ApproveThis manages your CiviCRM Integration approvals.

Why Your Nonprofit Needs This Integration Like Yesterday

Let's cut through the nonprofit jargon: You're juggling donor management, membership renewals, and program approvals while trying to change the world. CiviCRM keeps your constituent data organized, but when every new contact or membership request needs three people to sign off, things get messy. Enter ApproveThis - the missing link that turns "Hey, can someone approve this?" Slack chaos into structured workflows that actually work.

This isn't about replacing CiviCRM. It's about supercharging it. While CiviCRM tracks what's happening with your constituents, ApproveThis handles who needs to sign off on critical decisions. Together through Zapier, they create an approval system that doesn't make your volunteers want to flee to corporate jobs.

The Approval Features Your Nonprofit Has Been Missing

ApproveThis brings CiviCRM into the 21st century with:

• No-license approvals: Board members can approve requests via email without needing CiviCRM access (because teaching your 70-year-old treasurer to navigate another CRM counts as cruel and unusual punishment)
• Automatic escalation: That donor sponsorship request won't rot in someone's vacation inbox
• Approval math: Auto-approve small expense reimbursements but flag anything over $500

Meanwhile, CiviCRM keeps doing what it does best - managing relationships while ApproveThis handles the bureaucratic heavy lifting.

Real-World Use Cases That Don't Suck

1. Donor Onboarding That Doesn't Require 17 Emails

The Problem: New major donor comes in through CiviCRM. Development director needs ED approval to assign stewardship, but the ED's camping in Yosemite with no cell service.

The Fix: Zapier triggers an ApproveThis workflow whenever CiviCRM gets a new contact tagged "Major Donor." Approval rules:

• First approver: Development lead
• Second approver: Executive Director (with auto-delegate to COO if unreachable)
• Auto-sync back to CiviCRM with donor tier once approved

Real impact: An environmental nonprofit reduced donor onboarding from 11 days to 48 hours using this exact flow.

2. Membership Approvals That Don't Make You Question Life Choices

The Problem: Your animal rescue org gets 50 new membership apps daily. Volunteers approve valid applications but keep letting through obvious troll submissions ("Member Name: Dog McDogFace").

The Fix: Auto-create approval requests in ApproveThis for every CiviCRM membership application containing:

• Applicant's full CiviCRM profile
• Auto-calculated risk score based on past donations/volunteer hours
• Required approvals scaled by membership level

Bonus: Approved members auto-tagged in CiviCRM for targeted communications.

3. Grant Approvals That Actually Follow Foundation Guidelines

The Problem: Program team submits grant requests through CiviCRM events, but finance keeps approving ones that violate funder restrictions.

The Fix: ApproveThis workflows that:

• Check CiviCRM grant records against funder guidelines
• Require program + finance + legal sign-off based on amount
• Auto-update CiviCRM with approval status and restrictions

Real talk: One community foundation eliminated 100% of compliance issues in 6 months using this approach.

Department-Specific Wins

For Membership Teams

Stop being the middleman between CiviCRM data and board approvals. Set up rules where:

• Premium membership apps auto-route to development director
• Student memberships auto-approve under $50
• Lifetime memberships require ED + board chair sign-off

For Finance Teams

Connect CiviCRM donation records to approval workflows that:

• Require dual approval for refunds over $500
• Auto-approve recurring donor updates under $25/month
• Escalate budget reallocations based on CiviCRM program data

For Program Teams

Turn CiviCRM event registrations into approval chains that:

• Require safety approvals for high-risk activities
• Auto-approve repeat volunteers
• Sync approved events back to CiviCRM with restrictions

Setup That Won't Make You Miserable

1. Zapier Connection: Log into Zapier and connect both CiviCRM and ApproveThis accounts (takes 4 minutes)

2. Pick Your Trigger: Choose CiviCRM events like:

• New major donor contact
• Membership application submission
• Grant request creation

3. Build Approval Logic: In ApproveThis, set up rules like:

• "All donations over $5k need CFO approval"
• "Program requests require director sign-off if involving minors"

4. Test With Real Data: Use actual CiviCRM records to simulate approvals (pro tip: start with low-risk items)

Why This Isn't Just Another Integration

While other tools force your approvers to learn new systems, ApproveThis meets people where they are:

• Board members approve via email
• Field staff approve via SMS
• Execs approve via Slack

All while keeping CiviCRM perfectly synced without manual data entry. It's approval management that actually respects how nonprofits really work.

Ready to Stop Herding Approval Cats?

If you're:

• Tired of chasing down sign-offs
• Sick of "I didn't see the email" excuses
• Over manual CiviCRM data entry

...then it's time to try the combo that actually works. Get started with ApproveThis and connect your CiviCRM in under 10 minutes. Or schedule a demo to see exactly how it handles your gnarly approval scenarios.

Pro tip: Ask about our nonprofit discount when you book your demo.