Update a donor's Stripe Customer ID with a CSV import

Update the Stripe Customer ID stored on existing donor records by importing a small CSV through the import wizard in update mode. Each row is matched to an existing donor by Donor ID, and the mapped Stripe Customer ID is written to that donor's record. This import updates only the stored ID: it does not migrate Stripe subscriptions or payment methods, and it does not automatically disconnect existing ones.

Before you start

• A CSV with two columns: Donor ID and Stripe Customer ID. Each Donor ID must be the numeric system Donor ID of a donor that already exists, and each Stripe Customer ID must start with cus_.

• A configured Stripe gateway. The Stripe Customer ID field appears in donor field mapping only when your organization's Stripe gateway is configured.

• Import-management access in your Gratona account, which the import wizard's upload step requires.

Your file looks like this, with one row per donor. The Stripe Customer IDs shown are illustrative placeholders, not real customer IDs:

Donor ID,Stripe Customer ID
4821,cus_Qx7T2mK9pL
4822,cus_Rb4Wn8vJ3c

For general CSV preparation and import settings, see How do I import data into my account?

Open the import wizard and upload the file

Start the import from Data & Imports, the same place you run any data import.

1. In the sidebar, open Data & Imports and click Imports.

2. Set the import type to Donors and select the program the donors belong to.

3. Upload your CSV file.

Map fields and set the update options

In the Map Donor Fields step, turn on update mode and tell the wizard how to match each CSV row to an existing donor.

1. Enable Update existing donor data with values from this file. The wizard then shows the unique identifier controls, and validation no longer requires the usual new-donor fields.

2. Under Select CSV column to use as unique identifier, choose the Donor ID column.

3. Under Map unique identifier to donor field, choose Donor ID.

4. Enable Include payment gateway details (Stripe Customer ID or Authorize Profile).

5. In the donor field mapping, map the Stripe Customer ID CSV column to Stripe Customer ID.

Review and import

The Review & Import Donors step checks every row before anything is written.

1. Review the Data Health summary: Total Rows, Valid Rows, and any Errors, Validation Errors, or Warnings.

2. Click Import Donors. If the file has errors, the button reads Fix errors before importing and stays disabled until they are resolved.

Gratona creates the donor import batch, confirms it with a "Donor Import Batch Created" message, and opens the Past Imports tab.

Verify the import

1. In the Past Imports tab, find your batch in the Import Batches list and compare the Successful and Failed counts with the number of rows in your file.

2. If you need the stored Stripe Customer IDs independently confirmed, ask Gratona support.

Cautions before a larger import

• Start with a small test file covering a few donors before importing your full list.

• Preserve your source-of-truth list of each donor's original Stripe Customer ID before updating, and keep both the original and update CSV files. The update CSV contains only the new IDs, so it cannot restore the old ones. If you need help obtaining the original IDs, ask Gratona support before making the change.

• If a donor already has recurring payments or payment methods set up, contact Gratona support to review them before changing that donor's Stripe Customer ID.