⚠️Important:
Donorfy can add and remove mapped Mailchimp tags and groups during the sync, and it will never re-subscribe contacts who have been unsubscribed in Mailchimp.
Understand the Mailchimp Sync
What the Sync Updates in Mailchimp
When you run a Donorfy to Mailchimp sync:
Donorfy updates or adds contacts in your Mailchimp audience using constituent data from Donorfy.
Donorfy applies email channel permissions to subscribe or unsubscribe contacts.
Donorfy sends tags and purposes that you have mapped to Mailchimp tags and groups.
Donorfy does not update any data held only in Mailchimp, and it does not pull changes from Mailchimp back into Donorfy.
📌 Note: To update Donorfy from Mailchimp, you must use the separate Mailchimp to Donorfy process described in your Mailchimp integration documentation.
Constituent Details Synced to Mailchimp
When Donorfy updates Mailchimp, it sends:
Email address.
Last name.
First name.
First name and last name are stored in Mailchimp merge fields.
If a constituent’s name changes in Donorfy, the corresponding contact in Mailchimp is updated on the next sync.
Only one email address is sent to Mailchimp for each constituent, even if multiple email addresses are stored in Donorfy (see Preferred Channel below).
How Email Channel Permissions Affect the Sync
The sync only sends data for constituents who have an email address available to use (see the Preferred Channel rules).
For email channel permissions in Donorfy:
OK (green) – the constituent is subscribed to the Mailchimp audience.
Unconfirmed (orange) – the constituent is subscribed to the Mailchimp audience.
No (red) – the constituent is unsubscribed from the Mailchimp audience.
At each sync, Donorfy checks the current email channel status.
If the channel is set to No (red), Donorfy unsubscribes that email address in Mailchimp when the constituent is included in the sync list.
Preferred Channel and Which Email Address Is Used
The Donorfy to Mailchimp sync always uses one “preferred” email address.
Donorfy first checks the Preferred Channel in the preference centre:
If the Preferred Channel is set to an email option, Donorfy uses that email address.
If the Preferred Channel is not set to an email option (for example, it is set to a mailing address), Donorfy works through this order until it finds an email address:
Personal email 1.
Personal email 2.
Work email 1.
Work email 2.
Other email 1.
Other email 2.
📌Note: If no suitable email address is found, the constituent is not sent to Mailchimp by the sync.
Constituents Marked as Do Not Contact
You can use the Preferred Channel of Do Not Contact to suppress constituents from communications in Donorfy.
To omit these constituents from your Mailchimp sync:
Build or edit the Donorfy List you use for the sync.
Add these filters:
Preferred Channel | Not Equals | Do Not Contact
AND Preferred Channel | Is Not Empty
Save the List and use it as the source for your Mailchimp sync.
Behaviour for strongly blocked records:
If Email channel = No and Preferred Channel = Do Not Contact, these constituents are pre-omitted from the Donorfy → Mailchimp sync and will not update Mailchimp.
These records must be updated directly in Mailchimp using your usual “opted out data” process for that audience.
Tags, Purposes, and Mailchimp Tags/Groups
Donorfy Tags and Purposes can be mapped to Mailchimp Tags and Groups in your Donorfy to Mailchimp audience mappings.
During the sync:
Donorfy reads the Tags and Purposes for each constituent in the Donorfy List you are syncing.
Donorfy updates Mailchimp tags and groups according to your mapping rules.
Donorfy may:
Add Mailchimp tags and groups when the corresponding Donorfy tags or purposes are present.
Remove Mailchimp tags and groups when the corresponding Donorfy tags or purposes are not present.
⚠️Important: Because mapped Tag and Group data is treated as the source of truth from Donorfy, mailchimp tags and groups that are mapped may be removed from audience members as well as added.
How the Match Process Works
When the sync runs for a Donorfy List and Mailchimp audience:
If a constituent appears in both the Donorfy List and the Mailchimp audience:
Donorfy checks that the Mailchimp contact’s details match Donorfy (email, first name, last name, and any mapped tags/groups).
Mailchimp is updated if needed.
If a constituent appears in the Donorfy List but not in the Mailchimp audience:
Donorfy adds them to the Mailchimp audience.
If a constituent is blocked for email in Donorfy:
They will be unsubscribed from the Mailchimp audience at the next sync when they are present in the List.
Donorfy does not modify data stored only in Mailchimp and does not pull updates from Mailchimp back into Donorfy via this sync.
Email Address Changes in Donorfy
If a constituent changes their email address in Donorfy and that address is linked to Mailchimp:
The behaviour depends on your specific Mailchimp integration rules.
For full details of what happens in this scenario, see Question 2 in the Mailchimp FAQs in your Donorfy knowledge base.
Unsubscribes and Re-Subscribes
Unsubscribes are handled cautiously to respect Mailchimp’s compliance rules.
When Email channel = No (red) in Donorfy:
At the next Donorfy to Mailchimp sync, if the constituent is present in the sync List, Donorfy unsubscribes the contact in Mailchimp.
The contact’s Mailchimp profile will be marked as unsubscribed, but:
Their details and tags remain in the Mailchimp audience.
They will no longer receive campaigns from that audience.
If Email channel changes from No (red) to Yes (green) in Donorfy:
Donorfy does not re-subscribe the contact in Mailchimp.
The constituent must be re-subscribed from within Mailchimp, typically by:
The contact re-subscribing via a Mailchimp form, or
An administrator re-subscribing them in accordance with Mailchimp’s rules.
📌 Note:
The Donorfy to Mailchimp sync never re-subscribes anyone who has been unsubscribed in Mailchimp.
The sync also does not automatically mark the constituent in Donorfy as blocked for email when they are unsubscribed in Mailchimp alone.
Deleted Contacts in Mailchimp
If a contact has been deleted from a Mailchimp audience using “delete and remove”:
Donorfy cannot add them back to that audience via the sync.
The only way they can be added back is if they re-subscribe via a Mailchimp form for that audience.
Shared Email Addresses Between Constituents
Multiple Donorfy constituents can share the same primary email address.
When more than one constituent with the same email address is included in the Donorfy List you are syncing:
Donorfy identifies all constituents sharing that email address.
The constituent with the highest Constituent Number takes priority.
That constituent’s details (name, tags/purposes, etc.) are used when updating the Mailchimp contact that has that email address.