When building an email campaign, the "To" step uses the same filter builder that powers your contact table. You can mix inclusion and exclusion rules in one audience query. The most direct way to drop existing donors is to add a "Remove records" rule that targets the Donations group.
Open the audience builder
Open your email campaign and click Edit Audience on the "To" step.
The people table loads with your current filter applied. The contact count
shown updates live as you add or remove rules.
Add your base audience
If you want to start from a specific list or tag, click the filter menu (the button that opens "Narrow records / Add records / Remove records") and choose Narrow records. Pick your field, for example a tag or saved list, and set the value.
If you want to send to everyone in your database and only exclude donors, you can skip this step and go straight to the removal rule below.
Exclude donors with "Remove records"
Click the filter menu and choose Remove records. A new rule group
appears labelled REMOVE:.
In the field picker for that group, open the **Donations to your
committee** section.
To exclude anyone who has ever donated, pick Number of Donations, set
the operator to >, and enter 0. This removes everyone who has at least one donation record.
To exclude only donors within a specific time range, pick **Date of
Donation instead, set the operator to is after (or is between**), and enter the date or range.
To exclude donors above a certain total amount, pick Amount, set the
operator to >, and enter the threshold.
You can add more than one field inside the REMOVE group if you want a narrower exclusion (for example: donated more than $0 AND donated after a specific date).
Save the audience
Click Save Target Audience. The count shown on the "To" step reflects people who match your inclusion rules minus the people caught by the REMOVE group.
Common combinations
| Goal | Inclusion rule | Removal rule | |---|---|---| | Everyone except any donor | (none, all contacts) | Number of Donations > 0 | | A specific tag, excluding donors | Tag = [your tag] | Number of Donations > 0 | | Everyone except donors this cycle | (none) | Date of Donation is after [cycle start] | | Prospective donors above a pledge level minus those who gave | Pledge amount > $X | Number of Donations > 0 |
Notes
The exclusion is evaluated when the campaign is finalized, not when you
save the draft. If someone donates between when you save and when you send, the finalize step uses the live query result at that moment.
The "Number of Donations" field counts donations synced into your account
(from ActBlue or manual import). If a donation was not imported, the person will not be excluded.
You can add multiple REMOVE groups to exclude more than one segment.