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Understanding Action Types in Alpine
Overview
Actions are the building blocks of constituent engagement tracking in Alpine. Every interaction, transaction, and touchpoint you record on a constituent profile is captured as an Action — and each Action is assigned a type that describes what kind of interaction it represents.
Alpine supports 13 Action Types, each designed to capture a specific category of constituent engagement. Understanding when and how to use each type ensures cleaner data, more meaningful reporting, and better insight into your relationships over time.
Part 1: The 13 Action Types
1. Donations
What it is: Records a financial contribution from a constituent, including one-time gifts, recurring gifts, pledges and pledge payments, and non-cash gifts such as gifts-in-kind or stock.
When to use it: Any time a constituent makes a donation to your organization — whether entered manually, processed online, or imported from a payment processor.
Donation Related Fields:
- Amount: The dollar value of the gift.
- Fair Market Value (FMV): The fair market value of any goods or services received in exchange for the gift. Defaults to $0.
- Tax Deductible Amount: Automatically calculated as Amount minus FMV.
2. RSVPs
What it is: Records a constituent's registration, ticket purchase, or attendance at an event.
When to use it: When a constituent registers for or purchases a ticket or admission — such as a gala, open house, tour, or fundraising event.
RSVP Related Fields:
- Amount: The dollar value of the ticket or registration fee.
- Fair Market Value (FMV): The fair market value of any goods or services received. Defaults to $0.
- Tax Deductible Amount: Automatically calculated as Amount minus FMV.
- # of Reserved Tickets: The number of tickets associated with this Action. Defaults to 1.
3. Volunteer Hours
What it is: Records a constituent's volunteer service, including hours contributed and the activity performed.
When to use it: Any time a constituent volunteers with your organization, whether for a one-time event or an ongoing commitment.
Volunteer Related Fields:
- How Many Hours?: The number of hours volunteered. Enter a numeric value (e.g., 4).
4. Membership Payments
What it is: Records a membership transaction, including new memberships, renewals, and membership upgrades.
When to use it: When a constituent purchases or renews a membership. This Action type is distinct from Donations and supports membership-specific reporting.
Membership Payment Related Fields:
- Amount: The dollar value of the membership payment.
- Fair Market Value (FMV): The fair market value of any member benefits received. Defaults to $0.
- Tax Deductible Amount: Automatically calculated as Amount minus FMV.
- Membership Length: The duration of the membership. Defaults to 1 year; can be adjusted to other timeframes as needed.
5. Check Ins
What it is: Records a constituent's physical or event-based check-in.
When to use it: When a constituent arrives at a program, event, or facility and their presence is logged — such as a board member checking in to a meeting or a visitor checking in at the front desk.
6. Emails Sent
What it is: Records a direct, personal email sent to a constituent from a staff member.
When to use it: This is populated via integration for mass email marketing sends. Users may also opt to integrate an individual email to a constituent using a bcc or email inbox integration. When necessary, they may also be added manually.
7. Email Opens
What it is: Records when a constituent opens an email sent through an integrated email marketing platform.
When to use it: This Action type is typically populated automatically via an email marketing integration (such as Mailchimp or Constant Contact) when a constituent opens a campaign email.
8. Email Link Clicks
What it is: Records when a constituent clicks a link within a marketing email.
When to use it: Like Email Opens, this Action type is typically populated automatically via an email marketing integration and reflects constituent engagement with email content.
9. Phone Calls
What it is: Records a phone call with a constituent, including notes about the conversation.
When to use it: When a staff member calls a constituent — for a cultivation conversation, a thank-you call, a follow-up, or any other outreach — and wants to log that interaction.
10. Texts
What it is: Records an SMS message sent to or received from a constituent.
When to use it: When a staff member communicates with a constituent via SMS. Texts can be logged manually or populated automatically via an SMS integration such as Twilio.
11. Meetings
What it is: Records an in-person or virtual meeting with a constituent.
When to use it: When a staff member meets with a donor, prospect, board member, or other constituent — such as a major gift cultivation meeting, a grant meeting, or a site visit.
12. Letters
What it is: Records a physical letter or formal written communication sent to a constituent.
When to use it: When a staff member sends a written letter — such as a gift acknowledgment letter, a stewardship note, or a formal appeal — and wants that touchpoint documented on the constituent's record.
13. Notes
What it is: Records a freeform note about a constituent interaction, observation, or piece of information.
When to use it: When there's something important to document that doesn't fit neatly into another Action type — such as a conversation at an event, a staff observation, or context that supports future relationship management.
Part 2: How Action Types Work Together
Action Types are most powerful when used consistently across your team. A constituent profile that captures donations, calls, meetings, emails, and event attendance tells a much richer story than one with only financial transactions recorded.
Use Action Types to:
- Filter and segment constituents based on engagement history (e.g., everyone who attended an event AND made a donation)
- Build Notifications triggered by specific Action Types (e.g., alert your Development Director when a board member checks in)
- Power Stewardship Automation touchpoints based on Action-triggered conditions
- Report on staff activity and outreach patterns across the organization
Pro Tips
- Be consistent. Decide as a team which Action Type to use for recurring scenarios (e.g., always use Phone Calls for thank-you calls, not Notes) so your reporting stays clean and comparable over time.
- Use Notes for context, not as a catch-all. Notes are great for supplemental information, but if an interaction fits a defined Action Type, use that type — it will make filtering and reporting much more effective.
- Email Opens and Email Link Clicks are typically auto-populated. You generally don't need to log these manually; they flow in from your email marketing integration.
- Log future Actions as reminders. You can set a future date on any Action Type to use it as a scheduled reminder — helpful for follow-up calls, upcoming meetings, or pledge payment reminders.
- For financial Action Types (Donations, RSVPs, Membership Payments), always record Fair Market Value when applicable. Accurate FMV ensures the Tax Deductible Amount is correct, which matters for donor acknowledgment letters and compliance.
- Adding a future date to an Action creates an unverified Action to help you keep track of future tasks, etc.