The User's Edge : Sarah's Shortcuts

Sarah's Shortcuts: What's on your to-do list?

Sarah McBride — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 20:53:00 GMT

Like most type A's, I'm a big fan of organization and structure. I am especially fond of to-do lists, so much so that I periodically make up "tasks" just so I can check them off. Drive to work...check. Fill up my water bottle...check. You know you've done it, too. Or maybe I'm just odd, but there's something to be said for a quick sense of accomplishment.

Overall though, to-do lists help me stay on track. When work starts to pile up, it seems my attention is pulled in fifty directions, and it helps to have a reminder of what needs to get done. I've witnessed how life in a development office can become equally hectic amidst the array of daily tasks, meetings, and follow-up contacts with current or prospective constituents. If you're not already doing so, you may want to take advantage of action reminders in The Raiser's Edge.

To create action reminders (BB35679):

Add a new action or open an existing action.
On the General tab, mark the Auto-Remind checkbox and click Notify.
Use the arrows to move your name (or other users' names) into the Notify these users frame and select to notify using these options: Raiser's Edge reminders, Outlook Appointments, or Both.
Click OK to return to the action record. Set the reminder for a designated number of days, weeks, or months before the action date.
Click Save and Close.

If you select to be notified by Raiser's Edge reminders (step 3), you can create your to-do list on the Home page of The Raiser's Edge (BB520563):

Select Tools, User Options from the menu bar.
On the Home tab, click Panels.
In Available Panels frame, highlight and mark Action Reminders.

To take your organization skills a step further, you can integrate action reminders with Outlook appointments. Check out How to create an Outlook appointment from a Raiser's Edge action record (BB55175) for more info.

Hope this brings you more peace of mind! If anything, at least you know you'll be helping the environment by eliminating countless paper to-do lists.

Sarah's Shortcuts: The Joy of Batch Templates

Sarah McBride — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 18:52:00 GMT

Unless we're talking about making cookies, cakes, or crepes, I pretty much never like to start from scratch. There may be underlying laziness contributing to my perspective, but I would argue that I'm an advocate for efficiency. Why require extra work when you can reuse something you've already done?

The same principle applies in The Raiser's Edge when you're working in Batch. If you often use the same data entry fields, it makes sense to set up a batch template (BB1761) that you can later recreate with the click of a button, rather than having to reselect each field in a subsequent batch.

To create a gift batch template:

Create a new gift batch.
On the Batch Header tab, enter a name such as "Pledge Template" in the Batch Number field, and mark the Other users may access this batch checkbox.
On the Fields tab, select the appropriate fields.
On the Defaults tab, enter default values and/or hide certain fields, as needed.
Save the batch without entering any gifts in the Data Entry grid.

To base a new gift batch on the template:

Create a new gift batch.
On the bottom right of the Fields tab in the Gift Batch Setup screen, click Load from Existing Batch.
Select the batch template.

And voila! The new batch will automatically include the same data entry fields and setup. Not only will this save you time, but you'll also strengthen your consistency by reducing the likelihood of potential data entry errors the second time around.

As a reminder, if you'll be using the same data as well, rather than just identical fields, take advantage of recurring batches, which Doug Clinton nicely featured in a recent blog post.

Sarah's Shortcuts: Preparing for Pledges

Sarah McBride — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:56:00 GMT

So I realize I'm probably starting a little late, but I'm finally beginning to map out a budget of sorts and am taking time to monitor my expenses. It's been rather eye-opening. For one, I don't make as much as I thought I did (good to know). Secondly, I spend far too much at coffee shops, but I am trying to cut back. Oh, Starbucks, how do I love thee?

Working on a budget is also helping me see what expenses I can reduce in order to keep my donations coming for the organizations that are close to my heart (even more so than my beloved green tea frappuccino). I used to rely on my internal to remind me when to make another donation, but I'm realizing that's not a very effective method, and it probably makes it difficult for the nonprofits to budget with such sporadic donations.

If your donors are coming to similar conclusions, it's good to familiarize yourself with the process of adding pledges, setting up installment schedules, and rescheduling pledges as needed.

