The User's Edge

Upcoming Web Seminars 11/9 - 11/13

Douglas Clinton — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:00:00 GMT

Several times a week, we offer free, hour-long web seminars on our website. The seminars usually focus on Blackbaud products or best practices for nonprofits.

To register, select Web Seminars from the Events menu on our website, find a seminar you want to attend, and click Register Now. Once you submit the enrollment form, you’ll receive an email with instructions for viewing the online presentation, as well as the telephone access number. If you’d like to enroll for additional seminars, click Continue after you fill out the enrollment form.

Here are some of the web seminars coming up next week:

November 10:
There Ought to Be a Law: Best Fundraising Practices We Probably Don’t Practice, 3:00 p.m. ET: Learn how to break away from practices that are less than the best and seek new levels of success for your organization.

November 11:
Maximize Reach and Revenue with "Friends Asking Friends" Online Events, 1:00 p.m. ET: Join us to see how Blackbaud Sphere Events makes it easy to set up and run one event or hundreds, through standalone microsites or fully integrated into your current website.

November 12:
Social Networking Strategy for Nonprofits, 2:00 p.m. ET: We'll answer the key questions you need to understand this important trend, evaluate projects and opportunities within your organization, and participate in the process of constructing your own social networking strategy.

Time to Upgrade – Moving Beyond Blackbaud NetSolutions, 2:00 p.m. ET: Join us to learn about Blackbaud's Internet Solutions and how they can provide you with all the functionality you currently have, but with a more up-to-date look and feel, plus added functionality.

November 13:
Uncover Your Best Prospects with Target Analytics, 2:00 p.m. ET: Target Analytics offers powerful tools to provide you the up-to-date information you need to find your best prospects and boost fundraising by segmenting prospects to reveal who’s most likely to give.

Have a super weekend!

11/4 Forums Roundup

Douglas Clinton — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:32:00 GMT

We want to know how you use the Forums - please take our poll in Forums Feedback.

Here are last week's most popular Forums posts as well as unanswered posts:

Most Popular Topics:

Unanswered Posts:

Query Qualities: Halloween Edition

Douglas Clinton — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:57:00 GMT

Happy Halloween, everybody! Well, almost Halloween, anyway - there's still another day before it's time to light Jack O'Lanterns, put on costumes, and go trick-or-treating - but there's nothing wrong with celebrating a day early .

Halloween is a day for ghosts and goblins and other really scary things. One thing that scares people in The Raiser's Edge is duplicates in query. Like a movie monster, query duplicates leap out and scare you when you least expect them. You don't have to be afraid of query duplicates; they appear in your results because the record either meets the query criteria multiple times or the query output includes one or more one-to-many fields. When you save the query and use it in an export, report, or mailing, each record is included only once. In other words, your database isn't haunted with mysterious duplicates, it just looks that way.

Query is one of the most popular topic in The Raiser's Edge. Besides Why are there duplicates in the query results (which includes a demo video), here are the five most poular query solutions in Knowledgebase from last quarter:

Of course, those solutions can be pretty confusing if you don't understand the basics of query. If you're a new user, or are just rusty on the basics, you can take a free query class with Blackbaud Learn. Blackbaud Learn is an annual subscription that provides ongoing skill development and job training for software users. Course offerings range from basic training for beginners to advanced training for experienced users, and new classes are added every month.

The complimentary online class is called Query Essentials for The Raiser’s Edge. Enter the promo code “FreeQuery” on the registration form when you sign up and you'll be on your way!

Enjoy your Halloween weekend and remember to set your clocks back on hour!

Upcoming Web Seminars 11/2 - 11/6

Douglas Clinton — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:21:00 GMT

Several times a week, we offer free, hour-long web seminars on our website. The seminars usually focus on Blackbaud products or best practices for nonprofits.

Here are some of the web seminars coming up next week:

November 3:
Optimize your Website and Email Marketing Program with Blackbaud Sphere eMarketing, 1:00 p.m. ET: We will review examples of organizations who have leveraged their websites to improve their fundraising efforts through social media, online communities, and personal pages.

