Nonprofit organizations rely heavily on accurate and timely data to make strategic decisions, especially regarding donor engagement and campaign performance. CiviCRM, an open-source CRM tailored for nonprofits, offers a wide array of tools to manage relationships and data. Among its extensions, Synopsis stands out as a game-changer for organizations seeking to automate donor analytics and reporting—without complex manual calculations.
Leveraging available nonprofit data insights will help identify trends, optimize donor engagement, and streamline fundraising strategies.
By using tools like CiviCRM’s Synopsis extension, organizations can transform raw data into actionable insights, ensuring sustained impact and financial resilience.
Why is CiviCRM Synopsis Extension Key for Non Profits:
NGOs typically operate with limited resources and tight deadlines. Monitoring donor activity manually or via basic reports can quickly become overwhelming and prone to errors.
Synopsis allows NGOs to:
✅ Automatically generate statistical insights about donor behavior.
✅ Reduce the manual work involved in calculating contributions, engagement, and trends.
✅ Enable staff to make faster, evidence-based decisions.
✅ Maintain consistency across campaigns by storing dynamic metrics in searchable fields.
Key Functionalities
Here are three standout features of the Synopsis extension, with examples:
👉 Custom Calculated Fields
Create fields like “Total Contributions This Year” that are updated based on real-time contribution data.
- Example: A fundraising manager can filter donors who contributed over $1,000 in the past 12 months and send them a personalized campaign follow-up.
👉 Campaign Tracking
Track details like the campaign of a donor’s first or last contribution.
Example: Want to know which campaign brought in a high-value donor? Synopsis can show you the campaign linked to their very first gift.
👉 Largest Contribution Insights
Automatically identify a contact’s highest donation amount and the campaign it came from.
Example: A development officer could use this data to personalize thank-you calls or plan targeted major donor outreach.
Steps to Get It Going
Getting started with Synopsis is straightforward for those familiar with CiviCRM‘s custom field and extension interfaces.
1️⃣ Install the Extension
Download it from the CiviCRM Extensions Directory and install it via the Admin dashboard. This extension was created and mantained by us. Since CiviCRM 5.x, extension releases compatible with CiviCRM 5.0 are compatible with 5.0 and later. An extension release compatible with 5.25, for example, means that it requires CiviCRM 5.25 or later.
2️⃣ Ask your administrator to enable and Configure Fields
Use the built-in JSON importer for sample configurations or define your own MySQL queries to create new calculated fields.
3️⃣ Review & Test Results
Verify that the fields populate correctly. You can refresh them manually via UI or API to ensure accuracy.
4️⃣ Use in Reports and Search
Once configured, these fields behave like regular custom fields—meaning they can be used in reports, dashboards, and advanced search filters.
❓ Frecuently asked questions
🔹 Can non-technical users manage Synopsis?
Not directly. While viewing and using the data is easy, configuring new fields requires knowledge of SQL. It’s best handled by an admin or developer.
🔹 Is the data updated in real time?
Not automatically. You need to refresh it either manually or set up an automated schedule. It’s not “live” data but can be very current if maintained regularly.
🔹 Can I use these fields in my existing reports and searches?
Yes. Once created, Synopsis fields behave like standard CiviCRM custom fields, making them fully compatible with advanced search and report tools.