To set up a pledge with an installment schedule:

Create a new gift, whether in Records or Batch, with Pledge as the gift type.
Open the Pledge Installment Schedule screen:
- If adding the gift in Records, click Schedule on the Gift tab of the gift.
- If adding the gift in Batch, select Gift, Installment Information on the menu bar.
Enter the appropriate frequency, the number of installments, and the starting on date.
Click the Distribute button.
Note: If selecting Irregular as the frequency, the Distribute button is grayed out. Each installment date and amount must be entered manually.
Click OK to save the installment schedule, and save the gift (or commit the gift batch).

To reschedule pledge installments:

On the General tab or the Installments/Payments tab of the pledge, click Schedule.*
Click Reschedule to open the Reschedule Unpaid Installments Wizard.
Enter the adjusted installment frequency, number of installments, and start date.
Click Next to view the new schedule, and click Finish.
Click OK on the Pledge Installment screen, and save the gift.

*Note: If the pledge is marked as Posted, create a gift adjustment to change the pledge installments.

Getting a hold on these procedures will help your data entry go more smoothly as donors make pledges or modify their payment plans for existing pledges. As a little reading assignment, take a look at Knowledgebase solution BB69806: How to print, run, or send pledge reminders, and consider doing a test run to make sure you can create reminders for donors whose internal clocks have gotten a bit off like mine.

Sarah's Shortcuts: You say "tomato", I say "tomahto"

Sarah McBride — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:52:00 GMT

The little differences between us keep life interesting and can often inspire us to break into roller-dancing. Okay, maybe the latter part's not true, but they do keep our minds alert by presenting us with fun communication challenges.

I recently befriended a German who decided to come States' side for the summer. His English is definitely strong, but I find about a third of our communication is accomplished through hand gestures. It's like a mini game of charades each time we get together...probably amusing to outside observers, and we enjoy the moments when we finally understand what the other is trying to say.

Unfortunately, differences in communication are rarely welcomed when it comes to reporting. If I'm trying to figure out how much we raised from our "tomahto" sale, and you keep talking about tomatoes, our "ah ha" moment may not come about, leaving us both frustrated and wondering why we didn't just stick with green beans instead.

The same communication chasm can happen in The Raiser's Edge if your reports display fund IDs, but you (or members of your organization) know them only by their full descriptions. You might as well be looking at them in a foreign language, but, sadly, the reports are unable to bridge the gap with hand gestures--that may be a new feature in version 8.

So what's the solution? It varies a bit depending on which report you're running, but in either case, you can easily clear up potential confusion (BB452882):

If the report has a Columns tab, move Fund Description (or Fund ID, if you prefer) to the Selected Columns frame. Problem solved.

In reports that do not have a Columns tab (or in versions prior to 7.70):

Select Tools, User Options.
On the Records tab, select Funds in the left frame.
In the Fund format drop-down, select Fund Description in place of Fund ID (or vice versa).

The same steps apply for campaigns and appeals if you want to choose a format that matches your communication style. Likewise, if you modify the format in User Options, the change will take effect in other parts of the program like Batch, Export, and Quick Find (BB33116).

Periodically, you may want to mix it up just to keep people on their toes. Besides, a little game of charades is always fun.

Sarah's Shortcuts: "Don't call us; we'll call you"

Sarah McBride — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 10:58:00 GMT

Occasionally, I audition for local theater productions. Though shows are fun, auditions always make me nervous. Like most actors, I dread hearing these six little words: "Don't call us; we'll call you." (which basically mean, "You call that acting?")

When I was in college, I worked part-time for our annual fund. Speaking with alumni wasn't bad, but occasionally we had to call parents of current students. Considering the high cost of tuition, asking for more money didn't go so well. The six words were shortened to three ("Stop calling me"), but the tone of voice was pretty much the same, and it wasn't a very pleasant experience.

So what do these reflections on rejection have to do with The Raiser's Edge? Glad you asked. It's hard to run a nonprofit without the support of donors, but in order to obtain donations, you have to solicit prospective givers. Hopefully most people will respond well, but there will be some who close the door. The question is whether the door is completely shut and bolted or if they leave it open a crack, indicative of possible future donations.

