Integrating Base with Reachdesk: Setup Guide

This guide walks through connecting Base to Reachdesk so that gift card and reward campaigns (such as charity donations or physical merchandise) can be triggered directly from Base.

Overview

The integration works primarily through webhooks: when a recipient claims a gift in Base, that claim event is sent over to Reachdesk, which then handles fulfillment. Because of this, Reachdesk generally recommends setting the connection up directly in Base's production environment rather than a sandbox, since Reachdesk only maintains one production instance to connect to.

Step 1: Generate an API Token in Reachdesk

Before configuring anything in Base, you need an API token from Reachdesk:

1. Log into Reachdesk and navigate to your site/organization settings.
2. Go to the Settings area and locate the option to create a new API token.
3. Add a description for the token (for example, noting it's for Base rewards) and save it.
4. Copy the generated token immediately, since it won't be fully visible again later.

You'll also want to confirm which email address should act as the "signup email" — this is the sending address Reachdesk will use for outgoing gift notifications. This is typically a shared team inbox that's already set up as a user in Reachdesk, since that mailbox will likely receive reward-related replies.

Step 2: Connect Reachdesk in Base

1. In Base, go to your Rewards section and open Settings from there (the connection option lives under reward settings rather than a general integrations hub).
2. Find the Reachdesk entry and enter the API token you copied from Reachdesk.
3. Enter the signup/sending email address as well.
4. Save. The token is encrypted on save, and this connection only needs to be set up once — after this, no further API configuration is needed for future campaigns.

Step 3: Create a Reward in Base

Once connected, you can add a new Reachdesk-powered reward in Base:

1. From Rewards, select Add New.
2. Fill in the reward name and upload an image (Base requires an image for every reward).
3. Add a description, since this field is mandatory.
4. Set any targeting/limitations, such as which regions or audience segments can see the reward.
5. Enter the Campaign ID — this is the critical field linking the Base reward to a specific Reachdesk campaign.

Step 4: Find the Campaign ID in Reachdesk

1. In Reachdesk, go to Campaigns and open the specific campaign you want to link.
2. Click Edit on that campaign.
3. Look at the browser URL — the numeric ID shown there is the Campaign ID.
4. Copy that number back into the Campaign ID field in Base.

Once saved, the Base reward is now tied to that Reachdesk campaign, and claiming the reward will trigger the corresponding gift send in Reachdesk.

Step 5: Configure Claim and Expiration Settings

Within the Reachdesk campaign settings, a few options control the recipient experience:

• Approval requirement: for testing, you can require manual approval before a gift is sent, giving you a checkpoint before real fulfillment occurs.
• Claim alerts: reminder notifications can be enabled to nudge recipients who haven't yet claimed their gift.
• Expiration window: gifts can be set to expire after a chosen number of days (14 by default in the reviewed setup, though 30 days is commonly used to give recipients more time).
• Manual resend: if a gift expires or something goes wrong, you can manually resend it from the campaign's claim records.
• Importantly, funds are not deducted from your Reachdesk wallet unless the recipient actually redeems the gift — unredeemed or expired gifts return the funds.

Step 6: Handling Multiple Warehouses/Regions

For organizations fulfilling physical merchandise from multiple regional warehouses, best practice is to create a separate Base reward/campaign per warehouse region rather than one combined campaign:

• Create one reward entry per warehouse (commonly 4–5, depending on region count) and specify the applicable country/countries for each directly in Base's targeting settings.
• Use the reward description to clearly note which warehouse or region each entry corresponds to, since from the Reachdesk side these will appear as separate campaigns even though they represent the same gift.
• Recipients only see the reward relevant to their own country, based on the country restrictions configured in Base — they won't see duplicate options for other regions.

Notes on Ongoing Management

Once the initial API connection is complete, day-to-day campaign work mostly happens on the Reachdesk side (building out campaigns, setting quantities, target audiences, and point costs) and the Base side (creating the matching reward entry and dropping in the Campaign ID). No further token setup is required for new campaigns — only a new Campaign ID needs to be generated and linked each time.