Building a Brand with Social Networks, 2:00 p.m. ET: Learn how you can assemble a large, active, social networking community.

Building Donor Loyalty with The Raiser’s Edge Solution, 2:00 p.m. ET: Join us to learn how The Raiser's Edge can help increase your productivity.

November 4:
Grow Your Support Online: An Overview of Blackbaud Sphere Grow, 1:00 p.m. ET:See how Blackbaud Sphere Grow offers the tools and training you need to succeed online.

November 6:
How to Build a Strong Planned Giving Program, 2:00 p.m. ET: Join us to learn about planned giving donors and their behavior in a slow economy.

Have a super weekend!

Mail Musings: Head of Household Processing

Douglas Clinton — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:53:00 GMT

Imagine that you are Mr. Belding, principal of Bayside High. It's time for you to send out the Class of 1993 alumni newsletter, and you want to make sure that it goes to each alumnus's address only once. For some of your alumni, that's easy - Jesse Spano, A.C. Slater, and Lisa Turtle all married non-Bayside alums, while Samuel "Screech" Powers unaccountably single. There are some exceptions, such as Zack Morris and Kelly Kapowski, who married each other. Zack and Kelly aren't the only members of the Class of 1993 who married each other, and you want to make sure that alumni households receive only one copy of the newsletter without sorting the mailing by hand.

The way you can do this with The Raiser's Edge is by using Head of Household Processing, which excludes duplicate spouses from a mailing. Zack and Kelly and other constituents linked on the Spouse button will receive only one copy of the newsletter as long as you choose the correct option in Head of Household processing.

The default head of household is the constituent on which the spouse was added. For example, you added Zack and Kelly as constituents when they graduated from Bayside High. When they got married in Las Vegas, you opened Zack's record, clicked the Spouse button and linked to Kelly's record. As a result Zack defaulted as the head of household. Had you added Zack as the spouse from Kelly's record, she would have been the default head of household. The option 'This individual is the Head of Household' is only available if two constituents are linked on the Spouse button. If the spouse on the Spouse button is not a constituent, the option is not available.

Where the Head of Household settings pay off is in Mail. The options in the Head of Household panel on the General tab of Mail functions break down like this:

Mail only to constituents marked 'Head of Household': Selecting this option mails only to the record marked as head of household. In this case, the mailing would go to Zack.

Mail to first constituent found: Selecting this option mails to the first spouse it processes and skips the linked spouse. Because the Class of 1993 query is sorted alphabetically, Kelly's record is processed first, Mail includes her record and skips Zack.

Mail to both constituents separately: Selecting this option includes both spouses, for those time you want both Zack and Kelly to receive a mailing.

Head of household processing only applies if both spouses are selected for the mailing. In other words, even though Zack is the head of household, if your query only contains Kelly, head of household processing doesn't apply and Kelly gets the mailing.

An important consideration for mailings like this is to assign an addressee or salutation that includes both constituents, such as "Mr. Zack Morris and Mrs. Kelly Kapowski, Class of 1993". For more on that topic, check out our past posts on addressees/salutations.

This information is also in Knowledgebase solution BB520345.

10/28 Forums Roundup

Douglas Clinton — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:37:00 GMT

We want to know how you use the Forums - please take our poll in Forums Feedback.

Here are last week's most popular Forums posts:

Most Popular Topics:

Upcoming Web Seminars 10/26 - 10/30

Douglas Clinton — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 11:35:00 GMT

Several times a week, we offer free, hour-long web seminars on our website. The seminars usually focus on Blackbaud products or best practices for nonprofits.

Here are some of the web seminars coming up next week:

October 27:
Flexible, Comprehensive Total School Solution for K-12 Independent Schools, 2:00 p.m. ET: Learn how you can streamline your processes and increase communication with constituents with The Education Edge.