As you manage your database, you may find it helpful to distinguish donors' levels of responsiveness using solicit codes. For instance, you may need to differentiate between someone who asks not to be contacted as opposed to someone who just wants to be contacted less frequently, someone who is anti-mail but is okay with receiving a call, or someone who seems like she's just having a bad day and needs a chance to refresh before you put your feelers out.

Solicit codes are conveniently located on the Bio1 tab of constituent records for quick reference. They also serve as an easy way to filter mailings and queries in order to include or exclude constituents accordingly.

By recording prospective donors' initial responses, you can adjust your approach to suit their requests. Respecting their preferences may help you budge the door open wider and shed your organization in a more positive light. Who knows? In time, you may even be able to code them with the "Call me any time!" solicit code.

Sarah's Shortcuts: Giving Credit Where Credit's Due

Sarah McBride — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 09:21:00 GMT

When two become one, it might be sufficient to credit their gifts to one record. However, you may also find it's beneficial to keep track of donations from constituent couples (had to squeeze alliteration in somewhere ) on both of their records so you can easily identify their gift history, regardless of whose record you're viewing.

If the latter approach floats your boat, be sure to make the most of RE's ability to automate the process of generating soft credits. As long as both spouses have constituent records, you can take the following steps to set soft credits in motion:

Open the constituent record of the spouse who is hard credited for gifts.
Click the Spouse button on the Bio 1 tab to open the spouse's relationship record.
On the General 2 tab, mark the Automatically soft credit this individual for gifts checkbox.

Note: This will create soft credits for new gifts that are added going forward, rather than gifts that may already be on the first spouse's record. If you need to, you can manually add soft credits for the existing gifts.

Similarly, if you receive gifts from an organization that originated from an employee (e.g., matching gifts), consider setting your business rules to soft credit the employee:

In Configuration, click Business Rules.
Under Gift options, highlight Activity options and mark the Automatically apply soft credit to matching gift pledge checkbox.

Once soft credits are configured on the records, you can adjust your soft credit options in Query, Reports, and Mail to include or exclude soft credits as needed. For more info, check out How to use soft credits (BB152), which also includes an article from Peg Strodtbeck of Wheeler Mission Ministries on "Adventures in Soft Crediting."

Sarah's Shortcuts: A Donor By Any Other Name

Sarah McBride — Mon, 12 May 2008 14:50:00 GMT

It might work with roses, but if you address a donor with a name other than what he indicated as his preferred addressee/salutation, you're not likely to get the same positive response. I realize it shouldn't be that big of a deal, but when someone addresses me as "Sara" without the h, I'm caught in a brief identity crisis (Sara who?) and am less inclined to appreciate the content of their actual message.

The same thing applies to your donors. Whenever you send a mailing, your message can significantly drop in value (or be completely overlooked) if you address them incorrectly. A huge part of fundraising is developing relationships with your constituents and making personal connections whenever you can. Get the name wrong and that connection may be short-lived.

So how do you avoid this obvious-yet-sneaky pitfall?

Make sure the names on the record are right.
- When adding new constituents to your database, be sure to spend a moment on the Addressees/Salutations tab. The bulk of your mailings will probably use the Primary Addressee and Primary Salutations fields, so verify the correct addressee/salutation formulas (BB26317) from Configuration are selected, or if using the Editable? checkbox, double-check for any possible spelling errors. (Don't forget the h!)
- If some of your mailings use additional addressees or salutations (BB96322) (e.g., for less formal or spouse-specific letters), make sure the right Type has been selected since this is what you'll use to pull in the corresponding name within the mailing. Note: Addressing Robert as "Bob" may establish a sense of camaraderie or cause offense if he never okayed a less formal approach, so just be sure the name matches up with the donor's preference, when known.
- Lastly, for donors with especially long names, it may be helpful to do a quick test for label truncation (BB103702) to see if another addressee/salutation type would be preferable.

