Merge duplicate donors

Two records, one person. Walk the duplicate queue, confirm matches in a couple of clicks, and let Insta Merge keep NationBuilder in sync at the same time.

Duplicate donors happen naturally as data flows in from multiple sources: a Stripe donor and a NationBuilder import for the same person, a typo'd email that creates a new record, two campaigns capturing the same household. Together flags candidates automatically and gives you a side-by-side view to decide.

Before you start

You need:

• ADMIN or EDITOR role on your org. VIEWERs see the queue but cannot merge.
• A few minutes to scan the queue. Merging is a judgement call per pair; don't batch through it on autopilot.

Steps

1. Go to Donors and click the Duplicates tab next to All Donors.

   Click to expand

   ×

2. The queue is grouped into four tabs:

   Tab	What's there
   Potential Duplicates	Together's automatic matches. Email match, normalised-phone match, name + address fuzzy match. Confirm or dismiss each pair.
   Investigate	Pairs an admin has flagged for follow-up. No automatic action; resolve when you have the info to decide.
   Confirmed	Pairs an admin has already accepted. Click through to inspect.
   Not Duplicates	Pairs an admin has dismissed as not-a-match. They won't re-surface in Potential.

3. Each card shows the two donors side by side with the differences highlighted: identity, contact details, address, YTD total, donation count. A confidence badge (e.g. "92% match") summarises how strong the signal is, with the matching reason beneath it ("Same phone number; very similar name").

4. Decide:

   • Confirm Match. Merges the two donors. The card's Primary becomes the surviving record; the matched donor is absorbed. All donations and compliance flags carry across.
   • Not Duplicate. Records that you've reviewed and dismissed this pair. They won't surface again unless one of them changes.
   • Investigate. Park the pair without deciding. Useful when you need to chase a colleague or check a CRM.

   Add a resolution note before any action via the Add note input on the card if you want to record why.

Insta Merge for NationBuilder

If both donors in a pair are sourced from NationBuilder, the card shows an extra Insta Merge button. It's the single best feature for orgs syncing NB into Together.

What it does in one click:

1. Confirms the match in Together (same as Confirm Match).
2. Opens NationBuilder's merge dialog in a new tab, pre-loaded with the two NB person records.
3. Starts a 72-hour watch on the NB side. The next time the NB sync runs after you complete the merge in NB, Together notices the loser record no longer exists upstream and archives it automatically.

The result: Together and NationBuilder stay in lockstep without manual reconciliation. You finish the NB merge once, and both systems update.

Insta Merge requires both donors to have an upstream NB ID. For mixed pairs (e.g., Stripe donor + NB donor) or non-NB sources, only the standard Confirm Match / Not Duplicate / Investigate actions appear.

What changes when you confirm

After a Confirm (or Insta Merge):

• The aliased donor's record is absorbed into the primary. Donations stay attributed to the correct human; URLs to the old donor redirect to the new one.
• Caps and disclosure totals recalculate immediately. If the merge crossed a disclosure threshold, an alert fires.
• Email addresses, phone numbers, and addresses are unioned. The primary's main email wins; secondary emails are kept as alternates.

When to trust the matcher and when to investigate

Together's matcher is conservative by design — it surfaces candidates, you make the call. Some patterns are worth a second look:

• Same email, different name. Often a shared household mailbox. Confirm only if you're sure it's one person.
• Same name, no shared contact details. Common enough to be wrong (Jane Smiths exist). Use Investigate to chase the rest of the record.
• Sole trader giving personally + via a company. Two donor records by design. Mark as Not Duplicate so they stop surfacing.

What to do next

• Set up tracking codes so merged donors get the right FCA classification: Set up tracking codes.
• Connect NationBuilder if you want to unlock Insta Merge: Connect NationBuilder.
• Resolve compliance alerts that may fire after a merge: Resolve a compliance alert.