This article walks you through your first full custom report. We’ll build a real-world example from start to finish so you can see exactly how to:
Choose the correct base resource
Add the right output columns
Use Filter by Field
Use a Filter Subquery with Exists
Add date ranges with AND logic
Preview and run the report
By the end, you’ll be able to confidently build your own reports for donor activity, revenue, and more.
Example Report Build
“List all donors who made a donation of more than $100 between two dates.”
This example uses:
Contacts as the base resource
Revenue as a related resource
Subquery
Amount and date filters
AND logic for date ranges
Before you start remember:
Contacts = who the donor is
Donation = what they gave
Subquery lets you check Donation or Revenue activity for each contact
Exists ensures the donor must have at least one matching gift
AND creates a date range
Output columns show the donor information in the report
You will use all of these here.
Step 1: Navigate to Data & Reports in the left navigation. Select the plus sign (+) to create a new reports folder, then select New Report.
Step 2: Select the base resource. Since we want one row per donor, select:
Base Resource = Contacts
This ensures each line in the report represents an individual donor.
Step 3: Select Add Output Columns and add the output columns you want to see in the report, such as:
First Name
Last Name
Primary Email
Primary Phone
Primary Address Line 1
Primary Address Line 2
Primary City
Primary State
Primary Country
Primary Zipcode
(Optional) Lifetime Value
Drag and drop the fields to create a custom order as needed.
Step 4: Under Add Filters, select Add to Group >> Filter Subquery to create the subquery to "look into" Donations.
Step 5: Set to Exists, then use the Relationship from Parent dropdown to select the Donations related resource.
Step 6: Now that you selected the related resource, you can begin adding fields to the filter group. Select Add to Group >> Filter by Field.
Step 7: Since we're looking for Donations over $100, search for Amount from the donation fields and select Apply.
Step 8: Modify the Amount Operator and Value to meet your conditions. In this case, select Greater Than from the dropdown with a value of $100.
Step 9: To add a date range, in your Filter Group, select Add to Group >> Filter by Field.
Step 10: Search for the Donation Created At field and Apply.
Step 11: Set the filter group to AND at the top because both conditions must be true. If you want a specific date range, this first Created At field will have the Operator set to After or On a specific or relative date. Use the dropdown and date search to find the correct date and time in UTC time.
Step 12: Repeat Step 10, to add the send Created At date field setting the Operator to Before or On a date and time.
Step 13: When your output columns and filters are set, you can Save and Preview to the top to preview the list.
Step 14: If the preview looks accurate, select Run Report.
Step 15: Once complete you can download the csv file. You can edit the report name and run the report in the future to pull refreshed lists.
What This Example Teaches You
This example trains you on patterns used in almost all donor reporting:
Base resource = Contacts
Donations subquery
Exists logic
Amount filters
Date ranges
AND logic
Output columns for donor info
Once you understand this, you're ready for more advanced patterns.
Using the same structure, you can create:
Donors who gave last year but not this year
Donors with gifts above a certain threshold
Donors who made multiple donations in a period
Donors with no giving activity in the last 12 months
Donors who gave to multiple types of revenue (donations + tickets)
All follow the same approach, just change the conditions in the Revenue subquery.
Was this article helpful? Rate it below!