Add new Supporters to your Group

There are four different ways to add supporters to groups in SupporterBase. This guide covers each method, minimum data requirements, and how to troubleshoot common import issues.

Importing cheat sheet

Method	Who can do it	Best used when	Notes
SupporterBase interface (one by one)	Group admins and captains	Adding an individual supporter manually	Consent checkbox included in form
SupporterBase interface (CSV import)	Admins and captains	Adding a bulk list of supporters	Supports field mapping; ensure clean data
NationBuilder tags	NationBuilder admins	Adding supporters already in your NationBuilder database	Requires both supporterbase tag + group tag
Public group page signup	Anyone (self-service by supporter)	Allowing new supporters to join via your group's public page	Optional form can be enabled; also supports embeddable map
NationBuilder forms	Anyone (self-service by supporter)	When supporters take action via NB forms (e.g. event RSVP, petition, signup)	Forms must apply supporterbase tag + group tag

Minimum data requirements

For supporters to be successfully added (via any method), they must:

Have the supporterbase tag applied, along with at least one relevant group tag
Have either a valid phone number or email
Have either a valid first name or last name
Be contactable (i.e. they have not unsubscribed)
Use standard characters only (avoid stylised characters like curly apostrophes)

1. Via the SupporterBase interface

One by one

Go to your group's summary page.
Click Add New Supporter (top right).
Enter supporter details in the form and tick the consent box.
Click Add Supporter.

Include group tags

You will need to include the group tags to add the supporter to your group. You can do this in the "other membership criteria" section of the add new supporter form.

Bulk import (CSV)

Go to Imports > Supporter imports.
Select Import Type > New Supporters.
Upload your CSV file.
Choose the supporter group to add the data to.
Decide whether to overwrite existing data.
Map the CSV columns to the correct SupporterBase fields.
Complete the import.

2. Via NationBuilder tags

Admins with NationBuilder access can add supporters by tagging them:

Apply the supporterbase master tag (lowercase)
Apply the relevant group tag(s)

These can be added manually or via NationBuilder's auto-tagging filters.

For example, if you wanted to add someone to your "New Supporter" group and the inclusion tag for this group was a "new_supporter" tag, you would need to add both the "supporterbase" and "new_supporter" tag in NationBuilder for them to appear in the SupporterBase group.

For more information on tagging in NationBuilder, see their support article on using tags.

3. Via public group pages

Every supporter group in SupporterBase has a public page that displays:

The group's description and purpose
Upcoming events
(Optional) a join form so new supporters can sign up directly

When a supporter signs up via this form, they are automatically added to the group.

Embeddable map available

We can provide an embeddable Google Map showing all supporter groups. Contact us if you would like this enabled.

4. Via NationBuilder forms

Supporters who take action on a NationBuilder form (e.g. an event RSVP, petition, or signup form) can be added to SupporterBase if the form applies:

The supporterbase master tag
At least one relevant group tag

Importing event RSVPs

If you already have RSVP data in CSV format, you can bulk import it.

Go to Imports > Import supporters.
Select Import Type > Event RSVPs/Attendees.
Upload your CSV file.
Choose the supporter group.
Choose the event you want to add RSVP data to.
Decide whether to overwrite existing data.
Map CSV fields to SupporterBase fields.
Complete the import.

Permissions

Only admins and captains can import event RSVPs.

Auto-adding RSVPs to groups

By default, RSVPs are not automatically added to supporter groups. If your organisation wants RSVPs to be added to groups:

Open the group's calendar page in the NationBuilder backend.
Go to Calendar settings > Event settings.
Enable Tag RSVP with, and enter the relevant group tag(s).

Troubleshooting imports

Common causes of import failure

Unsupported characters: NationBuilder's import API rejects certain characters but only returns a vague "bad request" error.
Stylised apostrophes are the most common culprit. Replace them with straight apostrophes (').

How to sanitise your data

Run a search in your spreadsheet for non-standard characters using this regex:

[^\w\d\s\-.:@+'/\$]+

In Google Sheets: Edit > Find and replace, check Search using regular expressions.
Review flagged cells and replace unsupported characters.

If issues persist, contact our team at info@supporterbase.com for help sanitising your data.