Automation Workflows Overview

BetterUnite’s Workflow Automation module gives nonprofits the ability to build smart, automated processes that save time, reduce manual work, and create more personalized donor experiences. It’s the foundation of the broader automation suite, which includes Donor Journeys and Portfolio Management, and helps organizations design repeatable, scalable actions around donor engagement and internal operations. Workflow Automation features are activated within a BetterUnite Premier Plan, where users are then able to add on the Donor Journey & Portfolio Management module for even deeper functionality. 

---

What Are Workflows?

At its core, a workflow is a set of automated steps that are triggered by specific actions or conditions.

For example, when a new donor makes their first gift, a workflow can automatically:

• Add them to a “New Donor” list

• Send a personalized thank-you email

• Assign a follow-up task to a staff member

• And wait a few days before triggering the next step

These automations ensure that no donor slips through the cracks and that your team can focus on meaningful interactions instead of manual updates.

Creating and Managing Workflows

Creating a workflow is simple and visual. From the Automation → Workflows page, users can click New Workflow to start from scratch or select from sample templates (like “New Donor” or “Major Donor” workflows). Each workflow includes:

• Triggers – Define what starts the workflow.
  You can trigger workflows when:

  • A contact is created, updated, or deleted.

  • A contact is added to or removed from a list (static or dynamic).

  • A donation is made, refunded, or updated.

  • A person enters a particular pipeline/journey stage.
    
    

• Actions – Define what happens next.
  You can add as many steps as you like after the trigger:

  • Communication & Engagement
    • Send an email
    • Send an internal notification (to team members)
    • Send a text message (SMS)
    • Generate a letter or statement (optionally email it)
  • Data & Organization
    • Update a contact field
    • Add or remove a tag
    • Add or remove from a list
    • Enroll in or remove from a separate sequence
    • Move to a pipeline/journey stage
    • Assign an owner
  • Tasking & Tracking
    • Create a task
    • Log an activity
  • Flow Control
    • Delay (wait hours/days/weeks before the next step)
    • Condition (run logic: “If this is true, continue; if not, do something else”)

Conditions (Decision Logic)

A condition step lets you define business rules. For example: “If Total Donations this year is more than $500, continue; otherwise send an internal alert and stop.”

You can:

• Stack multiple criteria.
• Define what happens if the criteria fail:
  • Keep going anyway.
  • Stop the workflow.
  • Skip the remaining steps.
  • Jump to another step.
  • Retry later for a limited time (e.g., waiting for missing data).
  • Enroll the person into a different workflow (for escalation).

Templates

The Templates tab offers starter frameworks (e.g., “New Supporter Welcome”).
To use one:

• Open Templates.
• Choose a template.
• Click the option to create a workflow from it.
• Name it.
• Adjust steps or messaging before publishing.

Templates help keep consistency across teams.

Workflows can be saved as templates for reuse across your organization. You can also export a workflow to a file and import it later — perfect for sharing or backing up your automations.

Coming soon, BetterUnite will include pre-built workflow templates for common nonprofit use cases such as:

• New donor onboarding.

• Lapsed donor re-engagement.

• Event attendee follow-up.

• Recurring gift management.

Managing Workflows

In the Workflows tab you can:

• Search by name.
• View active vs inactive (archived/cancelled) items.
• Open a workflow to edit steps (draft changes until published).
• Archive old workflows to keep the list clean.

Analytics (when populated) will help you see: enrollments, completions, and bottlenecks.

Common Examples

Welcome Series Trigger: New contact created
Steps:

• Send welcome email
• Delay 2 days
• Add tag “Welcome Sent”
• Create internal task “Call new contact”

High-Value Donor Alert Trigger: Donation created (filter: amount ≥ $500)
Steps:

• Send internal notification to fundraising team
• Assign owner
• Create follow-up task

Pipeline Stage Nurture Trigger: Enters “Prospect” stage
Steps:

• Send intro email
• Delay 3 days
• Send educational email
• Condition: If no donation yet → create “Check-in” task; else stop.

Integrations and Advanced Uses

Workflows tie directly into other BetterUnite tools:

• Email Marketing – Send branded or templated communications directly from workflows. Accessed within Premier Plan.

• Donor Journeys – Build multi-stage engagement flows that use workflows as underlying engines. Add on the Moves Management module to access Donor Journeys.

• Portfolio Management – Track and automate actions related to assigned donor portfolios. Add on the Moves Management module to access Portfolio Management.

Features like Advanced Campaign Communications and P2P Messaging rely on workflow automation to trigger targeted follow-ups and reminders. Advanced communications also allow you to segment transactional emails (i.e. event emails or peer-to-peer communications) to certain subsets of your guest list or campaign participants. You have access to all advanced communications within your Premier Plan. 

Best Practices for Building Workflows

Especially when first starting out, it's important to adhere to some best practices when building and testing workflows. Workflows can be a powerful tool to scale personalized communications and automate tasks for efficiency, but they can also overwhelm if your data isn't clean or segmented correctly.

Do:

• Keep triggers specific.
• Start small and iterate.
• Use Conditions to avoid duplicate campaigns.
• Use Delays to avoid overwhelming contacts.

Avoid:

• Overloading with too many immediate communications.
• Creating multiple workflows with the same broad trigger and overlapping purpose.
• Long retry loops that never end (set reasonable retry limits).

Safe Testing

Make sure you're first testing your workflows to ensure triggers are correctly set and steps are set up as expected. Here are a few ways you can test your workflows: 

• Create a test contact or use a small list.
• Enable manual enrollment.
• Walk through steps and confirm expected outcomes before widening scope.

Beta Notes

The Workflow Automation module is still in Beta, so we welcome any feedback from BetterUnite users! Please be aware that:

• Features may expand over time (more trigger types, richer analytics).
• Reserved or “future” triggers may appear - use only the clearly labeled ones.
• Feedback is encouraged to refine wording, options, and reporting.

To provide feedback on the Workflow Automation module, please email support@betterunite.com.

Quick Glossary

• Trigger: The event that starts everything.
• Step: A single action (email, task, delay, etc.).
• Enrollment: A record actively moving through your workflow.
• Manual Enrollment: Staff-initiated start.
• Template: Prebuilt workflow pattern.

Fast Start Checklist

• Click New Workflow.
• Name it clearly (e.g., “New Donor Welcome – Q1”).
• Select a meaningful trigger.
• Add 2–4 core steps (don’t overbuild first pass).
• Add a Delay if sending multiple messages.
• Use a Condition only if absolutely needed initially.
• Save & publish.
• Test with one record.
• Monitor and refine.

If you'd like to learn more about how you can use workflows within BetterUnite to save time and nurture more donors at scale, talk to your Account Manager or connect with Sales by booking a demo here. To activate workflows in BetterUnite, you must have an active Premier Plan subscription.