Blackbaud
Tag the leads and contacts who already exist as Blackbaud constituents, so you know who's new and who isn't.
Blackbaud is the system of record for a lot of schools and larger churches. This integration doesn't try to duplicate it — it asks Blackbaud a single, useful question about every new lead: do we already know this person?
What it does
Read only. FoxFlow looks people up in Blackbaud and applies tags inside FoxFlow based on what it finds. Nothing is ever written to Blackbaud.
When a lead matches an existing constituent, FoxFlow tags them — including tags derived from their constituent codes. So a lead arrives already labelled as an existing family, a past parent, or an alum.
Why that's worth having
Because the right first message depends entirely on whether you've met before.
Getting this wrong is one of the most visible ways automated follow-up embarrasses you. This is the fix.
Connecting
Organization Settings → Integrations → Blackbaud, then sign in with Blackbaud and authorise FoxFlow.
Once connected, enable lead tagging. From then on:
- New leads are checked as they arrive and tagged if they match.
- Contacts are checked when they're created or updated.
- A scheduled check looks for newly added constituents regularly, so someone added to Blackbaud after they came into FoxFlow still gets picked up.
- Sync now runs a backfill across what you already have.
Putting the tags to work
The tags are only useful if something reacts to them. Two things should:
- A tag rule that pauses automation or moves the lead when the "existing constituent" tag appears.
- Your own eyes — the tag is visible on the card, so whoever picks up the lead knows before they type.
Troubleshooting
Nothing is being tagged. Confirm lead tagging is enabled, not just the connection made. Then check whether the people you're expecting to match actually share an email or phone with their Blackbaud record.
Reconnect needed. The Blackbaud authorisation lapsed. Reconnect and matching resumes.
Someone wasn't matched who should have been. They're most likely in Blackbaud under different contact details than they gave you on the form. That's a data reality, not a bug.
What it won't do
- It won't create, update or delete anything in Blackbaud.
- It won't pull constituent records into FoxFlow as leads.
- It won't sync giving history, or anything beyond matching and tags.
If you want people pushed into a database, that's Planning Center for churches, or a webhook into whatever you run.
Common questions
- Does this write anything into Blackbaud?
- No. It only reads. FoxFlow looks people up in Blackbaud and tags them inside FoxFlow. Nothing is created, updated or deleted on the Blackbaud side.
- What does it actually do then?
- It tells you who is already known to you. Leads that match a constituent get tagged, including tags for their constituent codes, so you can treat existing families differently from genuinely new enquiries.
- Does it work on leads or contacts?
- Both. New leads are checked as they arrive, and contacts are checked when they change.