A vendor sends over their onboarding checklist, and line three says “Paste your Altru API key here.” You open Altru, search through administration, and find nothing that looks like a key. That isn’t you missing a setting. Altru doesn’t work the way many cloud apps do, where any admin can click a button and generate a token.
This article explains what “API access” usually means for Altru, who controls it, what to ask for, and how to set it up safely once you have it.
The short version
Altru is built on Blackbaud’s Infinity platform, and programmatic access to it runs through Infinity web services rather than a single self-service key. In practice, that access is arranged through Blackbaud, and the integration authenticates with an Altru user account and its permissions. Many popular SaaS tools issue an API key from a settings page, but you shouldn’t expect that from Altru.
The specifics, like whether API access is included with your subscription, what it costs, and how the endpoint is provisioned for your hosted database, depend on your contract and can change. Treat this as orientation, then confirm the details with your Blackbaud account manager or Blackbaud support before you promise a vendor a date.
Figure out what is actually being asked for
“API key” gets used loosely. Before you open a support case, find out which of these the person really needs:
- Read/write access to Altru data (constituents, memberships, sales, revenue). That’s the Infinity web services question this article covers.
- A Blackbaud SKY API subscription key. SKY API is Blackbaud’s newer developer platform, and it issues developer keys from a self-service portal. As far as we know, its published endpoints cover other Blackbaud products, not Altru. If a vendor insists on a SKY API key for Altru, ask them which specific endpoint they plan to call.
- Payment processing credentials. Sometimes “API key” really means merchant account or payment gateway details. That’s a separate conversation with whoever manages your payment processing.
- A file, not an API. Some tools only need a regular export. If a scheduled query export covers the need, you may not need API access at all.
Ask the vendor to put the request in writing: which records, read or write, how often, and which authentication method they expect. Blackbaud support can give you a straight answer much faster with that in hand.
What to ask Blackbaud
When you contact Blackbaud, keep the request concrete. Useful questions:
- Is web services (API) access available for our Altru database, and is it included in our current agreement?
- What is the web services URL for our hosted environment, and what database name should an integration use?
- Do you require a dedicated user for integrations, and is there a licensing implication for adding one?
- Are there rate limits, maintenance windows, or usage policies the integration needs to respect?
- Is there a sandbox or test environment we can point the integration at first?
Write down the answers and the case number. A year from now, when someone asks why the integration user exists, you’ll be glad you did.
Set up a dedicated integration user
Since Altru integrations authenticate as a user, the account you hand a vendor is effectively the key. Treat it that way.
- Never use a person’s login. When that staff member leaves or changes their password, the integration breaks, and the vendor has been working under someone’s personal credentials the whole time.
- Create one account per integration. If two vendors share a login, you can’t revoke one without breaking the other, and you can’t tell which one made a change.
- Give it the narrowest system role that works. If a tool only reads membership data, it doesn’t need rights to revenue batches or constituent merges. Start narrow and add permissions only when a specific call fails.
- Name it clearly. Something like “Integration – VendorName” makes it obvious in audit fields and record history where a change came from.
- Store the password in a password manager, not in an email thread or a shared doc. Share it with the vendor through a secure channel.
Test before you trust it
If Blackbaud gives you a test environment, point the integration there first and check what it writes. Look at a few constituent records, membership transactions, or revenue entries it created. Confirm they land in the right program, the right batch, and with the right dates. Fixing one test record is far easier than cleaning up a month of live data.
When API access isn’t an option
Sometimes the answer comes back as “not included” or “not for that use case.” Plenty of organizations get by without direct API access:
- Queries plus exports. A well-built query, exported on a schedule, covers a lot of reporting and email-list needs.
- Imports for inbound data. Altru’s import process can bring outside data in, with a staff member reviewing it before it posts.
- Vendors that already have an approved connection. Some third-party tools have already worked out Altru connectivity with Blackbaud. Ask a vendor directly how they connect, what credentials they need from you, and whether other Altru customers use them in production.
Quick answers
Can I generate an Altru API key myself?
Not in the self-service sense most SaaS tools offer. Access is arranged through Blackbaud and authenticated with an Altru user account. Confirm the current process with Blackbaud support.
What happens if the integration user’s password expires?
The integration stops working until someone updates the password with the vendor. Ask Blackbaud how password policies apply to integration accounts, and put the renewal on a calendar.
How do I shut off a vendor’s access?
Disable or remove that vendor’s dedicated user. That’s why one account per integration matters.
