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NGP VAN Zapier integrationAutomate NGP VAN with Zapier.

NGP VAN Zapier integration: 0 triggers, 12 actions, 2 searches. NGP VAN never starts a Zap: another app does, and NGP VAN then creates or updates contacts, adds codes, notes and contributions, or looks something up. Costs, setup and pitfalls below.

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Overview

What the NGP VAN Zapier integration does for you

The NGP VAN Zapier integration lets your other tools write into NGP VAN, the platform used by campaigns, nonprofits and other organizations for fundraising, field work and organizing. Zapier offers twelve actions and two searches, and no trigger: something else starts the Zap, and NGP VAN is where the result lands.

Every sign-up becomes a contact. A form submission arrives, and Create or Update Contact finds the matching contact and updates it, or creates it when there is none. One record per person instead of a pile of duplicates.

Supporters tagged as they act. Right after the contact step, Add Activist Codes or Tag a Contact marks what the person just did, so your lists in NGP VAN reflect activity that happened in another tool.

Contributions recorded with their batch. Create or Update Contact With a Contribution handles the person and the gift in one action. Find Financial Batch, or its find-or-create variant, looks for an open batch whose name contains your keyword.

What Zapier does not do here: NGP VAN has no trigger, so nothing that happens inside NGP VAN can start a Zap. There is no action to delete a contact, a code or a contribution. Several actions work on an existing contact, so the Zap needs a step before them that identifies that person. If you are weighing tools for this kind of setup, see our n8n vs Zapier comparison.

Vocabulary

Zapier vocabulary in one minute

Eight terms carry this page. Here they are in plain English.

Zap
The automation you build on Zapier: one trigger, then one or more actions that run every time the trigger event happens.
Trigger
The event in an app that starts the Zap. NGP VAN has none on Zapier, so it always comes from another app.
Action
What the Zap does once it has started: the step that writes, sends or moves something for you. NGP VAN offers twelve.
Task
The unit Zapier bills: one action your Zap completes successfully. The number on your plan is a count of those.
Polling vs instant
Polling: Zapier checks an app on a timer and keeps only what is new. Instant: the app calls Zapier itself the moment it happens.
Filter
A step that lets the Zap go on only when what arrived meets the condition you set, and stops it otherwise.
Search step
A step that looks up something already in an app, such as a contact, so the next steps can use what it found.
Multi-step Zap
Any Zap beyond one trigger and one action. A second action, a filter or a search makes one, and it needs a paid plan.
Cost

What an NGP VAN Zap really costs

Short answer: NGP VAN works on the free plan for two-step Zaps, but a search or a second action needs a paid plan.

  • Trigger (from another app)0 tasks
  • Each successful NGP VAN action1 task
  • Free plan100 tasks a month, two-step Zaps
  • Search or filter in the ZapMulti-step Zap, paid plan

The trigger of the app that starts your Zap never costs a task. Each NGP VAN action that succeeds counts as one, and one that fails does not. The free plan gives 100 tasks a month and unlimited Zaps, each held to two steps. That matters here: a Find Contact step followed by Add Note to Contact already makes three steps, so a multi-step Zap on a paid plan. The grid applies only when the starting app's trigger is a polling one.

Connect

Connect NGP VAN to Zapier in three steps

  1. 01

    Open the Apps page

    In your Zapier account, open the Apps page and click + Add connection. Have an NGP VAN account ready, plus read or write access on anything you do not own yourself and want the Zap to touch.

  2. 02

    Pick NGP VAN

    In the dialog, type NGP VAN, select it in the results, then click Add connection. A new tab opens for the sign-in. Pick the entry Zapier names exactly NGP VAN; the sign-in itself happens in that new tab.

  3. 03

    Sign in and grant access

    Sign in to NGP VAN in that tab and grant Zapier access to the account. Every NGP VAN step, actions and searches alike, then reuses this connection in every Zap.

First Zap

Your first NGP VAN Zap, step by step

GoalTurn each form submission into an NGP VAN contact, then add an activist code to it.

  1. 01

    Start from the form

    Create a new Zap. NGP VAN has no trigger, so pick your form app and its new-submission event to start it, then connect that account.

  2. 02

    Test the trigger

    Run the trigger test. Zapier brings back the three most recent submissions of the connected account, so you map on a real one rather than an empty example.

  3. 03

    Add Create or Update Contact

    Add an action, choose NGP VAN, then Create or Update Contact. Map the person's details from the test submission and decide whether to switch on Ignore Invalid Email.

  4. 04

    Add Add Activist Codes

    Add a second NGP VAN action, Add Activist Codes, and fill the required Activist Codes field. To identify the contact, check at the test what the step above returned.

  5. 05

    Test, then publish

    Test each step once and read what came back. Two actions make this a multi-step Zap, so it needs a paid plan. Publish to switch it on: only new submissions start it.