Choose the correct addressee/salutation in your mailing.
When you're ready to prepare the actual mailing, select which addressee/salutation to use (BB386294) on the Fields to Include tab. The Raiser's Edge defaults to using constituents' individual names (e.g., Robert Hernandez), which isn't the end of the world, but this is where you can add a more personal touch.

Using the right name will help your mailings get off on a good start, though this is just one small part of relationship building. Please feel free to share other techniques you've developed within mailings, data entry, etc. for making more personal connections.

Happily yours,
Sarah

Sarah's Shortcuts: Overcoming a Bad Memory

Sarah McBride — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 17:26:00 GMT

Over the past few years, I've come to accept that my memory is not particularly strong. Fortunately, that hasn't caused much of a problem for me in my work, but if I was responsible for your data entry, you might have reason for concern. And really, even if you or your colleagues are with it 24/7, there's always at least a slight margin for error (especially when post-lunch sleepiness rolls in).

The good news is that The Raiser's Edge includes the option to create user-defined pop-ups that can serve as wonderful reminders when you open particular records. Let's say you periodically receive gifts from constituents who are marked as having no valid addresses. Your organization may have a policy in place to update their addresses when new donations come in, but if you're in the process of entering fifty new gifts, you may very likely forget to check whether the donor has a valid address.

That's where pop-ups come in handy. By creating user-defined business rules, you can set up The Raiser's Edge to give you a pop-up reminder when you open particular records. In the example above, I could create a query of everyone who has the No Valid Addresses checkbox marked and then design a business rule to remind me to update their addresses when adding new gifts. I could even tailor the message to only appear for certain user groups if I didn't think everyone suffered from an insufficient memory (not saying they don't).

Knowledgebase provides step-by-step instructions for setting up user-defined pop-ups (BB1495), so give it a try and let me know how it goes!

Sarah's Shortcuts: Lions, tigers, and errors, oh my!

Sarah McBride — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 19:54:00 GMT

"Error" and "bear" sound pretty much the same when you're in the South. Regardless of your geographical location, they can both be a bit frightful when they unexpectedly pop up. Okay, so bears don't really pop, but you get the picture.

If your first instinct is to call Support (regarding errors, not bears), we'll be glad to help you. However, you can substantially shorten the troubleshooting process and potentially solve the problem on your own by going through the following steps:

1. Copy the exact error and enter it in Knowledgebase. We create a solution for every case we work in Support, so it's very likely that the error and its resolution have already been documented. If the same error appears in multiple solutions, check the environment (i.e., "Occurs when . . .") and the cause to find the closest match.

2. When in doubt, reboot. This classic troubleshooting step works more often than you'd expect. You may also find that the error resolves itself if you simply exit and sign out of the program and then log back in. Sometimes all it takes is a fresh start.

3. Narrow down the culprit. If you're able to duplicate the error, the question is who to blame: your user name, your computer, or your database?
   a. Try to duplicate the error when logged into your computer as a different user (preferably Supervisor). If that fixes it, you may need to recreate your RE user name.
   b. See if the error occurs when logged in on another computer or on the server. If not, you can run an update/repair on your computer or update/repair the deploy kit, respectively.
   c. Try duplicating the error within your sample database to determine whether the problem is rooted in your live database.

Knowledgebase goes into greater detail about these general troubleshooting steps for error messages (BB204470). If these instructions seem like another language to you, don't hesitate to contact Support for assistance; that's what we're here for. But you may surprise yourself with your newly discovered error-hunting skills.

Sarah's Shortcuts: My Favorite Fields (a musical blog)

Sarah McBride — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 12:47:00 GMT

When I'm time-pressed
When my brain hurts
When I'm feeling rushed
I simply select all my favorite fields
And then I don't feel so stressed!

I like to sing, and what better to sing about than Favorite Fields! If you're not already familiar with Favorite Fields, allow me to introduce you to one of the best features in Query.

For those of you who create a lot of queries, I suspect you often utilize many of the same fields to filter on, include in your output, and/or sort by. It can get rather tedious when you're constantly having to scroll through all of the available fields to locate the ones you need. So why waste time and effort when you don't need to?

