Due to limitations of DonorDirect's APIs, our integration to read records utilizes a SQL-based connection. This allows for faster, more reliable, and more complete data to be available within Avid. Our secure integration environment will incrementally sync only changed data from your Microsoft SQL Server instance when possible.
Security/Data Privacy
Due to the sensitive nature of donor and constituent data, Avid implements industry-leading security practices and has attained SOC2 compliance. You can view our automated scanning and supporting accreditations at trust.avidai.com. We also require SSL encryption of database connections, and will not support non-encrypted sources.
Setup
Create a dedicated read-only user with access to your prod database and provide those details below.
Recommended: To restrict access to only the authorized Avid integration agent, follow the section below on whitelisting our IP addresses.
The Server Name of your DonorDirect database may vary based on where it is deployed. Note that local network hostnames like DDSE won't work; it must be Internet-routable. On Microsoft Azure, this will typically take the form of:
ddssprodsesql##.[region].cloudapp.azure.com\[Instance Name] (also called a "four-part name").
If hosting your MS SQL Server locally, the form may be similar (using a hostname or IP address), but may sometimes exclude the instance name and its preceding backslash when using a non-named instance. You do not need a protocol prefix to connect.
Ensure you're using the correct port number for your deployment. On Azure, this is rarely the default port.
Test Your Connection Locally
We find it's often helpful to first connect using SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) or another tool from your local machine to verify that the connection can be made and that the username has the appropriate permissions. Refer to Microsoft's documentation for connecting through SSMS.
IP Allow List
To provide an added level of security, we recommend restricting the provided login to only Avid's integration system. This can be done by adding only authorized IP addresses to your allow list, and blocking other external connections. For security, we do not provide our IP addresses here. Instead, log into the Avid app and attempt to add the DonorDirect SE integration. There you will see the list of IP addresses.
Once the user is created and authorized, please complete the connection details below so that we can begin the initial backfill of data. Once complete, our team will work with you on any customized mappings needed to allow you to interact with your data within Avid. The system will notify you if there are any issues authorizing the connection.
Connection Details
- Database Hostname (preferred) or Public IP Address
- Database Instance Name (optional)
- Port Number
- Database Name
- Database Username
- Database Password