Contacts

Opening Contacts

Click Contacts in the left nav. You'll see your full contact list with filter chips for each role. Use the search bar to find someone by name, email, or phone.

How contacts are created

Contacts are created automatically when:

• An adoption application is submitted
• A donation is recorded (manually or via your donation form)
• A volunteer applies through your public form
• A surrender form is submitted
• You add a foster home

If someone submits a donation and later applies to adopt, Fosterling tries to match on email before creating a new contact. If it finds a match, the new role is added to the existing contact.

Viewing a contact record

Click any contact to open their record. The detail panel shows:

• Name, email, phone, address
• Role badges (Adopter, Foster, Volunteer, Donor)
• A timeline of their interactions -- donations, applications, placements
• Internal notes

Editing a contact

1. 1
   Open the contact's record and click the pencil icon.
2. 2
   Edit name, email, phone, or address.
3. 3
   Click Save. The change keeps their info up to date on this record.

Merging duplicate contacts

If the same person ends up with two contact records (common when someone submits forms using slightly different email addresses), you can merge them.

1. 1
   Open one of the two contacts (the one you want to keep as the "winner").
2. 2
   Click the ... menu (top right of the record panel) and choose Merge with another contact.
3. 3
   Search for the duplicate by name or email and select it.
4. 4
   Review the merge preview -- the winner's fields are kept; blank fields are filled from the loser. Click Confirm merge.

All role links (donations, applications, placements) from the duplicate are reassigned to the winner. The duplicate is merged away and no longer searchable on its own.

Importing a list

To bulk-import people from a spreadsheet, go to Contacts and click Import a list. You can import Adopters, Volunteers, or Donors (fosters aren't supported yet). There's no fixed template to download -- upload your spreadsheet as-is and Fosterling uses AI to auto-map your columns to the right fields. Review the mapping and a preview of the rows, then commit the import. Fosterling checks for duplicates by email automatically before creating new contacts.

Can I delete a contact?

Not currently -- there's no delete function for contacts. If you have a duplicate, merge it into another record instead. You can also remove an individual tag or role from a contact without deleting the whole record.

Can a contact opt out of communications?

Yes -- on a contact's record, toggle 'Unsubscribed from email'. Fosterling won't send them automated emails but your team can still contact them manually.

I can't find a contact by email. Where did they go?

They were probably merged into another contact -- once merged, the duplicate is no longer searchable on its own. Try searching by name instead, or check the contact you'd expect them to have been merged into.

Does Fosterling sync contacts with Mailchimp or another email tool?

Yes -- connect Mailchimp or Klaviyo under Settings > Connected services (Integrations tab) with an API key, then sync your donor and adopter contacts into an audience or list there.