October 29:
The Changing Nature of Online Fundraising in Canada, 2:00 p.m. ET: Learn how to keep up with market trends on this Blackbaud Internet Solutions website tour.

Have a super weekend!

Report Roundup: Constituent Profile Report

Douglas Clinton — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:01:00 GMT

A criminal profiler is a criminologist who studies a criminal's behavior for clues to psychology to aid in capturing him. Hopefully, your constituents aren't criminals in need of capture, but it is important to get a sense of who they are. One way you can do this is by running a Profile Report.

The profile reports summarize information in constituent records. You can choose between the Constituent Profile, the Individual Profile, and the Organization Profile reports in Profiles, Lists, and Directories. Individual profiles are available only for individual records, Organization profiles are available only for organization records, and Constituent profiles are available for both individual and organization records. While the Constituent profile includes all of the content available on both types of constituent records, the other profile reports exclude record-specific content such as Spouse information for organizations or Contacts for individuals.

You can run Profiles from the Reports module and from records. In the Reports module, the Profiles are located in Profile, Lists, and Directories. To run the report, highlight the appropriate report and click New. On the General tab, select which constituents to include. You can choose to include a single constituent, a query of records, or to print a profile for all records.

The Profile Contents tab is where you select the information to include in the profile. The available fields are extensive, and include everything from Biographical/Organizational information to giving history, relationship information, and constituent notepads. Once you have selected the content that you need, click Print or Preview to run the report.

You can also run profiles directly from constituent records. To do so, select File, Print, Profile from the menu bar and a list of existing profile parameters will appear. From there, you can select an existing profile parameter or create a new one and then run the report just as you would from the Reports module.

This information can also be found in Knowledgebase solution BB81531. If you would like me to discuss any of the profile contents at length, leave a comment below and I'll blog about it!

10/21 Forums Roundup

Douglas Clinton — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 13:32:00 GMT

We want to know how you use the Forums - please take our poll in Forums Feedback.

Here are last week's most popular Forums posts as well as unanswered posts:

Most Popular Topics:

Unanswered Posts:

The Raiser's Edge 7 For Beginners: Top 10 Tips

Douglas Clinton — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 13:30:00 GMT

Here's more from The Raiser's Edge 7 for Beginners. This Top 10 list is right at the front of the user guide and provides solid tips for everyone.

Save your parameter files so you don’t have to recreate reports and mailings each time.
Use Favorites so you can focus on just the parts of The Raiser’s Edge you use everyday.
Customize your workspace by using Home Page.
Use Dashboard to create reports and get a glimpse of how your fundraising efforts are going.
See only the fields and information you want by using Custom View.
Speed up your data entry by using Batch to enter data in spreadsheet format.
Press F1 anywhere in The Raiser’s Edge. The program knows where you are and offers help on the area you’re in.
Set User Options, or rules, to make The Raiser’s Edge behave the way you want on the workstation you are logged into.
Add system-wide Business Rules to help you work more efficiently in The Raiser’s Edge.
Back up your data!

News You Can Use: Changes to the Downloads Page

Douglas Clinton — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:35:00 GMT

We have streamlined The Raiser's Edge downloads page to make it easier to find the information you need. Instead of crowding the page with notes, critical information has been organized into a series of links you should review before installing the latest update. Check out the redesigned page and let us know what you think of it on the forums.

Upcoming Web Seminars: 10/19 - 10/23

Douglas Clinton — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 17:24:00 GMT

Several times a week, we offer free, hour-long web seminars on our website. The seminars usually focus on Blackbaud products or best practices for nonprofits.

Here are some of the web seminars coming up next week:

October 20:
Activate Online Marketing and Engagement: An Overview of Blackbaud NetCommunity Grow, 2:00 p.m. ET: Come see how Blackbaud NetCommunity Grow can help you can help your organization.

Blackbaud NetCommunity for Healthcare Organizations, 2:00 p.m. ET: Join us to learn how to take your website to the next level.

Fundraising Effectiveness for Catholic-Based Nonprofits, 2:00 p.m. ET: Join us to discuss Catholic fundraising.

