Managing and editing contacts
Use this guide to view, update, and manage individual contact profiles in Zeffy. Each contact profile shows key details about the person, their activity history, and any notes or reminders you've added.
Open a contact profile
Go to Contacts in the left sidebar.
Click on any contact name in the list.
The contact profile opens as a side panel showing their information, activity history, and communication details.
Contact profile overview
The contact profile is organized into two main sections:
Left column: Contact details and summary
Data — All-time donations, largest donation, and last donation date
Membership — Membership status and expiration (if applicable)
Manual Lists — Any lists the contact belongs to
Details — Full name, email, phone number, address, company, family, properties and language preference
Right column: Notes and activity
Notes and reminders — Add notes or create reminders at the top of the column
Activity feed — View payments, communications, and notes in organized tabs
Edit contact information
To update contact details in the left column:
Click on the field you want to edit (such as phone number or address).
Make your changes.
Save the update.
If a donor makes a typo during a payment and you correct their name on the contact page, the payment record does not change automatically. Update the contact details from the payment record directly.
Change a contact's email address
If a contact starts using a new email address, update the record so future emails go to the right inbox.
Click on the email field in the Details section.
Enter the new email address.
Save the change.
Add notes and reminders
Notes help you remember important details about each contact. Reminders let you set follow-up alerts for important dates or tasks.
For detailed steps on adding, viewing, editing, and deleting notes and reminders, see Add notes and reminders to contacts.
Add contacts to manual lists
In the left column, find the Manual Lists section.
Click the plus (+) icon.
Select an existing list or create a new one.
View activity history
The Activity feed in the right column shows all interactions with this contact. Use the tabs to filter:
Payments — Donations, purchases, and transactions
Communications — Emails sent and delivery status
Notes — Notes and reminders you've added
Click on any item in the activity feed to view details—for example, click a payment to see the transaction record, or click an email to see delivery details.
Send an email from a contact profile
Click the purple New email button in the top right of the contact profile.
Write your message in the email composer.
Send a test email or send the message directly.
Use the Actions menu
Click Actions in the top right of the contact profile to access additional options:
Manually add a payment
Generate a tax receipt
Unsubscribe the contact from emails
Merge with another contact
Delete the contact
Merge duplicate contacts
If the same person appears more than once in your database, merge the records to keep their history in one place.
Open one of the duplicate contact profiles.
Click Actions in the top right.
Select the merge option.
Choose the contact to merge with and confirm.
The email address is the primary identifier in Zeffy. If you're trying to merge into an email that's already used by an activated donor account, you may not be able to complete the merge from your dashboard.
Delete a contact
Delete a contact only when you no longer want that record in your database.
Open the contact profile.
Click Actions in the top right.
Choose the delete option.
Confirm the deletion.
Deleting a contact removes them permanently from your whole contact base and unlinks their past payments. It does not stop a recurring donation — use the Stop donation option in the payment drawer, or let the payment method expire.
Close the contact profile
Click the X in the top left corner of the contact profile panel to close it and return to the full contact list.
Common questions
Can I add more than one email or phone number per contact?
Currently, Zeffy does not support multiple email addresses for a single contact profile. The system tracks transactions based on a unique email address.
If a contact has multiple email addresses, you can add additional emails in a note for reference, or create separate contact profiles for each address.
Can I add more than one name per contact?
Zeffy supports one name per contact profile. If you need to track household or family information, consider using the Family field, notes, or lists to indicate relationships.
What to do next
Creating segments and lists — Organize your contacts into reusable audiences.
Filtering your contacts — Find specific contacts using filters.
Adding notes and reminders to contacts — Track extra details and follow-up dates.
Importing contacts into Zeffy — Bring in more contacts from a spreadsheet.