Actions

The twelve NGP VAN actions

NGP VAN gives you 12 actions. For each one: what it does for you, when to reach for it, and what to watch out for.

1

Add Activist Codes

Action

In Zapier“Add Activist Codes to a contact”

Add Activist Codes attaches one or more activist codes to a contact.

When to use it
when an action taken elsewhere, a sign-up or a form answer, should show on the person's record.
Watch out
the Activist Codes field is required, and the contact has to come from an earlier step such as Create or Update Contact or Find Contact.
2

Add Canvass Responses

Action

In Zapier“Adds a canvass response to a contact (which includes survey question responses and activist codes).”

Add Canvass Responses adds a canvass response to a contact, which can carry survey answers and activist codes together.

When to use it
when a single outreach result should land on the record with its answers and codes in one go.
Watch out
check at the test which fields the step asks for, and make sure an earlier step identifies the contact.
3

Tag a Contact

Action

In Zapier“Add a Tag to an existing contact”

Tag a Contact puts a tag on a contact that already exists in NGP VAN.

When to use it
when a simple label is enough to group people who came through the same form or list.
Watch out
Tag is required, and the contact must be identified by a step earlier in the Zap.
4

Add Contact History

Action

In Zapier“Adds a Contact History record to a contact”

Add Contact History adds a contact history record to a contact in NGP VAN.

When to use it
when a touchpoint that happened in another tool should appear in the person's history.
Watch out
the contact has to be identified by an earlier step; check at the test which fields the step asks for.
5

Add a Contribution

Action

In Zapier“Adds a contribution to an existing contact”

Add a Contribution records a contribution on a contact that already exists.

When to use it
when the person is already known, for instance found with Find Contact, and only the gift is new.
Watch out
Designation, Date Received, Amount, Payment Method and Status are required, and the Payment Method must be enabled for the Designation.
6

Add Note to Contact

Action

In Zapier“Add a note to an existing contact”

Add Note to Contact writes a note on an existing contact.

When to use it
when a message, a comment or a form answer should be kept on the person's record for later.
Watch out
Note and Note Category are both required; choose the category when you set up the step.
7

Add Survey Responses

Action

In Zapier“Add Survey Responses to a contact”

Add Survey Responses records answers to survey questions on a contact.

When to use it
when a questionnaire run in another tool asks the same questions as a survey in NGP VAN.
Watch out
Survey Questions is required: pick the questions first, and the possible responses for each one then appear below for mapping.
8

Create or Update Contact

Action

In Zapier“Attempts to find a matching contact and updates it. If a contact record is not found, it creates it.”

Create or Update Contact looks for a matching contact in NGP VAN and updates it, or creates the record when no match exists.

When to use it
as the first NGP VAN step of a Zap, so the steps after it work on one known person.
Watch out
an invalid email or phone can get the whole request rejected; Ignore Invalid Email and Ignore Invalid Phones let Zapier skip just that value.
9

Create or Update Contact With a Contribution

Action

In Zapier“Attempts to find a matching contact and updates it. If a contact record is not found, it creates it. It then adds a Contribution to the contact record.”

One action, two results: Create or Update Contact With a Contribution matches or creates the contact, then adds a contribution to that same record, in one action.

When to use it
when a gift arrives from another tool together with the giver's details.
Watch out
Designation, Date Received, Amount, Payment Method and Status are required, and the Payment Method must be enabled for the Designation chosen.
10

Create Financial Batch

Action

In Zapier“Creates a new financial batch.”

Create Financial Batch opens a new financial batch in NGP VAN.

When to use it
when contributions arriving through a Zap should be grouped in a batch of their own.
Watch out
Batch Number and Designation are required, and the Batch Number must be unique within the current context.
11

Submit Data to Online Actions

Action

In Zapier“Submits data to a form you have published in Online Actions.”

Submit Data to Online Actions sends data into a form you have already published in Online Actions, as if someone had filled it in.

When to use it
when answers collected in another tool belong in an Online Actions form you already use.
Watch out
Online Actions Form is required; pick the published form when you set up the step.
12

Subscribe Email

Action

In Zapier“Subscribes an Email to specific lists.”

Subscribe Email adds an email address to the lists you choose in NGP VAN.

When to use it
when a newsletter box on your site or a sign-up sheet should feed your NGP VAN lists.
Watch out
the Email field is required, so the step before it must carry an address every time.
Searches

The two NGP VAN searches

2 search steps look for data that already exists in NGP VAN, so a later step can use it.

A search step looks up something that already exists so the next steps can use it. In the editor, the NGP VAN searches sit at the bottom of the Action event list, under SEARCH. Each one adds a step, so a Zap that uses one is multi-step and needs a paid plan.

1

Find Financial Batch

SearchFind or create

In Zapier“Finds an existing open Financial Batch”

Find Financial Batch looks for an existing open financial batch whose name contains the text you give it.