Internet Solutions for All Organizations, Budgets, and Needs, 2:00 p.m. ET: Take a look at the various internet solutions.

October 21:
Benchmarking Benefits for Marketers, 2:00 p.m. ET: Learn how comparing your program performance both year to year and against other organizations will help you learn and implement successful strategies.

Online User Clinic: Importing, 2:00 p.m. ET: Learn the basics of Import from the comfort of your own desk.

October 22:
Implementing Performance Management, 3:00 p.m. ET: Join Blackbaud and Conservation International to hear how they deployed and use a Performance Management (PM) strategy

Social Networking for Fundraising Professionals, 2:00 p.m. ET: This webinar explains how to integrate social networks into their strategy.

Have a super weekend!

10/14 Forums Roundup

Douglas Clinton — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:30:00 GMT

We want to know how you use the Forums - please take our poll in Forums Feedback.

Here are last week's most popular Forums posts as well as unanswered posts:

Most Popular Topics:

Unanswered Posts:

News You Can Use: Case-Sensitive Passwords in The Raiser's Edge 7.91

Douglas Clinton — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:13:00 GMT

No '80s teen comedy hero did sensitive better than Lloyd Dobler in Say Anything.... He went from crush and courtship to heartbreak and reconciliation with a girl he'd barely spoken to when the movie opened, and in the process became responsible for the most iconic trenchcoat/boombox tableau ever.

In The Raiser's Edge 7.91, you'll find sensitivity of another kind. Beginning in The Raiser's Edge 7.91, passwords are case sensitive. The update to The Raiser's Edge 7.91 changes passwords to all capital letters (e.g., "PASSWORD1" instead of "password1"). If you do not change your password, you will need to continue using all capital letters to log in. After logging in, we recommend users immediately change their password by selecting Edit, Change Password from The Raiser's Edge menu bar. New passwords created in The Raiser's Edge 7.91 are case-sensitive and must contain both letters and numbers and be a minimum of eight characters.

Before version 7.91, the default Supervisor password was Admin. Before case-sensitive passwords, users could type in "admin" and still be able to login. For database that have not changed the default settings, the Supervisor password will be changed to ADMIN after the update. If you haven't updated yet, keep this in mind when you log in to The Raiser's Edge 7.91 for the first time.

The scoop on the Supervisor password continues in Knowledgebase solution BB12931. The answer to the Brain Buster in this month's edition of The User's Edge is that Robert was snacking on corn on the cob!

The Raiser's Edge 7 for Beginners: Attributes

Douglas Clinton — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:30:00 GMT

Where the more casual style of The Raiser's Edge 7 for Beginners user guide becomes clear is when it is compared to The Raiser’s Edge Help file.

The Raiser's Edge Help file defines attributes as follows:

To add flexibility to your record keeping, use attributes to define and store special information about a wide variety of record types. You can identify a category for the attribute and then store an entry specific to that category.

There's nothing wrong with this definition, it's just a little dry. Here's what The Raiser's Edge 7 for Beginners has to say:

What comes to mind when you hear the word attribute?

You probably think of the color of someone’s eyes or hair, whether he is tall or short, or if he is athletic. Typically, we associate attributes with a person’s physical appearance, like an inherited gene. When keeping track of your constituents in The Raiser’s Edge, you want to record similar things about people associated with your organization, but you may want to be a little more specific. For example, you may want to associate a person with a specific sport or club. Perhaps one of your volunteers is in college and plays on the soccer team. You may find this a valuable point to know about this particular volunteer.

Attributes, aptly enough, live on the Attributes tab on constituent records. The idea is to create broad categories such as Interests or Dietary Preference, and then define them with a specific description for each constituent. You can also add comments to further explain the attributes. Adding an attribute is just a matter of going to the Attributes tab, and selecting the appropriate fields. For example:

Read more about attributes in The Raiser's Edge 7 for Beginners and in Knowledgebase solution BB515, which features a video demonstration.