ApproveThis manages your Harness Integration approvals.

Let’s be real: Nonprofits have better things to do than chase down signatures for donation approvals. Between managing campaigns, stewarding donors, and actually making an impact, who has time for paperwork ping-pong? That’s where ApproveThis and Harness come in – like peanut butter and jelly for your fundraising ops.

Why This Combo Works (Besides Saving Your Sanity)

Harness handles the money moves – recurring donations, round-ups, all the nitty-gritty of donor management. ApproveThis handles the decision-making – who needs to sign off on what, when, and why. Connect them through Zapier, and you’ve got a system where:

• Big donations trigger instant approval requests
• Board members can veto or greenlight from their inbox
• Canceled subscriptions automatically flag for review

Best part? Your finance team doesn’t need to log into Harness. Your program directors don’t need another software login. Everyone stays in their lane, but the workflow stays in the fast lane.

Four Ways This Actually Helps Your Org

1. No More “Who Approved This?!” Moments

Picture this: A $10k monthly donation comes through Harness. Instead of Slack pings and forwarded emails, ApproveThis automatically:

• Routes it to your ED, CFO, and board chair
• Shows the donor’s history (thanks to calculated fields)
• Escalates if someone’s OOO (vacation delegation FTW)

Real-world win: A homeless shelter used this to cut approval delays by 80% during year-end giving chaos. More money faster = more beds funded.

2. Stop Losing Donors Over Paperwork Delays

New donor signs up in Harness? Set thresholds so small gifts auto-approve, but major donors get instant VIP treatment. Example:

- Under $500: Straight to processing
- Over $5k: Triggers 2-step approval with program impact data
- Recurring gifts: Bypass red tape based on historical trust

An animal rescue used this to reduce donor drop-off by 40%. When people feel valued (not vetted), they stick around.

3. Canceled Donations Aren’t Ghosting – They’re Intel

When someone cancels a monthly gift in Harness, ApproveThis can:

- Flag it for your donor relations team
- Require exit survey approval before archiving
- Trigger挽留offers if certain criteria hit

A university foundation recovered 15% of lapsing donors this way. Turns out, most just needed a different ask timing.

4. Board Members Who Actually Respond

Use approval groups to make consensus easy:

- Finance committee: Sequential approvals with hard deadlines
- Program teams: Parallel reviews with live comments
- External partners: Email approvals without Harness logins

One arts nonprofit cut board approval time from 3 weeks to 72 hours. Less herding cats, more making art happen.

Setting This Up Isn’t Rocket Science

Here’s the quick version:

1. Create a Zap starting with Harness triggers
2. Pick your event (new donation, cancellation, etc.)
3. Add ApproveThis as the action
4. Map fields like amount, donor info, urgency level
5. Test with a $1 donation (trust us)

Pro tip: Use calculated fields to auto-flag high-risk donors or match gift eligibility. Saves hours of manual checks.

Who Benefits (Besides Your Overworked Staff)

Fundraising Teams

Get real-time alerts when big gifts need stewardship. No more missing major donor calls because approvals were buried in email.

Finance Departments

Set thresholds so routine transactions don’t clog your queue. Reserve brainpower for audits and forecasts.

Program Directors

See exactly which donations are earmarked for your projects. Approve allocations without getting lost in accounting spreadsheets.

Executive Directors

Get a dashboard view of cash flow without micromanaging every decision. Sleep better knowing nothing moves without proper checks.

The Unsexy (But Critical) Perks

- Audit Trails: Every approval has a timestamped record. Say goodbye to “I never saw that email” excuses.
- Compliance Made Simple: Built-in SOX/GDPR-ready workflows keep regulators happy.
- No More License Fees: External approvers (like board members) don’t need Harness seats. Save $ while keeping them in the loop.

When to Think Twice

This isn’t magic fairy dust. If your approval process is “the founder texts everyone,” maybe fix that first. But if you’re scaling past 50 staff or $5M in donations, this combo pays for itself in saved labor alone.

Ready to Ditch the Approval Chaos?

ApproveThis + Harness via Zapier is like giving your nonprofit a finance department that never sleeps (but actually takes vacations). Whether you’re optimizing for speed, compliance, or donor love, it’s time to let the robots handle the paperwork.

Book a 15-minute demo or start a free trial. Your future self (and your burned-out development director) will thank you.