When to use it
when contributions should go into a batch that is already open rather than a new one.
Watch out
Search Keyword is required. The editor also lists Find or Create Financial Batch: it is this same search with the create box ticked, not an extra operation.
2

Find Contact

Search

In Zapier“Find a Contact in the current context”

Find Contact looks up a contact in the current context of your NGP VAN account, so the person exists before the next steps write to the record.

When to use it
before Add Note to Contact, Tag a Contact or Add a Contribution, when the person should already exist.
Watch out
whether it wants an exact value or a close one is decided by NGP VAN, so check at the test what it matches and what it brings back.

The three settings every search exposes

  1. Successful if no search results are found?
    Left on its default, a search that finds nothing stops the Zap there and the steps that depend on it are skipped. Switched on, the Zap carries on empty-handed.
  2. Create X if it doesn't exist yet?
    Ticking it turns the search into a find-or-create: the setting above disappears and the step asks for the fields needed to create the missing item.
  3. If multiple search results are found?
    Three ways out when several items match: keep the first one, which is the default, stop the Zap, or hand all of them on at once.
When it breaks

When an NGP VAN Zap breaks

With no NGP VAN trigger, the limits below concern the app that opens the Zap and the search steps.

Zapier attaches no help article of its own to NGP VAN, so these cases are the general limits that apply to any Zap. To look into a Zap that stopped, see our Zapier troubleshooting guide.

  • Records from before the Zap stay out

    A Zap only reacts to what happens after you switch it on. Submissions or rows that already existed in the starting app are not sent; moving that backlog is a separate job.

  • A search that finds nothing

    Left on its default, a Find Contact or Find Financial Batch step that finds nothing stops the Zap, and the steps that depended on it are skipped.

  • A sudden flood from the starting app

    When the starting app's trigger suddenly returns a huge batch, after a bulk import or a migration, Zapier's flood protection can hold that batch back.

  • The same record twice

    If the starting app's trigger is a polling one, Zapier keeps track of what it has already seen, so the same item does not start the Zap twice.
Need help

Need help automating NGP VAN with Zapier?

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FAQ

NGP VAN and Zapier: common questions

01Is the NGP VAN Zapier integration free?
Partly. NGP VAN is not one of the apps Zapier reserves for paid plans, so you can connect it on the free plan. That plan gives 100 tasks a month and an unlimited number of Zaps, each limited to two steps: one trigger and one action. A form trigger followed by Create or Update Contact fits. A Zap that uses Find Contact or Find Financial Batch, a filter, or a second action is multi-step, so it needs a paid plan.
02How many tasks does an NGP VAN Zap use?
One per NGP VAN action that succeeds. The trigger of the app that starts the Zap costs nothing. Each contact created or updated, code added, note written or contribution recorded counts as one task. In a Zap with three actions, every action that succeeds counts on its own, so it uses three times more than a one-action Zap. An action that fails is not counted. On the free plan that is 100 successful actions a month, but searches already push you onto a paid plan.
03Can an NGP VAN Zap run in real time?
That depends on the app that starts it, because NGP VAN has no trigger on Zapier. A Zap always opens on a trigger, so you pick one in another app, then add NGP VAN actions after it. If that trigger is instant, the app tells Zapier itself and the Zap starts without waiting. If it is a polling one, Zapier checks on a timer set by your plan: every 15 minutes on Free, 2 on Professional, 1 on Team and Enterprise.
04What do you need to connect NGP VAN to Zapier?
An NGP VAN account, plus read or write access on anything you do not own yourself and want the Zap to touch. Then, in Zapier, open the Apps page, click + Add connection, search for NGP VAN, click Add connection, sign in in the tab that opens and grant Zapier access to the account. You will also connect the app that starts the Zap, since NGP VAN cannot start one itself.
05Why does an invalid email block a whole NGP VAN contact?
Because an invalid email or phone number can make NGP VAN reject the entire request, not just the bad value. Create or Update Contact and Create or Update Contact With a Contribution both offer Ignore Invalid Email and Ignore Invalid Phones. Switched on, they let Zapier drop the invalid value and still send the rest. Decide on these two settings while you set up the step, then run the test with a real record.
06What if the NGP VAN operation you need is not offered?
Then this integration cannot do it on Zapier today. NGP VAN shows twelve actions and two searches there, with no trigger and nothing to delete a contact, a code or a contribution. The NGP VAN page on Zapier shows the current list, so check it before you plan a Zap. Chaining Find Contact with an action that works on an existing contact is possible, but that makes a multi-step Zap on a paid plan.
07Zapier, Make or n8n for NGP VAN?
It depends on your criteria, not on a winner. On Zapier, NGP VAN brings twelve actions and two searches but no trigger, so the starting app sets the pace. Zaps that work on an existing contact need a search or two actions, which makes them multi-step and puts them on a paid plan, billed one task per successful action. Weigh that against the volume you expect, and check that NGP VAN is offered in Make and n8n before comparing them.
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