Your constituents keep their contact details current on Almabase. They update their profile in the directory, register for an event, or make a gift. Those details then flow to Raiser's Edge NXT (RE NXT) based on your sync rules.
Two questions come up all the time when that data lands in RE NXT:
"This address is already in RE as Home. The alum entered it as Work. Should RE change it?"
"A new address just synced. Should it become the primary address in RE, or should the one our team picked stay primary?"
Every advancement team answers these differently. Some treat RE as the source of truth and never want a type or primary flag touched. Others want RE to reflect what constituents tell them most recently.
The Mapping step in Sync Settings lets you set these rules yourself for Addresses, Phone Numbers, and Emails.
Good to know: These rules only decide what Almabase writes to Raiser's Edge NXT. They never change anything on the Almabase profile.
How It Works
Where to find these settings
Go to Sync Settings and open the Mapping tab.
In the left panel, select Addresses, Phone Numbers, or Emails.
Scroll to the On Raiser's Edge NXT section.
Choose your rules, then click Save.
| Rule 1: Type mismatch | Rule 2: Primary |
Addresses | ✓ | ✓ |
Phone Numbers | ✓ | ✓ |
Emails | ✓ | — |
Rule 1 — When a value already exists in RE NXT under a different type
This rule applies when the address, phone number, or email on Almabase already exists on the constituent's RE NXT record, but with a different type.
Example: Maria Gonzalez, Class of 2009, enters 45 Elm Street, Boston as her Work address on Almabase. RE NXT already has 45 Elm Street, Boston on her record as Home.
You have two options:
Don't push (default) — Only new addresses, phones, or emails are sent to RE NXT. A type difference on one that already exists is ignored. In Maria's case, RE NXT keeps the address as Home.
Update the existing record — The type on the existing RE NXT entry is changed to match Almabase. No second entry is created. In Maria's case, the address in RE NXT becomes Work.
Either way, Almabase never creates a duplicate entry just because the type is different.
Rule 2 — Which address or phone is marked primary in RE NXT
This rule decides which of a constituent's addresses (or phone numbers) is marked primary (Preferred) in RE NXT when Almabase sends one over. It's available only for Addresses and Phone Numbers.
You have three options:
Option 1: Existing primary stays (default)
Anything Almabase sends is added as non-primary. Whatever is primary in RE NXT today stays primary.
Choose this if your team manages the primary address and phone directly in RE NXT.
Option 2: Newest record becomes primary
The latest address or phone pushed from Almabase to Raiser's Edge is marked primary. The previous primary is demoted to non-primary. It is not deleted.
Choose this if you want RE NXT to reflect that data as primary, which is the latest on AB.
Option 3: Use a type priority order
Primary is decided by type rank, not by how recent the record is. When you choose this option, a list appears on the same screen. Add types to it, with the most important type first.
The list shows your Raiser's Edge NXT types (for example, Home, Business, Billing, Former Address).
Tip: Rank only the types you'd actually want as primary. Leave out types like Former Address or Invalid.
How the order is applied
Each time Almabase sends an address or phone to RE NXT, it checks the type being sent against your list and against what is already on the constituent's RE NXT record.
Say your order is 1. Home, 2. Business:
What Almabase sends | What RE NXT already has | Result in RE NXT |
A Business address | A Home address (primary or not) | Business is added as non-primary. Home outranks it. |
A Business address | No address, or only types not in your list | Business becomes primary. It's the highest-ranked type present after Home. |
A Home address | A Home address (primary or not) | The Home address being sent becomes primary. |
[Visual: Decision flow for type priority. Is the type being sent in the list? If no → non-primary. If yes → does RE NXT already have a higher-ranked type? If yes → non-primary. If no → primary.]
Three rules to keep in mind:
Types not in your list are never made primary. This holds even if the constituent has no other address or phone in RE NXT.
Only records sent from Almabase can become primary. Records that already exist in RE NXT are never promoted. For example, if RE NXT has a non-primary Home address and Almabase sends a Business address, the Home address is not made primary.
These rules are applied when data is sent to RE NXT. Almabase doesn't track primary for addresses and phones, so nothing changes on the Almabase profile.
How these rules work with your sync rules
Your Mapping rules and your sync rules do different jobs:
Mapping rules decide how data is written to RE NXT: whether a type is changed and which record is marked primary.
Sync rules decide whether a change is sent automatically or held in the Data Inbox for review.
In practice:
Type changes reach the Data Inbox only when Rule 1 is set to Update the existing record and your sync rule for that entity is Review Before Updating. With Don't push, type differences are never sent, so they never appear in the Data Inbox.
Primary changes for addresses and phones reach the Data Inbox if your sync rule for that entity is Review Before Updating.
Learn more in Sync Rules and Data Inbox: Reviewing Data Changes.
How addresses and phones are pulled from RE NXT
If a constituent has more than one address or phone of the same type in RE NXT, the one marked Preferred is pulled.
If none is marked Preferred, the latest active one is pulled.
Inactive addresses and phones are never pulled.
FAQs
What happens if I don't change anything?
Nothing changes in RE NXT. The defaults are Don't push and Existing primary stays, so type differences are ignored, and new records are added as non-primary.
Why can't I set a primary rule for emails?
The primary field for an email follows the sync rule set for the "Email" entity. So you don't have a separate rule. An email address can be marked primary for each record directly through their profile, while addresses and phone don't support that. Hence we have primary rules only for Address and Phone.
Why does a constituent have no primary address in RE NXT after a sync?
Two common reasons:
The rule is Existing primary stays and the constituent had no primary address in RE NXT to begin with. Synced addresses are always added as non-primary under this rule.
The rule is Use a type priority order and the address sent was a type that isn't in your list. Unranked types are never made primary.
I ranked Home first. Why didn't the constituent's existing Home address become primary?
Only addresses and phones sent from Almabase can become primary. Records that are already in RE NXT are never promoted, even if they're a higher-ranked type.
Will these rules change the type or primary flag on the Almabase profile?
No. They only affect what is written to RE NXT. The Almabase profile stays exactly as the constituent or your team left it.
I changed a rule. What happens to changes already waiting in the Data Inbox?
They stay as they are. New rules apply only to changes that come in after you save.
Can a type mismatch create a duplicate address, phone, or email in RE NXT?
No. With Don't push, nothing is sent for a type mismatch. With Update the existing record, the existing entry is updated in place.
Almabase uses Mobile, Home, and Work for phones. Why does the priority list show different types?
The priority list uses your Raiser's Edge NXT types, because primary is decided in RE NXT. How Almabase types match up to RE NXT types is set up during implementation. Contact Support if a type looks wrong.