# Build a smart group (beta)

Create your own smart group from conditions on donations, pledges, actions, groups, tags, tasks, location and contact details.

Source: https://www.fundhero.com/help/build-a-smart-group/
Updated: 2026-10-20

A custom smart group is a list defined by conditions you choose, which updates itself as your data changes. Create one from Contacts > **Groups** > **Add Smart Group**. The builder is in beta.

## Create a smart group

1. Open **Contacts** and choose **Groups** from the dropdown.
2. Select **Add Smart Group**. The builder opens full screen.
3. Under **Smart Group Details**, enter a **Name** and a **Description**. Both are required. The name can't match an existing group or built-in smart group; FundHero says if it is already in use.
4. Add conditions (see below). The **Smart group size** bar shows how many conditions you have and how many contacts match, as "N out of M contacts".
5. Select **Save Smart Group**. The button stays disabled until the name, description and at least one condition are in place.

FundHero confirms with "Smart Group ... added". The group appears in the **Groups** list with a **Smart** badge.

## Add, narrow and exclude

The builder has three sections, each with its own link for adding a condition:

- **Add contacts to this group:** select **Add "add" condition**.
- **Narrow contacts in this group:** select **Add "narrow" condition**.
- **Exclude contacts from this group:** select **Add "not" condition**.

A contact is included when it matches every "add" and "narrow" condition, and it is left out if it matches any "not" condition. In practice an "add" condition and a "narrow" condition behave the same way.

After you choose a section, pick a condition type from the cards. Use the close icon on a condition card to remove it.

## Condition types

- **Donations** and **Pledges:** **Amount** (**Total Donations** or **Single Donation**, with a slider), **Number Of** donations or pledges, and a date. Donations also have a **Type** of One Time or Recurring.
- **Actions:** **Select Type** and **Select Outcome**, using the lists in [Log an action](https://www.fundhero.com/help/log-an-action/), and a date.
- **Groups:** one or more groups. Flagged contacts can be selected here.
- **Tags:** "Add activity tags..." to find contacts whose donations or activity carry the tags.
- **Tasks:** **Assigned user**, a **Status** of Overdue, Not Due, Complete or Incomplete, and a date.
- **Location:** **City**, **State** and **Postal**.
- **Details:** donor status (Prospect, Attempted Contact, Cultivation, Ready for Ask, Soft Pledge, Hard Pledge, Donor, Decline, None), **Type** (Individual, Organization, None), **Info** (**Has Phone Number**, **Has Email**) and an **Ask Amount** range.

### Date options

Conditions that take a date offer four choices:

- **Any:** no date limit.
- **Last:** the most recent 7, 14, 30, 60, 90, 180 or 360 **Days**, **Weeks**, **Months** or **Years**.
- **Since:** from a date you pick to today.
- **Between:** from one date to another.

## Limits of the beta

- The app doesn't currently let you change a smart group's conditions after you save it. To change them, build a new one and delete the old one with **Delete Group** from its row menu.
- Rename or delete a smart group from the **Groups** list, the same as a normal group.

For a one-off search that you don't need to keep, use **Filters** on the contacts list instead. See [Search and filter contacts](https://www.fundhero.com/help/search-and-filter-contacts/).