nickname or a different email. This guide walks you through clearing those unmapped records so your queue reaches zero and every gift is properly linked.

You don't have to map every gift by hand. The system has a built-in auto-mapping capability that automatically links gifts to the right constituent the moment a donation is made. In most cases, auto-mapping handles the majority of your records — only the ones it can't confidently match land in your queue for manual review.

When a donor gives, the system looks for a matching record using the rule you've configured. It checks Almabase first; if no match is found there, it checks your connected CRM. If exactly one record matches the rule, the gift is auto-mapped — you never see it in the queue. If no record matches, or if multiple records match, the system can't decide for you, and the record lands in your unmapped queue.

Choose your matching rule under Gift Settings → Auto mapping settings. The available options are:

A broader rule means more gifts auto-map and fewer land in your queue. A stricter rule gives you more control but means more manual review.

For a full walkthrough of each rule and its trade-offs, see Auto-mapping Rules: Matching Guests and Gifts to your Constituents.

Records that auto-mapping couldn't place land in the unmapped queue. To access it, go to your Gift dashboard and click Review and Map.

At the top of the queue, use the filters to narrow down to a specific giving campaign or gift type. This is helpful after a giving day when you want to clear that campaign's queue while the donor list is still fresh. Skip this step if you want to clear the entire queue at once.

The queue organizes records into three sections based on how confident the system is that it found the right match:

Work through these sections in order, starting with high-confidence matches. This lets you clear the bulk of your queue quickly and saves your judgment for the records that truly need it.

Select the Ready to Approve section. These are gifts where the system found a single strong match — for example, the phone number matched and the name is close, but the email didn't match exactly.

For each record, you can:

You can review records one by one, or select multiple and click Map the selected ones to confirm them in bulk.

Move to the Needs Review section. These are gifts where the system found one or more possible matches, but the evidence isn't strong enough to be confident — for example, the name matches but the email differs, or more than one constituent could be the right donor.

Review each record individually. The queue shows full details of every probable match, including whether the match was found on Almabase or your connected CRM.

For each record, you can:

If you want to clear multiple records at once, select the ones you want to act on and use the bulk action options.

The New Constituent section contains gifts where no match was found on Almabase or your connected CRM. These are likely new donors who aren't in your database yet.

For each record, you can:

For bulk actions, you have the option to create records in bulk for everyone in this section. Since donors almost always have contact information (email is typically required on giving forms), the Only create records with contact info toggle should have minimal impact here. It is recommended to create profiles for these donors — not doing so leaves their gifts unlinked, which means no sync, no engagement tracking, and no constituent attribution in exports.

Once your queue is clear, every gift is linked to the right constituent. This means:

To verify, return to your Gift dashboard. The Gift matching card should show zero pending.

A few habits keep the queue from piling up:

Gifts that are already mapped are tracked and available for sync or export immediately — only unmapped gifts are held back. You can clear part of your queue and return to the rest later.

That said, it is strongly recommended to map every gift. Unlike event guests (where accompanying guests can remain unmapped), every gift represents a donation that should be attributed to the right person. An unmapped gift won't sync, won't appear in the donor's giving history, and won't be linked to a constituent in exports. If you truly don't need a gift synced, you can use Ignore to remove it from the queue — but this should be the exception, not the default.

Auto-mapping runs automatically the moment a gift is made, linking clear matches instantly — you never see those records. The mapping queue holds the leftovers: records where there was no match, multiple possible matches, or only a weak signal.

The system surfaces both so you can decide. This usually happens with a parent and child who share details, or with duplicate profiles. Look at surrounding details — class year, address, previous giving history — to identify the right donor. If the two records are actually duplicates of the same person, that's worth cleaning up in your CRM or on Almabase separately.

Skip mapping leaves the gift unmapped — it stays in the queue and can be mapped later. Ignore is a deliberate decision to exclude that gift from sync entirely, and it removes the record from the queue.

Skip is not recommended for gifts. An unmapped gift will not sync to your CRM, won't be linked to a constituent in exports, and won't count toward the donor's engagement history. If you skip a gift, plan to come back and map it.

Ignore is an option if you genuinely do not intend to sync this gift to your connected CRM. However, it is strongly recommended to map every gift to ensure accurate giving history and engagement tracking. Use Ignore only as a deliberate exception, not as a way to clear the queue quickly.

In both cases, the gift itself is unaffected on Almabase — these actions only control whether the donation is linked to a constituent.

Yes. If you catch it right away, use the Undo option in the confirmation message. If you've already moved on and the record is no longer in the queue, navigate to the individual gift record to reverse the action.

If the gift hasn't synced yet, go to the individual gift record and update the mapping. If it has already synced, you'll need to correct the constituent assignment directly in your CRM. To prevent this in the future, take extra care with medium- and low-confidence gift matches — verify the donor using address, class year, or giving history before confirming. Your Customer Success contact can help review your setup.

Mapping applies to a specific gift, not to the donor permanently. This is intentional — it lets you handle each donation in its own context. If a recurring donor keeps appearing, consider broadening your auto-mapping rule so the system catches them automatically.

No — mapping is what prevents duplicates. It links a gift to an existing constituent rather than creating a second profile. New constituents are created only when you explicitly choose Create for a record with no match.

It depends on how your Gift connector is set up. Each connector has rules that control what happens when gift information comes in:

You can configure these rules globally (for all campaigns) or individually per campaign under Sync configuration and connectors.

After every giving day and campaign is ideal — the donors are fresh in your mind and the queue stays small. At minimum, a weekly review keeps things from accumulating. The longer gifts sit unmapped, the longer they're missing from constituent giving histories.