By taking the following steps, you can add your most frequently used query fields to your Favorites so they'll be easy to access going forward:

Open a query.
On the Criteria, Output, or Sort tab, select the appropriate field in the Available Fields section.
Right-click the field and select "Add to Favorite Fields."

For the uber-efficient among us, you can also quickly select multiple favorites at the same time:

Open a query.
On the Criteria, Output, or Sort tab, select any field in the Available Fields section.
Right-click and select "Organize Favorite Fields." The Favorite Fields screen appears.
- Select the appropriate query type. For example, if you want to select favorite fields for constituent queries, select Constituent.
- In the Available Fields frame, locate the appropriate field and click the right arrow to move it to the Fields to Include frame. Repeat for each field that you would like to make a favorite.
- Click OK.

These steps are also in Knowledgebase: How to add query fields to Favorites (BB520890).

As a final tip, I think you'll find it helpful to sing like Julie Andrews while you select your favorite fields, and I'm sure your coworkers will be appreciative.

Sarah's Shortcuts: Never Underestimate the Value of a Guinea Pig

Sarah McBride — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 10:10:00 GMT

After working for days to set up an import file, you may be tempted to take your chances with The Raiser's Edge gods and import the entire file at once. But wait! Don't get too trigger-happy with that Import button, my friends. If there happens to be a problem with the way the data was entered in your spreadsheet, you could very well face a lot of manual cleanup.

You'll commonly hear us advise you to have a recent backup of your database (should you need to restore to pre-import orderliness), and we often recommend validating the import so you can check for any potential exceptions before starting the actual import process. (See BB58904 for more info.)

Kudos to you if you've made these regular habits in your import process! But have you also developed a healthy respect for guinea pigs?

Though I do like those furry rodents, I'm actually referring to a test import file that just includes the first one or two records from your original spreadsheet. Using an import guinea pig will give you a chance to confirm the import produces the right results and can make it easier for you to identify any changes that need to be made within your original file. Just remember to remove the guinea pig records from the larger file once they've imported successfully in your test run.

This may take away some of the adrenaline rush from importing all of the records on the first go, but it will also help you avoid that horrible lump in your stomach when you realize something went askew.

Sarah’s Shortcuts: A Mail Merge Match Made in Heaven

Sarah McBride — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 20:41:00 GMT

You’ve just finished printing letters and envelopes for all of the records in your database. There’s only one problem: The letters and envelopes are not in the same order!

This presents quite a dilemma when you’re trying to manually match each letter with its corresponding envelope. Unless you have an excessive amount of time on your hands, I’d like to suggest an easier method before you find yourself in a similar situation:

1. When setting up your letters, mark the Create output query checkbox at the bottom left of the General tab. This will prompt you to save a static query once the letters are merged.
2. On the General tab of your envelopes, include the output query from step one. The envelopes will automatically sort in the same order as the output query from your letters.

Note: The same concept applies for labels as well. Check out BB15665 for the instructions in Knowledgebase.

Sarah's Shortcuts: Mice and Manicures

Sarah McBride — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 16:33:00 GMT

Welcome to The User's Edge! As you can probably tell from the title, I like alliteration. I'm also a fan of shortcuts, so I will gladly keep you informed of any time-saving tips that can help lighten your load within RE.

To first give you a little background about myself, before starting my career at Blackbaud, I earned my living as a hand model. And yes, that's my hand holding the mouse at the top of this page. (Completely kidding!) I've never been a hand model, nor have I ever had a manicure. However, I have had my share of experience using mice, which brings me back to the topic of shortcuts . . .

If you'd like to ease the work of your pointer finger, you may want to consider changing your mouse settings so you can just single-click instead of always having to double-click. This may seem insignificant, but you'd be surprised how many clicks this will save you over the course of a year. I haven't actually come up with a figure, but I know it's a lot.

To switch to single-clicks:
1. Go to Start, Control Panel, Folder Options.
2. On the General tab, under "Click items as follows" select the Single-click to open an item (point to select) option.
3. Click OK, and start single-clicking away!