This article explains how the Remove Duplicates feature works on Mailing Lists. When you run this process, the system scans all active members of the selected mailing list and removes redundant entries based on the deduplication method you choose. Removed records are moved to an inactive state — they are not permanently deleted.
How Member Priority Works
Each member in a mailing list has a type: Contact, Constituent, or Donor. When the system finds two members that match on email or address, it uses the priority order below to decide which record to keep and which to remove. The higher-priority record always wins.
| Member Type | Priority | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Contact | Lowest | An individual person record. Removed first when a higher-priority member shares the same email or address in the same mailing list. |
| Constituent | Medium | An organization or foundation record. Outranks Contacts but is removed if a Donor match exists in the same mailing list. |
| Donor | Highest | A giving relationship record. Donors are always kept when a lower-priority member matches on the same email or address criteria. |
Deduplication by Email Address
Choose this method when your primary goal is to avoid sending the same email communication to the same address more than once. The system finds members in the same mailing list who share an email address and removes the lower-priority duplicate.
Scenario 1 — Two contacts share an email address
When this happens: Two Contact members in the same mailing list have the same email address.
What the system does: One contact is marked as Duplicate / Removed. The system keeps the first matching record it encounters.
Scenario 2 — A contact and a constituent share an email address
When this happens: A Contact and a Constituent in the same mailing list share the same email address.
What the system does: The Contact is marked as Duplicate / Removed. Constituents outrank contacts, so the constituent entry is kept.
Scenario 3 — Multiple constituents share an email address
When this happens: Two or more Constituent members share the same email address. There may also be Contact members with the same email in the same list.
What the system does: All Contact records sharing that email are marked Duplicate / Removed first. Then, all but the first Constituent found are also removed. One constituent entry is kept.
Scenario 4 — A contact or constituent shares an email address with a donor
When this happens: A Contact or Constituent member shares the same email address as a Donor in the same mailing list.
What the system does: The Contact or Constituent is marked as Duplicate / Removed. Donors have the highest priority and are always kept.
Scenario 5 — Two donors share an email address
When this happens: Two Donor members in the same mailing list share the same email address.
What the system does: One donor is marked as Duplicate / Removed. The system keeps the first matching donor record it encounters.
Deduplication by Mailing Address
Choose this method when you are preparing a physical mailing and want to avoid sending duplicate pieces to the same household or organization. The system finds members in the same mailing list who share a mailing address. When two members of equal priority match, tiebreaker rules determine which record stays.
Scenario 1 — Two contacts share a mailing address
When this happens: Two Contact members in the same mailing list share the same street address.
What the system does: The newer contact entry is marked as Duplicate / Removed. The system keeps the oldest Contact record based on when the contact was originally created in the system.
Scenario 2 — A contact is the primary contact on a donor at the same address
When this happens: A Contact member's record is also listed as the primary contact on a Donor member in the same mailing list, and both share the same mailing address.
What the system does: The Contact entry is marked as Duplicate / Removed. The donor entry already covers that individual and household, making the standalone contact entry redundant.
Scenario 3 — A contact is the secondary contact on a donor at the same address
When this happens: A Contact member's record is listed as the secondary contact on a Donor member in the same mailing list, and both share the same mailing address.
What the system does: The Contact entry is marked as Duplicate / Removed. Same logic as Scenario 2 — the donor entry already covers that household regardless of whether the contact appears as primary or secondary.
Scenario 4 — Two constituents share a mailing address
When this happens: Two Constituent members in the same mailing list share the same mailing address and the same primary contact.
What the system does: The newer constituent entry is marked as Duplicate / Removed. The system keeps the oldest Constituent record based on when it was originally created in the system.
Scenario 5 — A constituent is already represented by a donor in the same list
When this happens: A Constituent member's underlying organization record is the same organization linked to a Donor member in the same mailing list.
What the system does: The Constituent is marked as Duplicate / Removed. The donor entry already represents the same organization at a higher priority level.
Scenario 6 — Two donors share a mailing address
When this happens: Two Donor members in the same mailing list share the same mailing address and the same primary contact.
What the system does: The donor with the lower total giving amount is marked as Duplicate / Removed. The system keeps the donor record with the highest total commitment, ensuring the most complete giving history is retained.
Important: Removed records are not permanently deleted. They are set to Inactive with a status of Duplicate and can be reviewed at any time in the Inactive Mailing List Members view.